3 Reasons Training Initiatives Fail
As we slowly reopen business post-pandemic, I see movement in the learning and development world. This is a good thing. We are moving beyond the COVID induced panic work issues to solving long-term business problems. I hear from clients they are ready to move forward after putting on hold employee development initiatives.
But these new training efforts also need to be executed well. Throwing a PowerPoint together with a few talking points is not training. That is presenting. Throwing heavy text on a PowerPoint slide is reading, not training. You get the picture.
To help, in my experience these are the three reasons most often training initiatives fail. Address each one and there is a better chance you will achieve the desired ROI. You got this!
Disengaged or Unrealistic Leadership
Many training initiatives begin when a report or metric presents a gap in the organization. This could be a financial gap (Loss of customers; revenue is down; etc.) or a performance gap (Customer satisfaction surveys; quality standards or service level agreements not met). Sometimes it is a ‘feeling’ from a leader that something isn’t working. This falls into what I call, “Can-you-just-fix-them,” training.
It depends on who notices the gap and the appetite to use resources for fixing the gap that can determine the engagement of the leadership.
SOLUTION: It is the job of training professionals to help leaders see the value of the initiative and their role in its success. Present clearly what you need them to do. Leaders are busy, and they usually aren’t as skilled on the people side of the equation as they are on the metric side. They still may not be as engaged as you would like, but something is better than nothing. Engagement could be an email or short video introducing the new training explaining the importance. Most desired engagement could be the leader participates in the training event and sends follow-up communications after training.
PRO TIP: Employees want more professional development than training that just fixes the company’s issues. This can affect your turnover too. Survey after survey cite that is one of the main reasons employees quit. “Nearly two-thirds of employees say a lack of career development with their current employer would be enough to make them start looking for a new job, according to research published today by Penna.” This is an older article, but the sentiment has been constant. (Click here for entire article.)
Unclear or Bad Processes
All training should be built on strong processes. Even a communications class or motivation speech has a process element to it. The best process is clear and can be fairly easy to understand by anyone in the department with light training. Light training could be a short video or a team huddle. It doesn’t have to be so clear that everyone in the company can understand it. Each department has a language and tone.
SOLUTION: When writing a process think of it from the point of view of the employee who will execute. Assume nothing. Do not assume they understand all the terms used. If needed, create a department dictionary. Many times processes are written by someone who does not, or will not, execute it. Although written with good intentions, they tend to write the process from best case scenario instead of what is easy to understand.
To write a good process, first capture all the steps in sequential order, then hand it to a colleague. Have them try to execute to it to the expected level. If not, revise, then send the revision to a second colleague who is not familiar with the process to test for effectiveness. Repeat until you achieve the desired results.
PRO TIP: Writing processes always take longer than expected. Plan for plenty of time before training design takes place.
The Trainer
My people; my peeps: Trainers. Two aspects about the people facilitating the initiatives that could affect its success.
First, they don’t have the skills to train. THIS IS NOT THEIR FAULT! (Yes, I am shouting!). My experience is this critical position is not given the development efforts required to be successful. Think about this: K-12 teachers must attend college for 4 years, but a corporate trainer (teacher) there is not a comparable requirement. However, training is a specific skill, like accounting. Just because an employee has done the job well and doesn’t fall apart when public speaking, does not automatically make them a good trainer. They need help, and you need to give it to them.
Second, this is a more recent trend, they have multiple responsibilities. They are not only trainers. They are quality assurance coaches. They are supervisors. They wear too many hats for an employee to also be an effective trainer (Caveat: without working overtime that you probably don’t want to pay for. If they are working additional unpaid hours, that is another issue. It is breaking labor laws.) Big picture, successful training takes time. It is not only the time facilitating. It is almost a 2:1 ratio for training development time to facilitating time. Even that would be an experienced course designer working at a quick pace.
SOLUTION: If you are committed to your training initiatives, then it is critical to develop your trainers or anyone who has training as part of their job function. This can be through a Train the Trainer class (Feel free to book time with me, if you would like to explore this option. Click here.), or their local ATD - Association for Talent Development. Another way is encourage your trainers to join online communities of trainers. There are several available on LinkedIn.
To address the second piece, conduct a time analysis of your trainer’s responsibilities. There may be opportunities to consolidate duties to improve the training experience. For example, two trainers both have small supervisory duties. Maybe consolidate the supervisory duties to one of the trainers and remove their training responsibilities, and have the other person become a pure trainer. This could improve your initiative results.
Final Thoughts
Each of these take effort and resources to solve. I feel for you. However, I am always puzzled to see the lack of importance placed on training in companies, given the high percentage of change management failures and high employee turnover numbers.
Philosophically, we spend 12 years of schooling to just become a somewhat functional adult. Yet in corporate life we are almost never given more than a few unorganized days to learn a job that could financially or organizationally impact the company’s future. Why is that?
Hopefully, by solving for the three reasons above, you set in motion to create a better informed and productive employee workforce. Anyone can do it. The companies that do? Well, they experience different outcomes. Excellence doesn’t just happen. It is strategic; it is trained.
“Philosophically, we spend 12 years of schooling to just become a somewhat functional adult. Yet in corporate life we are almost never given more than a few unorganized days to learn a job that could financially or organizationally impact the company’s future. ”
