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Training for Tangible Results

I'm a big advocate of training, as you might expect of someone who earns the bulk of his income providing training services. But my enthusiasm is mitigated by the realization that training rarely yields any noticeable or lasting changes or improvements in those who are trained. And isn't that why you typically invest in training? You are hoping to see improvement in how your firm manages projects or develops new business or serves your clients—or whatever the performance issue is that pointed to the need for training.

That's not to suggest that training isn't part of the solution; it's just not the whole solution as many managers seem to think. The natural response when managers see performance deficiencies is to think about getting some training for their staff. But training almost never works in a vacuum. Unfortunately, that's how most firms in our business approach it. 

If you want to see a good return on your investment in training, there's a lot more involved than simply hiring a good trainer. In fact, there's little correlation, in my experience, between the quality of the training program and its impact on the firm. What matters most is what happens before and after the training. Let me offer some suggestions:

First, define what specific outcomes you're seeking. While training has other inherent benefits, let's focus on the one that most often motivates managers to spend thousands of dollars on it—the need for performance improvement. And that involves behavior change. So effective training is not much different than any other organizational change initiative. You need to see people change the way they approach their work. Training, then, must be part of a larger performance improvement initiative. Before you hire a trainer, or develop your own in-house program, determine specifically what you want it to accomplish.

Align training content with the specific changes you intend to make as a firm. I've long been baffled why firms hire trainers to teach strategies and methods they have no real intent to adopt. Do you want to improve how your people manage projects? There are some very good project management training programs available. But you must first address the question of how your firm is going to manage projects differently in the future. There's no point having someone teach your people a certain method of project scheduling, for example, if your firm will continue to do scheduling another way.

Perhaps you're thinking, "Well, that's why we hire an outside trainer, to teach us new and better ways of doing things." That's certainly a worthy goal. But what I'm recommending is that you review the content of the training program in advance and decide how much of it you're willing to adopt or endorse. If you don't want to have your project managers use the scheduling method normally taught as part of that program, have the trainer modify it so it's consistent with your firm's approach, or simply don't include scheduling as part of the program.

This is critically important to getting the most from training. Don't waste time training your people in methodologies you don't intend them to use. And if you intend them to use what is taught, then you need to take steps to reinforce that, as we'll discuss below. 

Build the necessary infrastructure before training. The way we do our work is usually supported by certain procedures and tools, both formal and informal. If you expect changes in how your people work, you'll need to make corresponding changes in the infrastructure that supports that work. If you intend to train project managers in a different approach to tracking the budget and schedule status of their projects, for example, you'll probably need to change some accounting procedures or perhaps create some new spreadsheets. Make these changes before you do training.

There are a number of reasons why this is important. It signifies you're serious about the training resulting in real changes. It further reinforces the content and concepts of the training. It enables the training participants to begin applying the new approaches immediately after training, while they're still fresh in their minds.

A few years ago, I led a major initiative to overhaul project delivery processes for a national environmental services firm. We spent over a year preparing for the training—identifying internal and external best practices, determining which new practices we were going to adopt, compiling these in a project managers handbook, creating new tools and resources. The training program, then, specifically addressed the changes we had already decided to make, and participants used the new handbook and associated tools in hands-on exercises during the training. There was no doubt that the firm was serious about the training having a lasting impact!

Make sure the training incorporates real-life, hands-on exercises. People learn best by doing, so any good training program should include adequate time for practicing some of the methods being taught. These exercises are still more effective when they involve real-life scenarios. If you're providing sales training, for example, you want participants to have the chance to apply the material to current sales opportunities. This both makes the material more relevant and gives participants a head start in actually using what they've learned. Still better, have participants do some preparation in advance of the training (e.g., pulling sales account information together) so they can get the most out of the exercises.

My favorite approach to training is what I call "real-time coaching." This is akin to what is commonly called just-in-time training. So if you wanted to provide training in proposal writing, for example, we would spend a little classroom time covering some fundamental concepts, but spend most of the time actually working together on a real proposal. There's no better way to learn and to help ensure that the training "sticks."

Adopt new terminology from the training program. Many technical professionals fail to appreciate the importance of adopting new terminology to describe new approaches. But the research bears this out. Words have a powerful influence in how we perceive things. Calling new ways by old names only reinforces the natural tendency to revert back to old habits. For this reason, an effective training program will most likely introduce you to some fresh terminology. My advice: Adopt these new terms as your own. If you prefer your own terms, that's fine, as long as it's different from what you've been using.

Provide ongoing coaching and encouragement. Changing old work habits is difficult, so don't expect lasting change after training unless you continually reinforce it. Talk about the new approaches and expectations constantly. Get rid of procedures and tools that encourage people to revert back to old ways. Provide on-the-job coaching, similar to the concept of "real-time coaching" described above. Training is never the end of the solution; it's only the beginning. If you're not willing to continue pushing the change process, think twice about investing in training. 

Reward those who best put the training into practice. The old axiom that "people do what rewards them" is true. If behavior change is the primary objective of training (and it usually is), make sure you acknowledge those who fulfill that objective and reward them for their efforts. Because change is difficult, many people will try hard initially but give up when the effort is not rewarded in some way. Rewarding your top achievers also serves to motivate others who may be more reluctant about making the expected changes.

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