Measurements that Matter: Short-term learning or Long-Term Behaviour Change?

Measurements that Matter: Short-term learning or Long-Term Behaviour Change?

Aligning leadership development with business is critical; organisations will expect to see a connection between learning and development (L&D) initiatives and the impact they have on their business.? L&D professionals are under increased pressure to effectively evaluate their leadership development training and initiatives, however, the lack of time, budget, and resources available to L&D teams means they must work even harder to derive value for individuals, HR and the overall organisation.

It makes sense (but is not necessarily common practice) that L&D professionals need to focus their efforts on what matters most to the organisation and the individuals working within it; i.e. focus on behaviour change to create a positive, long-term impact for the business, rather than the short-term enjoyment of a programme.

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Setting up to fail?

We have all been on training courses where post-training questionnaires are issued to evaluate a course, highlight the skills learnt and confirm how relevant the course was to an individual. Whilst post-training questionnaires may provide a quick, positive response to the skills learnt during a course, if we fast-forward a few months, do organisations actively consider whether the programme learnings have actually been put to use, rather than merely fading into a distant memory?

Typically, L&D teams may therefore be setting themselves up to fail because their initiatives are not measured or implemented effectively from the outset. This may be for several reasons:

• Insufficient time spent identifying key objectives and measurement criteria ahead of a programme
• Measurement being focused on assessing individuals’ reactions to learning or their intention to apply learnings, rather than their actual implementation of learning (the ‘say-do’ gap)
• Programmes being implemented without first addressing or determining the real issues that need to be addressed
• Training typically being used to plaster over a wealth of performance management issues rather than specific skills development needs
• Delivery of one-off workshops without post-programme application and sustainment activities not being enough to embed learning
• A lack of time and space being provided to help individuals practice and embed their learning post-course.

Organisations may therefore not be truly seeing the long-term benefits they might hope for from programmes or initiatives, simply due to their planning (including problem identification, consultation with business and detailed measurement approach) being rushed ahead of the design phase.

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The Importance of behaviour change

Behaviour change is the practice of changing people’s behaviour for the long-term, with the goal that those behaviours come naturally when repeated over time.?Behaviour is key to successful change management and is vital for organisations that wish to evolve and remain competitive in today’s society.

Successful leadership development programmes may often hinge on some form of behaviour change to have the desired impact for the individual, their team and the organisation. However, according to CIPD’s Learning Skills Work Report (2021), a quarter of organisations do not conduct any form of programme evaluation and 13% of organisations evaluate behaviour change by assessing learning transfer. So why is this?

Firstly, the current climate that individuals are faced with makes behaviour change so much more difficult... lack of time, energy, motivation, and hybrid working are key barriers to this. ?

Secondly, behavioural change is not achieved by one-off events, rather it is the combination of individuals being primed, engaged and sustained through continuous learning activities in their roles which should be reflected in L&D initiatives. If behaviours are sustained, the desired impact on the business is highly likely, whereas if the desired behaviours are not sustained, the chance of a positive impact is low.?Organisations that have a stronger learning culture will most likely find that behaviour change is easier.

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Setting up to succeed

Behaviour change is not easy. L&D teams are under pressure to do more with less and rarely have the resources to design the ideal initiatives and the time to discuss a clear measurement strategy. Therefore, they need to be focused on implementing and measuring what truly matters to the organisation and the individuals working within it.

To set themselves up for success, L&D teams should be curious and take more of a future-focused approach to understand their organisation, diagnose problems, and use evidence skilfully to inform their initiatives. Here are five things L&D teams can do to encourage behaviour change:

1.???? Identify the key problem in the organisation or team - What behaviours need to be changed? Why do we need this behaviour? Why is the behaviour not being carried out?

2.???? Establish the purpose of the initiative – What is most important to organisations and what impact would you like to see? List out the key skills and critical on-the-job actions that you would like to change aligned with the organisational priorities. What difference (impact) do we want to see as a result of the initiative that can help individuals and organisations?

3.???? Be clear about what measurement criteria you are using. Explore different methods to capture your data. There’s a wealth of quantitative (e.g. Kirkpatrick and Kaufman) and qualitative (e.g. Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method) methods available that can be used and combined.

4.???? Shift the focus of programmes from (more frequent) intense training ‘events’ to creating ‘learning and application journeys’ which incorporate more focused on-the-job application exercises.

5.???? If using ‘learning and application journeys’, ask questions which identify how much behaviour was applied retrospectively rather than a hypothetical ‘what is your intention’ to apply learning. Knowing you should do something and actually doing it, are not the same thing.

Long-term behaviour change and evaluation is challenging, but when done well, can be fruitful for an organisation, individuals and L&D. There are several factors that influence the successful application of learning after programmes, so it is important to identify barriers and enablers that have an impact on behaviour change to provide further understanding. An individual’s level of motivation and ability, as well as organisational factors such as role-modelling and support available, are all necessary requirements for an effective transfer of learning.?‘Measuring what matters’ may sound more daunting than you think; the key is to stay focused, think with the end in mind and encourage continued engagement with your key stakeholders.

Next Steps

If you are interested in building leadership effectiveness and impact in your organisation, you can explore my four separate and complementary services below:

• Leadership Coaching: 6 months Coaching for Clarity Programme for Directors and Senior Managers
• Leadership Development: Leadership training, including Emotional Intelligence and Agility in Leadership and Leaders as Coaches: Coaching Skills
• Leadership Assessment: Leadership exploration, feedback and development on a range of leadership tools, including EQi and Hogan.
• Coaching Culture Strategy: Coaching Audit to analyse current coaching state with recommendations. Clarity Coaching sessions for Learning and Leadership Development Professionals.

You can book in an introductory call here to talk through how you want to take your leadership development and coaching to the next level: Contact Me — Nicola Butcher Psychology

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January 19, 2023