How to Make Employee Training Stick is by Tom Watson and Ray Miller
Untrained employees present a bad image for your company. If your workers understand your products or services but cannot communicate effectively with customers, your business will suffer. If your customers do not get the attention from employees that they deserve, they will take their business elsewhere. And if employees can’t get along with co-workers or work as a team, morale and productivity will suffer.
Another view of training
Many companies fail to realize that employee training and development is an underused and underdeveloped method of customer retention. These companies train their employees in how to do their jobs (run a cash register, operate a computer, etc.) but not how to interact with customers or work as a team. Both are equally important.
Recent studies conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), found that the average company in the United States spends only 1.4 percent of its annual payroll on employee training; training that reaches only 10 percent of the workforce. The ASTD has estimated that if a company invests 2 to 5 percent of its annual payroll on training, it should realize about a 10 percent increase in net profit. The ASTD also reports that over the past 50 years, companies have realized a greater return on investment in employee training than on investments in capital improvements.
What employees need to know
It appears that the most effective training programs for increasing productivity and retaining customers include: customer service training; team building; communication skills; and basic sales training. Over the past twenty-five years, we have been offering these types of courses to companies in Canada, the USA, Europe, the U.K. and the Pacific Rim. Our clients report that training does impact their operation, especially in the areas of customer service, employee morale and productivity. However, I’ve noticed that some of our training, albeit a small amount, has not transferred back to the workplace—it didn’t stick. Obviously, whenever training doesn’t have the intended effect, it is of great concern to our company. After all, we are in the business of delivering information and skills people will use after attending training.
Our research has shown that when training doesn’t transfer back to the work place, it is usually the result of the following: employees do not see the relevance of the training to their jobs and/or management does not provide employees with the necessary support and reinforcement of those skills learned. This is true regardless of the quality of training provided. Over the years we have incorporated into our training process information and tools designed to help embed the skills and mind-set needed into the course participants day-to-day routine. We will share our approach below.
How to make it stick.
Be sure that you select the most appropriate employees for training and that the employees understand why they have been chosen. This can best be accomplished by meeting with small groups of employees to explain how the training relates to their jobs and why it is important that they learn and then apply what they learn. Explain how the training can help them improve their performance and what that means to them and the company.
It is equally important to reinforce and support employees after training. Meet with your employees and discuss what was learned and how it can be applied on-the-job. Ask your employees what you can do to help them succeed with their new skills. Provide some coaching if they have not completely mastered what was learned. Be sure to provide positive feedback whenever employees apply new skills on-the-job. Behaviors that get recognized and praised are usually repeated.
The embedding process we now use with our customer focus and service excellence training is a great example of how to effectively make your training stick. Here is a brief overview of some of what we do.
1. Whenever possible we customize the training to reflect the participant’s real world experiences. This ensures that the training participants see that the training is relevant.
2. We also ensure that those in supervisory roles receive the additional training they need in customer-focused leadership. This ensures that they know what they must do to build and sustain customer focus within their areas of responsibility.
3. We provide these leaders with detailed pre and post training activities which are specifically designed to reinforce and embed everything that is covered in the training that their employees receive. This includes recommend service performance standards and accountabilities and a process for incorporating these into the clients performance management process.
4. We also have each training participant complete a personal action plan for how they will implement what they have learned and we provide their supervisors with the tools and coaching approach needed to bring these action plans to life.
5. For larger corporate interventions we also have a comprehensive process developed which is designed to engage the entire organization in building and sustaining customer focus. We call this The Works. Whether you use our on-site classroom courses or a blend with our online certification programs.
6. For larger organizations we provide train-the-trainer certification so they can become fully self-sufficient.
7. In many cases we also provide on-going coaching support with the management team to act as a resource as they transition to greater customer focus.
By using a proven implementation and embedding process tied to world-class training, you can have a more productive workforce and retain and exceed the expectations of more of your customers. Your training will “stick” if it is seen as relevant and is reinforced in a supportive environment. Employee training need not be an expense. It can be an investment.
By Dr. Tom Watson and Ray Miller