MANILA, Philippines — One of the most difficult questions asked by senior executives and managers is the relevance of training given to the employees.

Common sense dictates that training is something that should be done because of the presumption that the topic of the proposed program could spell the success or failure of the business. I have personally been skeptical on the effectiveness on trainings particularly, because my experience both as a trainer and as a trainee, has shown that very little is used in the workplace. It’s like one of those management fads that come and go.

In addition, training is one of those activities of the company that needs to be done. It is therefore no wonder that when business goes bad, training is the first activity to be taken out. Training continues to be seen as a “cost” activity because in many cases, it has failed to deliver the long-term results. However, it is important to understand that we don’t really need training per se. What we need is better training, particularly, those that will have a sustainable impact on the business.

While there is a level of truth to the frequent failure of training, management cannot escape responsibility that the success of trainings primarily rests on their shoulders. Let’s look at some statistics on the efficacy of training. In one study, conducted by Liese Spielberg Tamburrino, they determined that over a four year period, the average annual improvement in productivity in General Electric was 14% for every employee. It says that training, if done properly, can indeed be transferred to the workplace to be used productively.

In another study by Bruce Joyce, unsupported training only transfers 5% to 13% of the learnings are used in the workplace. Without senior management support, learnings from trainings will only be useful so long as it is relevant to day-to-day experiences in the workplace. The study also proved that as much as 80% of the learnings are learned and can be used in the workplace. This of course, assumes that the training program was relevant in the first place.

In another study in Xerox, 87% of the learnings in a training program were lost within twelve weeks if the training has no post training support. Having said that, it was concluded that only 1.69% return on training investment is achieved. What a waste!

There are a number of factors that are necessary to benefit from training. In a study by Seward and Gers, they showed that as much as 95% learning transfer to the participant was achieved. As have been shown in the various studies mentioned above, the underlying element to the success of training are the presence of post support mechanisms that senior management provides. Training means change and change will be successful only if there is management support.

One important factor in meaningful training is to link it to a specific strategic or tactical goal. Having a clear purpose in mind ensures that there is sense in the participant is being asked trained for and how it relates to achieving the strategic or tactical objectives.

Senior management support is undoubtedly critical. But peer support is equally important. It is necessary that peer coaching be integrated into the program. One element is to provide post learning information and tools necessary to facilitate and reinforce ongoing peer to peer, as well as supervisor to trainee coaching. The responsibility for the success of the training rests on the shoulders of the trainor not the trainee.

Many businesses want immediate results from training programs. While it is a reasonable expectation, caution should be made because if pressures to deliver the use of the learnings mount, the individual will revert to the old ways of doing things to enable quick but sub-optimal results. This then creates a vicious cycle that nullifies the benefits of the training. It is also important to communicate behavioral changes that need to happen stressing on what the participants will do and not what they will not do.

Finally, like any successful change implementation, there’s nothing that will create better reinforcement than celebrating successes. This is one of the best actions that senior management can take to reinforce behavioral change.

Successful training does not end with the completion of the training program, it signals the beginning of lifelong relevant learning that will make a difference in the business. Email: rbo811@yahoo.com