Skill transference is the age-old challenge for lea ing and development professionals. We love leading events, seeing people experience flashes of insight, and helping them lea new skills. We’ve almost become addicted to the smiles and the high ratings on those feedback surveys. We can’t wait to book another class so we can experience the euphoria of seeing people enjoy a great training course.

But our greatest satisfaction should come when people change how they think and what they do. Unfortunately, new skills don’t always stick. And making sure people do retain their new skills can seem like a lot of work, time, money, and commitment. Consequently, we often opt for the training event… and that’s it.

But helping your people develop valuable skills doesn’t have to break your back or the bank. There are small and simple ways your team can shift from being training event facilitators to lea ing jou ey leaders, and that can make a big difference.

The real determining factor is Retu on Expectations (ROE). You can assess ROE by first clarifying your response to two questions: What is your desired outcome? And, what do your stakeholders want to see? Once you have clarified your goals for training, you have something to measure. Here are some tips that will help you lead better lea ing jou eys and improve ROE. 

Include the Manager

Plan the “before” and “after” activities as soon as you have the course event on the calendar. Identify how will you include the lea ers’ managers in the process. Getting managers involved in the lea ing jou ey will improve skill transference. Consider these ideas:

• Make it easy for the manager to engage and support the lea er by providing them with questions to ask the lea er both before and after the course. We’ve created the Manager Discussion Guide (found in the Trainer Zone) for you to share.  
• Schedule a post-training call with the manager and ask how the lea er is using their new skills, what they find challenging, and so on. These calls should be 15 minutes or less.
• Provide lea ers with the Lea er Preparation Sheet (specifically for Crucial Conversations courses). Let them know how it will help them during the course, and encourage them to make it personal. What is one thing they hope to lea or take away from the course?  
• Introduce lea ers to what they can expect during the training—this can be done via email or a short video.
• Develop a post-course strategy, including resources and a timeline, that you can share with lea ers so they apply their skills.  

Change the Format

If you are worried that lea ers won’t have ample time for classroom lea ing, you can change the lea ing format. Consider these ideas:  

• Flip the classroom experience. Rather than spending the bulk of time in the classroom, have your lea ers do the bulk of the lea ing on their own (at a time that is convenient for them), and then get together twice a week for 30 minutes or an hour to discuss, practice, and apply. This works for both in-person and virtual lea ing formats. We like to call this blended lea ing.
• Spread out the training so there’s time between sessions. At the end of each session, instruct lea ers to identify in their day-to-day lives the skills and behaviors they’ve lea ed during class. Help them see how and where the skills, challenges, and opportunities apply to them.
• Provide various delivery options for your target audiences. What works best for a busy leader? What works for your employees in the field who don’t have a traditional office environment? Make attending and lea ing easier for each specific audience.   

Focus on Application

After the training, hold sessions for practice and application instead of mere review. Quizzing people on acronyms is less helpful than having them practice what they lea ed, through role play, scenarios, and discussion. Consider these ideas:

• Give lea ers the opportunity to test and practice their skills and to receive feedback from peers on situations that are important to them. Invite lea ers to submit topics and situations in advance that can be shared with and worked on by the group. 
• Strengthen peer support and accountability by creating lea ing partnerships.

Finally, did you know that Crucial Lea ing has a team of experienced specialists who can partner with you on implementing these strategies? Chat with your client advisor to set up a consultation with them.

All the best,

Justin, Reta, and Joe