Has Traditional Training had its day?

There has been a shift in employee development and a greater awareness that training on its own, does not produce the transformational changes that organisations and individuals are looking for.

There is a realisation and recognition that to change behaviours in the workplace and for people to achieve their full potential, on-going and more individual-led development programmes are required. Training has come out of the classroom, gone on-line, become more accessible at a time and place that suits the individual, needs to be more cost-effective and specific to needs of the organisation and individuals.

Mentoring fits well in this individual-led approach to development.

Learning & development in organisations has traditionally tended to go down a formal route, providing class-room courses delivered by external providers, I know I am one of those providers!

Evidence shows that this method of improving performance cannot reliably predict the transformational, long term results organisations are looking for. According to a 2015 ATD research study, only 38% of managers believe that their learning programs meet their learner’s needs. In other words, 62% of HR managers believe that they are not doing a good job meeting the learner’s needs. When investing in training and development in the workplace we need to go beyond the traditional learning in a classroom and work closely with organisations to provide resources and methods that addresses current and future organisational capability demand in the most efficient and effective way. There are still the benefits of traditional training, it is great for imparting knowledge, whether that knowledge is acted upon is debatable.

College is a place where a professor’s lecture notes go straight to the students’ lecture notes, without passing through the brains of either.

Mark Twain

Where does traditional training fail?

What I mean by traditional training is the classroom-based training, with generic content and generic materials and resources delivered by a generic deliverer. It is reliant on the organisation putting the right people on the course, their willingness to learn and reflect and the motivation and accountability to then transfer the learning back into the workplace and continue to develop their knowledge and skills. There is plenty of evidence that shows that transferring that learning into a meaningful context at work is often not forthcoming. How often are training programmes evaluated, followed up, or delegates held to account for their learning?

Only 10% of organisations sampled calculate ROI for their learning programmes

CIPD In-Focus: Preparing for the Future of Learning 2016

One-and-done training does not produce results. The traditional classroom-style session may be an excellent means to deliver information to groups but may not be the best way to educate groups.

Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance.

It takes a lot more than a single event to change a person’s behaviour.

For learning to be applied and be bedded-in, learners need the opportunities and support back in the workplace, this is often lacking. A box has been ticked! The responsibility for improving performance has been deferred to someone else. There is no accountability.

Learning in a traditional way can fail to get translated into action, it can be very short-termism, there is some initial motivation and a ‘high’ having attended the course, a sense of new-found knowledge and skills, but if these aren’t reinforced back in the workplace, individuals can very quickly default back to old habits and ‘the way we have always done it’.

We have all attended fantastic workshops and learnt new ideas, tools and techniques but how many of us then fail, or not be provided with the opportunity to implement that new learning?

Only 12% of employees actually use the training they receive at work

A report by 24×7 Learning: “Workplace Learning – 2015”. September 2015

What is needed is a sustainable and long-term process, delivered in-house where the culture supports the learning and development. We need to develop the whole person not just focus on specific skills and knowledge gaps. To improve performance, to develop skills and behaviours, we need to make changes at a cognitive (the way we think, our mindset), behavioural (we see things differently) and practical (we do things differently) level. Julie Hay distinguishes learning as:

• Traditional learning is learning how to do things, by being taught or observing. This method is what we all grow up with at school and extends to how we tend to learn in the workplace – we get sent onto training courses.
• Transitional learning is learning how we do things differently, i.e. improvement
• Transformational learning is a complete change of perspective, altering the person’s worldview, their mindset and includes an understanding of how to learn.

When learning is transformational and person-centred, it is “one of the most powerful developmental approaches available to individuals and organisations” (Clutterbuck, 1998). Person-centred as in learning that is relevant and meaningful for the person, ‘what’s in it for me’-i.e. by changing the way I think and do things – how will I benefit? We are motivated in different ways to learn, and to change the way people think and behave is one of the greatest challenges for organisations.

With the growth in coaching and mentoring, we have seen the shift towards transformational learning, but classroom based, traditional, face-to-face training remains the most effective way of developing skills (61% for employees and 60% for HR Directors).

There is no doubt that classroom-based training has its place however to make it truly effective, we need to cut out the part of the session that involves ‘content dumping’ and provide practical, performance-related activities along with an opportunity to reflect on practice and ideas and resources to implement change that is relevant and ‘safe’ for the person. Then provide an environment where the learners can practice and hone their skills. The work context, including the level of support from role models, mentors, peers, coaches, and managers, has a powerful impact on turning lessons learned into action.

A study (Freeman, S et al) found that undergraduate students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more stimulating, so-called active learning methods.

Why Mentoring is successful in transformational learning

The most effective way of ensuring that new skills and behaviours are implemented and reinforced is to provide on-going dialogue and self-reflection, mentoring is an efficient, cost-effective method of doing this.

Mentoring can help people learn through experience, change how we see things, develop our mindsets and hold us to account. Mentoring can question assumptions underlying our thinking and behaviour and help us gain a new perspective. Learning involves a change in behaviour at the cognitive level and mentoring can help with this.

Mentoring has the power to accelerate our self-development, career progression, and overall confidence. It is therefore pretty surprising that only 37% of professionals have one, particularly as so many successful people praise and recommend mentorship (Olivet Nazarene University study of 3,000 orgs in 2019).

Learning needs to be reinforced, our memory fades quickly, a review session soon after the original learning can improve it. This session should happen when recall has slipped significantly but has not fallen so low that you’re essentially starting over. Reviewing and refreshing information regularly halts the Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus). Mentoring sessions provides this review, a way of ‘checking-in’.

According to the 70-20-10 rule (Lombardo & Echinger, 1996; Wilson, Van Velsor, Chandrasekar, & Criswell, 2014), you need to have 3 types of experience to learn, following a ratio of:

70% challenging experiences and assignments

20% developmental relationships

10% coursework and training

Mentoring can provide the 90%!

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn

Chinese Confucian philosopher Xunzi (312-230 BC)

Studies show that people apply what they learn more effectively when they have a developmental relationship with someone who understands the organisational context and is committed to helping them be successful.

Mentoring provides an opportunity for the learner to take a step back and reflect on their experiences, what has worked, not worked? What could they do differently? What information do they need? Mentoring allows the learner the time to consider actions needed and how to carry them out. Learning through experience changes how we see things and act. A mentor can help in this process.

Mentoring provides this deep form of learning, through dialogue and reflective practice, it provides transformational learning, new insights, perspectives and ways forward. Through reflecting we gain a new way of understanding an experience and through this we can decide different actions and new behaviours.

Participants are 40% more likely to achieve their goals if they write them down. This increases to 70% if the goals are shared with someone to keep them accountable, such as a mentor.

Gartner 2006

Developing people needs to be more than a ‘sticking plaster’, if you want true change and long-term transformation, we need to take note of underlying beliefs and values, people’s mindsets. Allow time for reflection and provide feedback to help with this process; provide opportunities for experiences and practice. It is only through experience and repeated practice that behaviours become habits. Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People talks about habits being powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness….or ineffectiveness.

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, studied companies that had made the leap to greatness. What distinguished these companies from others? One factor was the type of leader, they have the growth mindset (Carol Dweck). They believe in human development, they are constantly trying to improve. They surround themselves with the most able people they can find, they look at their own mistakes and deficiencies and ask what skills they and the company need in the future. And, because of this, they can move forward with confidence that’s grounded in the facts, not built on fantasies about their talent.

For learning to be effective, learners have to approach it with an inquisitive mind, a mindset of willingness to learn, the desire and motivation to improve and develop, that they are not ‘fixed’, they are open to ideas and learning from others. Mentoring serves these people well, they are like sponges soaking up all the information, experiences knowledge that their mentor can provide them. They are open to feedback and see this as positive, a way of reflecting on their performance and seeking out new ways to improve, to fulfil their potential. Learning for them is within their control, they are accountable for their development and self-managing, learning for them is not something that ‘happens to them’ they are the captains of their own ship.

Summary

Being mentored is one of the most valuable and effective development opportunities you can offer employees.  Mentoring not only helps individuals but is has a ripple effect, it creates a positive company culture and increases productivity for your organisation.

REFS

Cromwell, S. E., & Kolb, J. A. (2004). An examination of work-environment support factors affecting transfer of supervisory skills training to the workplace. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(4), 449-471

Dr. C S Dweck (2017) Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential

Jim Collins (2001) From Good to Great

Lombardo & Echinger, 1996; Wilson, Van Velsor, Chandrasekar, & Criswell, 2014

Scott Freeman, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt, and Mary Pat Wenderoth. PNAS June 10, 2014 111 (23) 8410-8415; first published May 12, 2014

Covey, S, 2013.  7 Habits of Highly Effective People

How I can help…

If you would like to explore mentoring in your organisation and how it can work for you and your staff, then please get in touch. Together we can identify what you want to achieve from a mentoring programme and how to go about achieving it.

I have put together an e-guide on Introducing a Mentoring Programme in your organisation, if you would like a copy, you can download it HERE

More information is available at: www.fptrainingltd.co.uk or email me at: enquiries@fptrainingltd.co.uk or call me on: (+44) 01332 527144