Companies wouldn’t invest in training if they didn’t want their employees to apply the knowledge they’ve learned back on the job. How, though, can you efficiently—and effectively—transfer your knowledge to the trainees so that it’s implemented in the workplace? If you want your training to stick, there must be a well-defined strategy before, during, and after the training takes place.
BEFORE THE TRAINING
It might sound contradictory, but before you begin designing the training, you should visualize the end. What’s the purpose or objective? (What’s in it for the participants?) Identifying goals at the outset results in realistic expectations.
After you’ve established the goals, reiterate WHY your training is significant to the success of the organization. People need to understand why it matters in order to feel motivated to learn.
If training differs depending on the situation, only teach what people need to know at that particular time. This type of training—or just-in-time training—has the maximum impact (people can immediately practice what they’ve learned).
DURING THE TRAINING
Get to the heart of your training by explaining what’s in it for the participants. This puts the focus on the learner. Make sure your learning objectives are crystal clear, there should be no confusion about why you’re training what you’re training.
Training is a little bit like writing, you start out with a lot of content and then revise, revise, revise until you’re left with just enough to give the reader what they need. Chunk the content into digestable pieces (find creative ways to break the content up). And make the learning interactive. People learn more when they’re engaged, when they’re hearing or sharing real-life experiences, when there’s a scenario-based example that directly relates to the workplace, when they’re doing an activity, when they see the value of the motives.
AFTER THE TRAINING
In order to gauge the effectiveness of your training (and to determine if it stuck in your trainees’ brains), use the teach-back method: pair up participants and ask them to teach one another the key principles of what they’ve learned. Another way to review the information is to play games with what was learned, ask trainees to draw pictures of what they’ve learned, or ask them to complete a personal action plan. Other ways to reinforce what trainees learned—and whether or not they’re applying it—is through a follow-up evaluation after the class, or through refresher courses, to ensure the learning hasn’t been lost.
