Will Training Really Solve That Problem?

This is the fifth of eight expanded articles from each of the points in the initial article in this newsletter, "L&D is Behind the Times: Here's How We Catch-Up." This article focuses on point #5: Ensure a learning solution is the right solution.

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As a learning professional, I've been the recipient of many requests from business leaders that sound something like this, "The team can't do ____ (or is struggling with ____), they need training. Can you help me?"

Believe me, I'm flattered that a business leader would think to come to learning professional to help solve a team challenge. But, I've also learned to proceed with caution.

A training solution can seem like an easy button when something isn't working. But training can't solve every problem. In actuality, it solves very few. In the book, Performance Basics, Joe Willmore notes that only 10-15% of employee performance issues can be solved by training alone.

Consider the costs of providing a training solution when that isn't the solution that is needed. Time and resources needed to create and deliver a training solution are quite costly. We often don't quantify the staff salary dollars involved.

Let's say the training requested is on the simpler side, not a full learning program, but a one hour refresher workshop. A single learning professional will spend 40+ hours creating an instructor-led workshop, according to Synapse. In this example, the business has just spent your weekly salary (at minimum) on the creation of a new training and the salary of everyone who sat in the workshop for an hour plus the cost of the work that didn't get done due to pulling them out of production. All those dollars spent on something that won't solve the problem. Does that seem like a good use of time and resources?

Then, there's the intangible result. The credibility of L&D doesn't depend on the workshop's engagement level, creativity, fun, or interaction. It depends on whether the training worked and the problem is resolved. If a solution is expected from training and not delivered, it's pretty easy to point the finger right back at L&D.

So, what are we to do?

We must exercise skills related to strategic decision making and performance consulting when fielding requests to ensure that we are spending company time and resources in the best way possible, on the strategies that will solve the problems presented.

My standard response to requests has become, "Thanks for asking our team to be part of the solution. I'd love to help you solve that challenge. Before we can dive into creating training, I need to learn a bit more..."

It's a gracious response that acknowledges a problem and commits to helping but doesn't commit to training right away. Instead, it opens the door to further exploration. Then, I can ask more questions to get to the root cause. In some instances, I will request documentation/data or access to the team to shadow or interview them and find out more.

Training can only solve problems that are rooted in lack of knowledge or skills. We can't out-train clunky processes, ineffective technology, a manager who doesn't give feedback, lack of access to needed resources, or incentive programs that reward the wrong behaviors, to name a few.

If we focus our time and efforts strategically on those problems where training can solve, or partially solve an issue, we maximize time and resources and minimize waste. That makes our services even more valuable.