Did you know that effective training programs can improve business outcomes?
When companies invest in experiential learning, a great emphasis is often placed on improving the skill set of employees. However, the training can have an even stronger impact on the organization at large. To ensure this, businesses must first establish the current metrics and employee behaviours that need to be addressed.
Training content – with the right context – is the catalyst for learning, application, and practice. Learning must reflect the workplace as this is what leads to behaviour change and ultimately a positive impact on the business – as outlined in the image below:
Another key ingredient for training success is leadership support. Leaders must ensure that training can be clearly and seamlessly integrated into the day-to-day work of employees. How participants apply the new learning to their roles helps create behaviour change and new outcomes for the business.
Christoph Goldenstern, Vice President of Innovation and Product Development, at consulting firm Kepner Tregoe, supports the notion that the success of a training program is heavily dependent on leaders. He says that they not only have to back the training while it’s happening but continue to do so afterwards. This follow-up is especially critical for learning progress. “Behavioral change is impossible without leadership buy-in,” Goldenstern says and offers tips on ways to turn a training program into a positive business outcome.
How to turn training into a positive business outcome:
1) Leadership support and consistency:
- Be certain employees know before training, what they will learn and why
- Reinforce expectations and the consequences of not applying new skills on the job.
- Integrate new skills into regular job performance reviews and feedback sessions.
2) Make training relevant and accessible:
- Choose training programs that are customized and directly relate to the job
- Practise training by using actual on-the-job problems and asking employees to solve them by using new skills.
- As needed, offer one-on-one coaching from instructors who have experience in achieving operational results.
3) Support success with follow-up and feedback:
- Provide feedback in real time to address application errors.
- Ensure feedback relates to the employee’s role, occurs during daily routines, and is short and targeted.
4) Observe and document ongoing use of new skills:
- Look for existing operational problems and use new skills to find solutions.
- Evaluate training effectiveness and ensure original goals are achieved.
5) Embed new skills into existing processes
- Design new processes – using the acquired skills – and implement them accordingly.
- Track improved processes to show financial savings and benefits from problems solved – share the results company-wide to build morale.
Remember, while learning and development programs do focus on improving skills for individual employees, collectively these efforts can impact continuous learning, support employee retention, improve customer loyalty and be a pillar in long-term company growth.
Contact us for more details on how to design content that will lead to employee behaviour change and desired business outcomes.
