Turning learning into actionable behaviour takes more than motivation. Rod Webb explores why so much workplace training fails to deliver change, and how clear goals, supportive cultures, and engaged managers are key to making learning stick. Without action, even the best-designed programmes risk fading into nothing once the training ends.
I’ve been exploring the RIA model, which I developed to help people understand what supports that behaviour change:
- Retention
- Inspiration
- Action
In my first article I looked at the role of Retention in the learning journey, and in my second article I explored Inspiration. Retention, because if we don’t remember what we’ve learnt, we can’t do anything with it; and Inspiration, because unless there is a strong, emotional connection between the learning and our real-world, everyday experiences at work, we probably won’t want to do anything with it.
In this article, I want to explore Action, which is the final article and piece of the puzzle.
Learning evaporation
If we’ve done a good job of retention and inspiration, we know that people are going to leave the training experience excited and motivated to make changes back in the workplace. So, it’s easy to imagine the job is done and we can simply leave our learners to get on with it.
Sadly though, it’s not usually as simple as that. When your participants arrive back at their desk to be confronted by a huge backlog of emails, paperwork and other demands on their time, those dreams for change can very quickly end up on the back burner. And once there, their newfound energy and momentum will evaporate, leaving behaviours unchanged and the potential impact of your training lost.
Action plans are important
One thing we need to do before participants return to the workplace is turn loose ambitions into clear, measurable goals. Action planning is a critical first step in delivering the change we seek.
A good action plan should not just specify what the learner intends to do, and when. It should consider questions like:
- What resources will I need (including time)?
- Whose help or support are critical to the successful implementation of my goals?
- Who are the other stakeholders I need to involve or communicate with?
- What are the little wins that will signify I’m on the right track? (Meaty goals might need to be broken down into smaller steps)
- How will I measure success?
Whilst a considered action plan helps map a path for change, truthfully, delivering action isn’t something you, or even your learner, is likely to be able to achieve alone.
Culture wars
Many years ago, when I operated as a self-employed trainer, the happy sheets consistently endorsed my content and facilitation skills and gave me a lovely warm feeling. But I knew instinctively that there was another critical element that would have a massive influence on the success of the programmes I delivered; the extent to which managers and directors were cheerleading and engaging with the programmes I was developing and running. Let me give you two examples of where I was working with organisations to help them develop creativity and innovation skills.
In organisation one, I was allowed to develop the three-day programme I recommended. Over that time, I proved to even the most cynical participants that they could think creatively, provided them with tools and approaches that would help them explore problems and link information and concepts in new and intriguing ways, and gave them space and time to develop the ideas they generated.
Not only was I given the space and off-site locations to run my programme, but it was also attended by everyone from senior managers through to new starters.
Back in the workplace, the culture already supported the transfer of new skills with, for example, feedback tools that encouraged learning, and a fairly flat structure. In addition, time and space were provided to further develop the best ideas generated during the programme because managers had attended, learnt and left the programme with the same excitement for change as other learners.
Now, let’s consider organisation two, who having heard of my success at organisation one, asked me to run the same programme. Except they wanted to do it in two days, and to save money, run it on-site in dark, cramped spaces. And they saw no reason for managers to attend as they were far too busy. Even during the programme, the enthusiasm of participants was tempered by descriptions of hierarchical and conservative structures that learners already felt would be a barrier to implementing the ideas they’d generated.
Leaders and managers were keen to share the learning, and the focus was on opportunity
It’s not hard to see why the programme resulted in tangible change and improvement in organisation one, and not so much in organisation two. In the first example, leaders and managers were keen to share the learning, and the focus was on opportunity.
Too often, training is seen as a cure, or in the worst cases, a sort of corrective punishment. Where that’s true, achieving the ultimate goal of action is made extremely difficult. I’ve even seen newly motivated employees leave their employer in order to take their much-prized new skills somewhere they feel they could be used.
The attitude of leaders and managers matters
Action requires managers to be on board and involved in the development of new skills and behaviours. It is they who will need to support the learning back in the workplace; they who need to engage with the learners and provide the space and resources for new skills to be implemented.
L&D professionals can make action more likely too. Looking back, my biggest mistake was to not challenge those buying my services enough. Understandable, I was young and wanted the work. I accepted things that I knew would limit the positive impact I could have.
With more experience, I argue that to become the best we can be, we need to have the confidence before we design or roll out any programme to establish with line managers and leaders not just the behaviours that need to change but to ask:
- What’s the intended impact of this change?
- How will they support that change?
- What role will they play in helping to transfer skills to the workplace?
- What support/training do they need to enable them to fulfil their role?
Is our intervention the right one for now?
Before we run any training programme, we should always find the courage to ask ourselves and others two important questions:
- “Are we training the right people?”
- “Are we dealing with the most pressing need?”
Too often, training is focused on those in junior roles, when in reality, success here depends on change higher up in the chain of command.
The UK has one of the lowest levels of employee engagement in the world and that can have a massive impact on the success of learning and development interventions. The greatest barrier to action back in the workplace is often managers who either don’t understand the value or importance of employee engagement, or lack the leadership skills necessary to truly engage with their teams and support learning. Sometimes, success might require a different intervention to the one prescribed by leaders!
I hope you’ve found these articles helpful and thought provoking. I’ll leave you with one further question: If you could make one change now, where would you start? Retention, Inspiration or Action?
Rod Webb is co-founder of Trainers’ Library®
