Like many terms, the phrase ‘learning transfer’ seems to mean different things to different people. In organisational learning, it usually refers to the operationalisation of ‘learning’ that has happened in a prior formal event such as a training course, or an eLearning course. Every definition I have seen talks about the application of learning, so the term learning transfer means much more than just transfer, or movement, of learning from one place to another. It also means the translation of that learning into effective action that improves job performance.
Learning transfer is a process that takes place to a lesser or greater degree following a formal learning intervention. And the degree to which it occurs has a direct impact on the value the organisation will harvest from its investment in those interventions.
In this guide, we will focus on training as the formal learning intervention. But the same ideas and processes could be applied to eLearning, action learning sets, coaching interventions, and anything else you might consider as ‘formal learning’, or that would fall into the ‘10’ of the 70:20:10 learning model.
The learning transfer chain
Learning transfer following a training course has several phases, or links in the chain. Each link must be done well for the process to work from end to end. After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
The first chain link is the learning that must take place in the classroom. The second is the ‘transfer’ of that learning into the training delegate’s workflow. The third link is the translation of that learning into new behaviours that are beneficial within the context of that workflow.
Measuring the impact of training
Think of the learning transfer chain as a business process, and like any other business process, it should be measured in order to manage it. Also, like any other business process, it is part of a larger system, a longer chain, and should always be considered within this context.
Despite tools and concepts introduced by Dr Donald Kirkpatrick, Prof Robert O Brinkerhoff, Dr Ina Weinbauer-Heidel and others, learning transfer is still only sporadically measured. And despite the common-sense argument that training not used is wasted money, tools and activities to ensure a successful learning transfer process are often not used at all, or they are superficial and inadequate.
Why do we avoid learning transfer?
Learning transfer seems to be the elephant in many rooms I have been in where a training programme is under discussion. When I point at the elephant, there is usually an acknowledgement of its existence, followed by a slide back into the comforting rut of course delivery.
To me, this elephant is BIG, and impossible to overlook. To me, the case for proactively driving the learning transfer process is self-evident, yet many people choose to behave as if the elephant is non-existent. Why?
I have identified at least 13 barriers to the implementation of learning transfer and shared five of them on TrainingZone here.
How to get started with learning transfer
Let’s return to our chain analogy and see how learning transfer is part of a much longer chain.
The chain generally starts with unease about current performance, and therefore results, or discomfort about an emerging problem. Far too often, this generates a knee-jerk request for training without going through an effective process to verify the training is, indeed, a viable solution to the discomfort.
For your learning transfer activities to be successful, it is essential that the training course, and the rationale for it, are on solid foundations. This knee-jerk request for training is NOT a solid foundation. Arguably, learning transfer starts with ensuring the training, and the transfer of learning from the training, is worth doing at all.
1. Performance consultancy
The first step is therefore performance consultancy. Note, this is NOT learning consultancy. Performance consultancy starts with the premise that there is a performance gap that we need to bridge. As we start the consultancy process, we do not assume anything about the gap or its causes, or how it could be bridged.
The performance consultancy process applies diagnostics to the performance system to find the levers in that system which can change the output of the system. If, and only if, one of the levers is to improve knowledge and skills can we then move to the next link in this learning chain, which is learning consultancy.
Many requests for training will never make it through this performance consultancy filter into the L&D department because the real cause of poor performance is related to the operational environment rather than the competence of the individual performers.
You can find details on a full performance consultancy process in my book Capability at Work: How to Solve the Performance Puzzle.
2. Learning consultancy
The next step is learning consultancy. This starts with the premise, proven by the performance consultancy diagnostics, that there is a learning gap we need to bridge, and a learning intervention, likely alongside other changes, is needed to solve the presented performance issue.
The learning experts should look at the whole picture to design a learning programme that fulfils the learning needs identified in the performance consultancy process. The programme should align with both the strategic and tactical needs of the business, including learning transfer activities and sufficient measurement.
3. Instructional design
The instructional designers can now get to work with their well-established models like ADDIE to design suitable learning interventions. The desire to drive learning transfer should permeate all design decisions for every element of the programme. After all, without learning transfer, the initial formal learning efforts are wasted.
The mindset you need
Successful learning transfer flows from a philosophy of focusing on the business benefits of the learning programme rather than the learning outcomes. The entire learning programme should be treated like a business process. The outputs from each process step should be defined, with each step designed to get those outputs, and finally the outputs should be measured where appropriate.
Setting expectations
If you are developing a learning programme to improve, for example, report writing skills, when can you say that the programme is finished? Only when the report writing skills of all the delegates are sufficiently improved, and are consistent over time so that the desired business benefits have been achieved.
This will usually be months for most learning programmes and even years for some. These timescales MUST be built into the overall learning programme design and expectations set for all concerned.
For example, if it is decided that the training course should be a one-day workshop, how much time does the delegate need to spend both before the workshop on pre-work, and after the workshop on practising and embedding the new behaviours? Three days over 6 months? So, call it a four-day development programme running over six months, one day of which happens to be in the classroom. If you ‘market’ it as a one-day workshop, that is all the time people will release in their minds for the programme, and the lack of follow-up activity will mean it has little impact.
Gaining the commitment of all stakeholders
Successful learning transfer is as much about managing the environment and expectations surrounding a training course as it is about setting activities for people to do. The various stakeholders need to know what their commitment will need to be to contribute to the success of the programme. If they resist this commitment, the learning programme is already on shaky ground. The executive sponsor seeking the business benefits needs to step in and mandate the time commitment, or the business benefits will not be realised.
Managing activities
In addition to managing the ‘culture’ and expectations surrounding learning transfer, delegates need to be set frequent activities – week by week, and month by month after a training course – that build their skills and embed the required new behaviours. We are seeking habitual new behaviours that need to be developed over a learning journey. Habits only form with consistency and practice.
The importance of the manager’s support
If the assigned activities are not done, it is most unlikely that the new behaviours will materialise. Therefore, no discussion on learning transfer can ignore the importance of the delegate’s manager. Without manager support, and someone holding them accountable, most delegates will struggle to implement their new ideas and skills in the hurly-burly of business as usual.
For most managers, supporting a team member through a development programme is a new experience, especially one where there are many and varied follow-up activities. The manager needs support too and, like the delegate, needs to be held accountable for their role in learning transfer.
Technology to support the learning programme
Of course, all this takes administration. Enter the Learning Transfer Platform or LTP. It will allow you to put a wrapper around your training course to manage the entire learning journey, including all the activities focussed on learning transfer.
It will have reporting and alerts to hold the various stakeholders accountable and provide ways of measuring results and change over the course of the programme.
An LTP can operate standalone or alongside your LMS to manage learning transfer. From a 70:20:10 perspective, you could say it is managing the 70 and 20 parts of the learning journey, which are outside the classroom.
Finally…
Successful learning transfer depends on a mindset that permeates the entire learning programme – from design through delivery to the end game. It depends on a focus on business benefits rather than learning outcomes. It depends on all the stakeholders being aware of and committing to their responsibilities to the programme. It depends on those stakeholders being held accountable for their assigned activities. And it depends on sufficient measurement to provide feedback for improvement, and awareness that you have crossed the finish line, and the programme has succeeded.
