The 10 Biggest Problems with Formal Learning, and How to Solve Them

Emma Weber

When it comes to corporate learning there is a very old, very large elephant in the room. After a learning initiative there is often an impenetrable abyss between what your employees know and what your employees do with what they know. Countless studies* highlight that only 10-20% of learning is transferred back to the workplace. A Talent Pulse report (2015) from the Human Capital Institute and CGS Learning describes how in 2012 in the U.S. alone, organisations spent $164b on training and development, yet only 39% of practitioners reported their organisation regularly reviews and improves the delivery of L&D. Clearly research is showing us that we have a problem.

As Learning and Development professionals it is essential that we contribute to business results to remain relevant.

Does your organisation’s learning and development have any of the following 10 problems?

1. Too much focus on what happens before and during learning – too little focus on what happens after learning
2. Failure to design learning to meet business objectives
3. Spectacular learning design followed by incomplete execution
4. Too much focus on content, rather than change
5. No ownership from L&D of the behavioural change after learning
6. Employees are disengaged with learning
7. Managers are left on their own to facilitate learning transfer
8. Lack of learning personalisation for a diverse workforce
9. No return on learning investment
10. Failure to quantify the training effectiveness

Here’s what you can do about it.

Firstly, it’s worth noting that none of the biggest problems in formal learning today are about the design of the learning experience or the “classroom” execution. On the whole, formal learning design is done exceedingly well. The key to transformation and genuine training success is application or behavioural change. Create a robust learning transfer process to see real results from your learning initiatives and begin to solve these problems experienced by many.

Over the last 20-30 years people in the industry have sought to rectify the issue of learning transfer with limited or, at best, mixed results. We have become extremely proficient in identifying training needs and designing training events that will bridge the knowledge shortfall. We have become extremely proficient in delivering those training programs and getting great feedback – and yet three weeks after the program the workbooks and training folders are dumped at the bottom of a drawer and the participants are back at work doing exactly what they were doing before they left to attend the course.

Training doesn’t work because all the focus is on the wrong finish line. With so many stakeholders involved in the process, each one shunts the responsibility for success on to the next person in the chain until it falls in a heap – usually at the feet of the participant or that person’s manager. And yet this isn’t fair. The finish line is not the end of the training – no matter how brilliant that training is designed and delivered. The real finish line is when the knowledge or skill taught in the training can be witnessed in action in the workplace on a day to day basis.

To borrow from Peter Cheese, CEO of the UK’s CIPD we must ‘Train for Behaviours’ in every way.

We must move beyond the old paradigm of learning, be specific about the behaviours we need to see in the business that will support strategic initiatives and the changing demographics in the workforce.

Design learning for the audience we have AND the behavioural outcomes that we want back in the organisation. We cannot do this by simply thinking what we need participants to know – but by creating real clarity for each individual as to what they can be doing differently back in the workplace. Working at an individual level is not only possible –it’s essential. Everyone is unique in their experience, motivation, ability to learn and ability to implement. You need to design a process that reflects this. Take a look at my article How To Make Employee Training The Key To Your Business Success for some helpful tips about how you can start to create real impact with learning transfer.

Check out these 8 Failing Transfer of Learning Solutions to avoid!

And remember, evaluation of success is an important part of any endeavour. After all, if we cannot establish whether we have met or exceeded our objectives then it is very hard to establish if something has been worthwhile or not. If we cannot work that out then we could be throwing good money after bad. For evaluation to be truly effective we must start with the end in mind. Only when we set the objectives at the start can we effectively evaluate against those objectives at the end. Take a look at The Trials and Tribulations of Learning Measurement to see latest findings from CLO media in learning evaluation.

Starting with the end in mind will also help tackle the challenge of aligning learning to meet business objectives. Where can learning contribute to the organisation’s strategic goals? What capability is required to deliver the organisation’s objectives? Be like a dog with a bone until you really understand the answer to these questions and where learning can align to support the business.

I encourage you as a Learning and Development professional to be bold and not only deliver great learning experiences that add value to the business, but also step up to the ownership of change post learning too. When the results start to come in you’ll be delighted and proud you did.

*References:

1.  Baldwin, T. T., & Ford, J. K. (1988). Transfer of training: A review and directions for future research. PersonnelReview, 26(3), 201-213
2. Broad, M. L. & Newstrom, J. W. (1992). Transfer of Training: Action packed strategies to ensure high payoff from training investments, Basic Books
3. Olivero. G., Bane, K. D. & Kogelman, R. E. (1997). Executive Coaching as a Transfer of Training Tool: Effects on Productivity in a Public Agency, Public Personnel Management
4. Leimbach, M. (2010). Learning transfer model: a research‐driven approach to enhancing learning effectiveness. Industrial and Commercial Training Volume 42, Issue 2