Introduction

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.

Performance Improvement (PI) is a systematic approach to solving performance problems or creating effective new performance. PI offers a set of easy-to-use tools designed to achieve organizational goals. The PI approach identifies the root causes of performance problems and the interventions needed to close the gaps between actual and desired performance. For information about Performance Improvement and the performance factors, consult http://www.pihealthcare.org, the website of the USAID Performance Improvement Consultative Group.