The Art of Effective Action Planning

Emma Weber

Anyone who has ever experienced corporate learning will have come across the idea of an action plan at the end of a training program.

People are often cynical of action plans and perhaps for good reason. Seemingly cosmetic, they are often used as a tick box exercise.

But action planning, and making a decision of what you as a learner will implement, is an essential first step of any learning transfer solution. I’ve recorded a video below around my thoughts on this and how you can master the art of effective action planning.

For any successful action planning, these are the 5 essential factors to ensure learners focus on:

  • Targets – what are they going to implement from the program
  • What success looks like for them
  • Calibration – where they consider themselves right now in relation to the target
  • Why the target is important for them – it’s the why that keeps people moving forward more than the goal
  • Next steps – What specific actions will you take to progress this goal – and in what situation?

We are on a big mission to raise the standard of learning transfer worldwide. Given that effective action planning is the first step to any successful learning transfer solution, we’re excited to share that our unique Turning Learning into ActionTM Action Plan is now available as an ONLINE tool for everyone to use!!

And did we mention it’s absolutely free 🙂

It takes the hard work out of action plan distribution. In one easy step the action plans will be emailed immediately to the learner and up to two people of their choice.

Visit turninglearningintoaction.com to try it for yourself and experience:

  • A step by step, easy to navigate platform that sets you up for success from any learning
  • A PDF of your action plan, emailed to you immediately
  • The option to send a copy of your action plan to a friend, colleague or manager
  • And a BONUS 10 top tips on the back of your action plan to help you create momentum

I’d love to hear your thoughts below on what you think works and doesn’t work for action planning, and I really encourage you to take your action planning seriously to help you and your organisation create real impact from learning.

Emma Weber is a recognised authority on the transfer of learning. As CEO of Lever – Transfer of Learning, she has helped companies such as Telstra, Oracle and BMW deliver and measure tangible business results from learning. Emma has also been a guest speaker at learning effectiveness conferences worldwide and authored the hugely successful book “Turning Learning into Action“. Much more detail around the issues and solutions examined in this article are available in the book – please feel free to download a free chapter.