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Question:
I have been thinking about your comments in the last LearningAlert on building a learning brand. How does that connect to Cal Wick’s earlier advice on defining business outcomes?
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Answer:
The two are joined at the hip; a person’s satisfaction with something they have purchased depends on how well the product or service meets their expectations.
When a business purchases training – whether from an internal training department or from an external provider -they expect their trainee’s performance to improve afterward. It is the fundamental training brand promise: “Give us resources and your people’s time and we will improve their performance.” Ultimately, for training to be valued by its customers, it has to fulfill this expectation.
To fulfill your customers’ expectations – and build a strong learning brand – you have to know what those expectations are or you are likely to miss the mark. Remember that customers have expectations of training, even if they do not always articulate them. It’s vital for you to work with business leaders to make their expectations explicit and be sure they are something you can reasonably deliver; otherwise, you are “flying blind” and likely to crash.
One of my favorite techniques to help become clear and aligned with customer expectations is to prepare a report showcasing the results and key metrics delivered from the program before designing or running the actual program. In addition to being clear from the very beginning, this process also helps engage your buyer, making them that much more vested in delivering those outcomes. It’s kind of like being at a restaurant and seeing the dishes go by your table before you place your order. As a customer, this sneak peak at what’s to come helps inform the decision that often translates into a more satisfying meal.
What you will discover is that the business leaders expect more than just great training; they expect to see on-the-job improvement as a result. This has several important implications. First, you have to make sure the training gets transferred, not just delivered. This means you have to include learning transfer management (D4) and performance support (D5) as part of the overall program design (see The 6Ds of Breakthrough Learning).
The second implication is that you need to measure outcomes that are directly relevant to the customers’ expectations. Typically, this will require some assessment of on-the-job performance, not just whether trainees liked the course or if they learned something – the real question is: “Did they use it and did it help their performance?”
If you are interested in learning more about what you can do to deliver on the promise of learning, please consider:
- Attending the “Learning Transfer Guaranteed” sessions by Cal Wick and Andy Jefferson at this year’s ASTD International Conference. (M204, TU204, W204)
- Stopping by the Fort Hill Company booth (1604) at the ASTD Conference to speak to one of our transfer experts and learn about our new learning transfer guarantee
- Joining our 6Ds Linked-in group and tap into the expertise of other progressive learning leaders.
How about the rest of you? Join the discussion at: The 6Ds LinkedIn Group and the FHC Blog
