Making learning stick
by Andrew Bryant
Master Trainer
Whether you are learning for yourself or responsible for the learning of others, you will have faced the dual challenges of retaining the learning and applying it to create practical results.
It has been said that, "An organisation's ability to learn and translate that learning into action is the ultimate competitive advantage." With this in mind organizations (and individuals) spend large amounts of money to create learning; for this investment to be deemed worthwhile the learning must be translated into performance.
I was at a meeting last week with the training manager of a very large retailing company and she was expressing her frustration that despite spending money on external providers, her employees gave feedback that the training was boring and not relevant to the work they do. From my perspective these are two of the unforgivable sins of training design and delivery, perhaps this is why I have been asked to speak at this year's HR Summit in Singapore - the title of my talk will be 'Corporate Learning Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them.' Some of the things that I will be talking about and demonstrating are:
Setting an intention for the learning - Adults need to know 'Why' they are learning, when they sit in a training room they are consciously or unconsciously asking themselves, "Is this important?" and "What relevance does this have to me?" These questions should be answered before trainees ever enter the learning environment.
Make it Fun - However serious the topic, fun creates engagement and acts as an antidote to the performance anxiety of trying something new. When we have permission to be playful we are much more likely to open our minds to the possibility of achieving more, if in doubt just watch a toddler learning to walk or stack blocks. Often the fun in learning is thrashed out of us in high school when we are programmed to "be serious, work hard and get good grades."
Plan for Retention - People will quickly forget any new learning if they don't use it regularly, are overloaded with information or are not triggered to remember. Often individuals or groups engage in learning with little or no thought about how they are going to retain or apply the information. We have worked with a number of our clients to plan for retention with a number of initiatives, including the training internal coaches to continually develop new attitudes and skills.
Reframe failure as feedback - It is unrealistic to expect mastery in a new skill after a single training or coaching session. The learner will at first be clumsy and awkward with the new skills and may not execute to the expected standard.
By preparing the learner to receive feedback they can acknowledge what they did well and set an intention for future improvement. If however the first attempt at a new skill is seen as a 'failure' the learner will be demoralised and unlikely to try again. Mistakes are stepping stones to success; when they occur - feedback what went well, what did not and how to improve next time.
Want to learn more? Then make sure you come to one of our workshops or contact us if you would like to work with a Self Leadership International to create a learning organisation.