March has been a good time in the US - the promise of spring, but still with some undesired snow. Many companies are getting excited about new initiatives at this time of the year. It seems like springtime inspires HRD professionals to proactively launch programs and processes to create their much-needed positive contribution to the business.
Don’t Let a Good Program Go Bad
I would like to share one such situation with you. I have a new high tech client in the northern part of the US that is excited about a front line leadership program they are preparing to launch. The good news is that the training program is terrific. The bad news is that it will likely fail to come close to meeting the expectations of senior business stakeholders. The reason I am detailing this situation is that this is often the rule not the exception, and that there are many lessons to be learned.
As a little background, I am being asked to come in to this corporation just prior to the launch. I would have liked to be involved much earlier on, but only recently did the launch team think that it might be a good idea to include “some evaluation.” I will not go into specific details about the program, as it is important to keep the identity of the organization confidential.
As I look through the actual training material, I am quite impressed. Not only do the topics seem sound, but the material is to be presented in very effective ways. I then reflect on that fact that hundreds and thousands of companies every year launch programs like this - some of which deliver on (stakeholder) expectations, and most that do not. As I mentioned above, without some urgent intervention and a disciplined execution of some basic learning principles, this will be one that is not successful.
Let me review what the positive aspects of this program are:
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Dedicated, well-meaning, intelligent learning professionals. |
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An eager group of participants who have a strong desire to improve their effectiveness. |
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Excellent training materials. |
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Excellent facilitators. |
While there are several positive organizational aspects to the culture, there are equally many factors that I believe will work against ultimate success:
| 1) | While they have done a good job of determining general expectations, they have not converted those expectations into desirable, measurable outcomes. The problem with that is that they will a) have no accurate way of ultimately determining if the initiative is a success, and b) not be able to target the content of the training and the reinforcement after the event to focus energy toward specific outcomes. |
| 2) | The culture of the company is one of “genuine and complete trust” that employees will take what they learn from a training program, and have the wherewithal to apply what they have learned. Therefore, they do not believe much reinforcement is required to ensure that the targeted behaviors actually occur on the job, leading to the desired outcomes. |
| 3) | The initiative is starting from the bottom and working up. In other words, the senior leaders will be the last ones to participate in the program. In addition, there are no plans to either introduce the senior leaders to the content of the program prior to its launching, or specific ways in which they can help reinforce it. |
Unfortunately, the three issues mentioned above might be serious enough to be deal breakers. The overarching and common belief manifested here is that the training event will lead to business success. And, if you have read any significant amount of our SMR and SMR USA material, you know that that simply is not true. Training needs to be targeted to the business, and that needs to start with a clear picture of what the training is supposed to deliver. Not only is this important in creating value for the business, but it also sets the stage to be able to demonstrate the value that training played to the bottom line.
What is at the root of this disaster-in-waiting? The senior team at this company does not see the value in training. Ouch. If they did, they would want to be trained, and would be asking how they can support training. They likely see training as a “necessary evil”, but do not believe it is a major contributor to the execution of their strategy. They are wrong. If training is done the right way, with needs-based design and development, and excellent delivery, there is no stronger contributor to the bottom line.
I write this to give you pause to assess your own situation. If you see a similar situation unfolding in your organization, please contact one of us at SMR USA and we will offer some guidance in how to turn your training program and initiatives into high value and high visibility.
SMR USA Inc. Public Sessions, 2008
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