why learning transfer is essential

8/3/2019 Why Learning Transfer is Essential

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Elwood F. "Ed" Holton III, is CEO of Learning Transfer Solutions

Global LLC and Jones S. Davis Distinguished Professor of Human

Resource, Leadership and Organization Development at Louisiana

State University, USA. Dr. Holton has led efforts to create theLearning Transfer System Inventory and the Training Transfer

Solution system over the last 15 years. With over 200 articles and

17 books, he is widely considered to be an international expert on

human resource development and particularly learning transfer.

Contact him [email protected]

Dr. Ed Holton is one of the premier experts in learning transfer. Great to work with and extremely

professional.November 29, 2010 Robin Kistler,

Director, LSU Executive Education, LSU -Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute

Ed Holton is one of, if not the, foremost experts in the area of transfer of training and perhaps HRD ingeneral. He has rather ingeniously used the fruits of his career-long research and experience andshaped it into the tools that companies can and should benefit from. Having personally worked withEd on research projects in this area I can definitively say that his solutions are meticulouslydeveloped and designed and boast rigorous theoretical framework (not something you encounterfrequently in HRD consulting). At the same time Eds tools and methods are designed for the real -world, demonstrating his exceptional ability to connect research and practice. Last but not least, he isa pleasure to work with, approachable, and down-to-earth and I have always walked away from aconversation with him feeling like Ive learned something new.November 21, 2010

Bogdan Yamkovenko, PhDOrganizational Development and Research

Coordinator, The Shaw Group

I regard Ed Holton as among the leading experts in the world on the subject of transfer of learning.Although he has written widely and is highly-regarded in the academic community, his unique gift isthe ability to convert ideas to practice and make a real difference in the effectiveness of learning

initiatives in organizations.November 19, 2010Tim Baldwin,

Eveleigh Professor of Business Leadership,Kelley School of Business
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If organizations really needpeople to learn AND to use

what they learn, but transfer

isn't happening then where

does that leave the training

profession?

.

I love training...and I love learning. I really do! In today's

knowledge economy an organization's training/learning

initiatives are one of the best investments it can make.

Learning has the power to transform organizations and

trainers are the professionals charged with the

responsibility to make it happen.

That said, I am also really worried about the future of the

training profession. If organizations really need people

to learn AND to use what they learn, but transfer isn't

happening then where does that leave the training

profession?

If you REALLY love learning and training, then I think we

need to get serious about transfer of training. When I

close my eyes and imagine our profession 10 years from

now, I see a profession that has learned how to make

training transfer into performance. I see a profession

that understands that learning only matters in

organizations when it is used.

I love training....but I want it to reach its full potential.

I have had some interesting conversations lately that

have caused me to do a lot of thinking about transfe

from coaching interventions. The more I thought about it

the more I realized that this is an area we have grossly

overlooked in the past.

I think maybe the assumption has been that coaching

"fixes" the transfer problem. In reality I am not sure this

is true. If you break the process down into four basic

components, all transfer systems are the same. The fou

parts are:

1) Plan

2) Learn

3) Practice

4) Perform

Even though coaching is a powerful intervention that

provides learners more support, at the end of the day the

core transfer question remains--will the learner use wha

they have learned when they are on their own and

performing the job?
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Even though coaching is a

powerful intervention that

provides learners more support,

at the end of the day the coretransfer question remains--will

the learner use what they have

learned when they are on their

own and performing the job?

I don't know what the

estimates are as to how

much learning from

coaching results in

lasting job performance

change, but I suspect

there are significant

issues. After all, how

many of us have

experiences in our

personal lives where we

were successful at

something while someone was "holding our hand" but

then not so successful afterward?

While most of our transfer research and theory has

focused on formal learning from training, it seems to me

that the principles are the same. Its just a different kind

of learning intervention.

I was originally trained in Finance so I totally "get" the

quest to measure ROI from training. BUT---and this is a

big "but"--jumping to measure ROI is waaaayyyyy

premature for most training organizations. Trying to

measure ROI without first working on learning transfer is

simply "putting the cart before the horse."

The simple fact is, if your learning isn't transferring into

job performance change, then achieving a good ROI is

impossible. While learning transfer won't guarantee ROI,

we can guarantee you there will be no ROI without it!

If you think about the causal chain of events, learning

should lead to behavior change on the job, which in turn

should lead to results....which we measure with ROI.

There is an old saying that a

chain is only as strong as its

weakest link. Thus, until we fix

the learning transfer problem--i.e

consistently create behavio

change after learning--there

won't be any results to measure!

My advice--if you haven't worked

on learning transfer yet, forge

measuring ROI (for now). Fix your learning transfer

system first.

I Sure Hope Training Doesn't become the "T" Word

I was talking with a colleague the other day who had

taken a new position with a growing company. He told

me they were being careful NOT to call themselves a

training company because, he said, training has such a

bad reputation.

Yikes! Wow, a whole company that doesn't want to

associate itself with the word "training." The thought o

that kills me because I love training, but at the same time

I understand why they are doing it.

Think about your own department. Do you get the kind o
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Creating real performance changeafter learning events will lead to a

reputation as a "go to" person for

leading change in your

organization. And what

organization doesn't need more

change leaders today!

resources you need? Are you well respected in your

organization? If you are a training vendor, are your

clients applauding the results you achieve for them? Do

you get the repeat business you want?

If the answer is no, then maybe you should think

seriously about investing in learning transfer

improvement. I have personally taken over a training

organization that had no respect and watched the

transformation as we began to deliver real results. The

difference is magical. Think about it.

Why Trainers Should Care About Learning Transfer

Let's face it, creating learning transfer

can cause you extra work. Not a lot,

but it does require you to do more than

just deliver good content. I think that's

part of the reason that many trainers

find it hard to think about adding

learning transfer to their already busy

work days.

So let me tell you why I think it is worth

it for you to go the extra mile to make

learning transfer a priority in your professional work. I

like to call it the "4 R's":

1. Respect - I've never met a trainer who didn't

wish for more respect from their organization. If you

create real performance change after your training, you'll

find that your organization will treat you as a more critica

part of the team.

2. Reputation - Creating real performance change

after learning events will lead to a reputation as a "go to"

person for leading change in your organization. And

what organization doesn't need more change leaders

today!

3. Results - When we talk about learning transfer

we always emphasize what it does for the organization

Lost in the conversation is this simple fact--it feels

REALLY good when you see your learning lead to

results. It's a real high when you know you made a

difference and the kudos feel great! Try it, you'll like it.

4. Resources - Most trainers I know are frustrated

that their organization won't invest more in training

Many executives are frustrated because they don't see

the payoff from investing in training. See the

connection? Produce more performance results and

then you can make a real case for more resources--and

get them!

So the next timeyou are debating

whether to spend

more effort on

learning transfer

remember the 4

R's: Respect

Reputation

Results, and

Resources.
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1) Start small and improve over

time. Take it step by step.

2) Start where the culture will

allow and "stretch" people in small

steps.

3) Create quick wins to gain

credibility in the organization.

4) Find out who the champions

are in management and align with

their organizations.

5) Be patient. As long as you are

moving forward and getting better

you are on the right track.

6) Recognize successes and

publicize them as change leaders.

It can be very intimidating to think about changing your

organization's learning transfer culture. Most likely the

culture you have around

learning transfer--or the lack

thereof--has been in place

for a looooong time.

Changing your culture is not

a quick fix process, but

rather a journey.

You have to think of it as an

organizational change

process just like any other

change process, not just a

technical improvement.

Because learning transfer

has been ignored for so long

people's attitudes about

transfer are very well

entrenched and will take

time to change.

So let's put learning transfer

change in a change

perspective:

1) Start small and improve over time. Take it step

by step.

2) Start where the culture will allow and "stretch

people in small steps.

3) Create quick wins to gain credibility in the

organization.

4) Find out who the champions are in managemen

and align with their organizations.

5) Be patient. As long as you are moving forward

and getting better you are on the right track.

6) Recognize successes and publicize them as

change leaders.

There is an old saying: How

do you eat an elephant?

Answer: one bite at a time

The same is true of thelearning transfer problem in

organizations. You can'

expect to undo decades o

problems in a few months.

The only question you need

to ask yourself is "are you

moving the needle on you

transfer rate each and every

day." If you are making

progress, then you are doing

the right things.

why learning transfer is essential

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