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Transfer of Learning: Why Does *Good*
Training Fail? (Part 1)
(March 2002)
This article is excerpted from a recently released publication called Transfer of Learning: A Guide for Strengthening the Performance of Health Care Workers. This guide is a result of collaboration between Intrah/PRIME II and the JHPIEGO Corporation.
The primary purpose of this guide is to share strategies and techniques that can be used before, during, and after training interventions to ensure support for the transfer of knowledge and skills to improved performance on the job. The strategies and techniques for transferring learning are presented in an easy-to-use matrix that serves as a table of contents for the rest of the document.
The information in this guide enables all of the stakeholders involved in a training intervention to play their respective roles in ensuring that transfer of learning occurs. Stakeholders in the training and learning process may include policymakers and officials at national, regional and local levels, program planners, supervisors, trainers, learners and their co-workers. For learning interventions to be successful, stakeholders must work together as partners with a common goal. While this guide outlines specific actions for supervisors, trainers, learners and their co-workers, other stakeholders can also use this information to gain an appreciation of the process and an understanding of the support and resources needed to ensure transfer of learning.
This article will be the first installment of many that will give you a preliminary glimpse of this very useful guide.
Why does "good training" fail?Many trainers and instructional designers have experienced the frustration of designing and delivering a stellar training intervention only to find out after training that the learners are not performing on the job as expected. Supervisors also experience frustration when staff members participate in training interventions but then do not use their new knowledge and skills to improve their work. Upon completion of the training intervention, the learners had demonstrated the skills competently and passed the knowledge test--so why are they now unable to perform those same skills at their work place? There are many possible reasons.
Historically, training interventions have rarely been successful in resolving job performance problems caused by factors other than lack of knowledge and skills. In some situations, learners acquire knowledge and skills during training only to find that they are not supported in using this new information in their work environment.
Before embarking on the design of a learning intervention and making an investment of resources in training, it's imperative to make certain that you are dealing with a performance issue that can be "fixed" by training. Once you've invested in training, you must then ensure that your learners are supported on the job by their organizations, their work environment, their supervisors and their co-workers.
The literature on performance improvement describes several primary factors, often interrelated or complementary in their impact, that support good performance in the work place (see list that follows). When a performance problem is identified in terms of these factors, a solution or intervention usually becomes clear.
Healthcare providers can only perform as well as the systems that support them. Leaders and supervisors are responsible for building and sustaining organizational structures that enable providers to work at expected performance levels. The five performance factors are tools that can be used to analyze performance and provide exemplary support.
Performance Factors and Possible Interventions
- Job expectations - Do providers know what they are supposed to do?
Possible Interventions:
- Provide adequate performance standards and detailed job descriptions
- Create the necessary channels to communicate job roles and responsibilities effectively
- Performance feedback - Do providers know how well they are doing?
Possible Interventions:
- Offer timely, constructive, and comprehensive information about how well performance is meeting expectations
- Physical environment and tools - What is the work environment like, and what systems are in place to support it?
Possible Interventions:
- Develop logistical and maintenance systems to provide a satisfactory physical environment and maintain adequate supplies and equipment
- Design workspace to suit activities
- Motivation - Do people have a reason to perform as they are asked to perform? Does anyone notice?
Possible Interventions
- Seek provider input to identify incentives for good performance
- Provide positive consequences for good performance and neutral or negative consequences for below-standard performance
- Encourage co-workers to support new skills
- Skills and knowledge required to do the job - Do providers know how to do the job?
Possible Interventions
- Ensure job candidates have prerequisite skills
- Provide access to trainers and information resources
- Offer appropriate learning opportunities
The final factor on the list, required knowledge and skills, is addressed primarily through training and learning interventions. Interventions directly targeting the other four factors are not described in detail in this guide. However, supervisors and other stakeholders often need to address these factors to help ensure that the knowledge and skills acquired by learners results in improved performance on the job.
Next week--when you read about the strategies proposed for transferring learning--you will see many references to these performance factors and the organizational structures that support performance.
For more information about Transfer of Learning, contact Rick Sullivan at rsullivan@jhpiego.org.Read the full Transfer of Learning Guide