The phrases “learning transfer” and “learning stickiness” almost seem to be interchangeable in the workplace. “We really need to make sure this learning sticks” or “This conference learning really needs to be sticky”. Does it mean learning needs to stick in the mind or stick to the person?
My view is that what people really want- whether that’s the CEO, the L&D manager, or the conference manager is for the learning to transfer. To transfer back to the workplace and to transfer into real behavioural change.
Stickiness seems to be more about remembering- and it has a place in learning. Stickiness strategies often include making things memorable. Using sound, colour, stories and visuals followed by reinforcing with podcast’s and videos are great for memory retention.
Yes, obviously when a person leaves a learning event they need to remember what they have learnt- if they can’t remember it they can’t use it anyway. But generally, we can all remember that to be a great manager we should ask more questions, talk less and give regular feedback. Whether we do it or not is another matter.
Focusing on transfer ahead of stickiness is the only way to make it really count.