Training is intended to develop skills that deliver positive impacts on the organization.
But that requires the learners actually USE their new skills when the get back to work.
From my experience, there are several critical factors in employees using their new skills on the job:
The training is relevant to their role
The training includes how the new skills will personally benefit the learner
The learner is confident in their ability to apply the new skills
The learner applies the new skills "in the wild" soon after returning to work
Manager support
Ongoing engagement
Those last three factors are BIG ONES - and they happen AFTER the training event!
If you're a manager, here are ways to support your team and get the largest return on your investment:
Ask them to describe what they learned and how they can use it on the job
Make it clear you expect them to use what they learned ASAP
Hold them accountable for using their new skills
Provide clear, constructive feedback on these skills when you see them used
If you're a trainer, here a few ways to engage learners and their managers after the event:
Offer access to ongoing coaching
Provide content to refresh and reinforce what was learned
Arm managers by showing them what their team learned and how to support learners. This can be done through conversations, short sessions for managers, or short videos like this
What do you think?