I Focused on Training but Should Have Focused on Learning

They trusted me with our most valuable asset, our people. They gave me stewardship over a large cash investment for employee development and I couldn’t show the return on investment. I was supposed to make a difference, but I didn’t.

They asked, “Do you have any facts, evidence or data that shows training changed anything?”.?I embarrassingly answered, “No, I don’t.” And now, all I can do is reflect on what I could have done differently.

I should have been clear about the business goal, not the training goal. I should have talked to the goal owner(s) first so that every decision, action and intention was aligned to the business goal. I should have made the connection between learning outcomes driving employee performance and employee performance driving business results. I needed to know the business metric used to measure results. I had no idea because I was focused on “training”.

I should have engaged stakeholders in discussion about learning and development being part of the solution but not the solution.?I could have shown how to isolate the impact of learning and development to appropriately determine the “piece of the pie” that learning and development owned in achieving the goal.?I could have reinforced the idea that training is not a silver bullet and that achieving goals is a team sport but I was focused on "training".

I should have examined performance requirements for achieving the goal.?I wasn’t clear about the skills, behaviors and capability people needed to help the business win.?I didn’t think about expectations for how people needed perform in their role, day-to-day and the impact of their performance on achieving goals.?I didn’t think about learning and development’s impact on performance and how performance requirements inform decisions about instructional design. I was focused on “training”.

I don’t know if people learned anything new as a result of training.?Were there any meaningful (or measurable) knowledge gains that changed behavior??Were there gaps between knowledge requirements for meeting performance expectations and current knowledge??Would support for knowledge transfer influence changes in behavior??I had no answers and no ideas because I was focused on “training”.

I don’t know if we selected the right solution.?Maybe classroom and PowerPoint was not the best choice but it was "training".?I could have considered other solutions like social learning, or a self-paced simulation with features for practice, feedback and repeatable use for on-going learning and performance support. Maybe I should have considered a video channel that captured thought leadership and examples of best practice.?I didn’t consider any of these options and now, I regret it.

So here I sit in the midst of my regret and the question that haunts me is, “Do you have any facts, evidence or data that shows training changed anything?”. I’ve heard of using measurement, data and analytics as fact-based evidence for impact, but I didn’t expect to be asked for anything beyond what I’ve always provided; number of people trained, cost for training, number of training hours, number of classes offered, participation by delivery channel and the number of people who "liked" the training. I had no data to answer the question, “Did training work?”.

I should have had a plan for collecting facts, evidence and data for learning's impact on goals and performance. I should have investigated efficiency, effectiveness and outcomes. All I had was a PowerPoint presentation for how many courses we offered, how many people completed training and results from a post-training survey that showed people liked the instructor, the classroom building and the food. I had no proof that “training” changed anything.

I was focused on “training”. I should have focused on a learning and development solution aligned to the business strategy with measurable impact on goals and performance. I should have focused on showing learning's impact with facts, evidence and data. Now I know that learning and training are not created equal.

This is a story not about me but one I hope my learning and development brothers and sisters never have to tell about themselves. Focus on learning and facts, evidence and data for impact, not on "training".

About the Author

Kevin M. Yates?is a learning and development detective and solves measurement mysteries. He uses facts, clues, evidence, and data to investigate the impact of training and learning.