Strategic Performance Impact with Transfer Training

You know the root cause of poor performance. You have validated that training is the solution. But how do you ensure training works?

Recently I viewed a recorded webinar for my course, Human Performance Training, at Purdue University. The guest speaker was Mohan Yang, Ph.D., an alum of Purdue's Ph.D. program and a full-time assistant professor at Old Dominion University. Yang's research interests are in transfer of training, digital transformation, microlearning, accessible design, and online learning.

At the beginning of the webinar, Yang used Gilbert's Behavioral Engineering Model to reintroduce the various factors the root cause can fall into. This tells us what influences work performance and if training is truly the proper intervention to improve performance.

Research found that most of the reasons causing performance issues are categorized as environmental - about 75%.

Yang further shared that training is a costly intervention, increasing in investment ($ Billions) since 2016, reaching 92.3 billion in 2021. Software systems that design learning such as authoring tools/systems, online learning tools & systems, learning management systems, and content development, are among the top products and services intended to purchase next year.

Training costs money. Okay, let's say training IS the solution. As learning professionals, we want to make sure training sticks and is used in the real world. Yang believes we need to justify training afterward and validate that transfer is happening. He further redefines transfer because of its complexity. (K=Knowledge, S=Skill, A=Attitude)

Learners effectively apply newly acquired KSAs from a learning context to a performance context and retain such KSAs for ongoing application to meet training goals

Transfer needs to occur between the learning context and performance context. Yang's deep dive into the performance contexts provides differing situations, a similar context (near transfer) a dissimilar context (far transfer). Similar transfer is when learning is immediately transferred from the learning context into the performance context. Dissimilar context is when learning needs to be contextualized in order for learning to be transferred.

Transfer is key to a learning intervention. Yang demonstrated the Human Performance Training Model visual and explains how transfer plays a key role in the learning intervention to close the gap between actual performance and desired performance.

Transfer has its barriers. Most of the transfer barriers are in the training environment. I learned there are major key players who can help identify and influence barriers to transfer. Yang categorized specific roles that influence the elements in transfer. Trainees play a key role in trainee characteristics, trainers play a key role in training design, and managers play a key role in the training environment.

Using key roles can be strategies to increase transfer. Yang shared a matrix with values between key roles and before/during/after training. The strategy recommendations for using key roles in the training process are as follows:

• Trainer influences frequency before training

• Trainer influences frequency during training

• Trainee influences frequency after training

• Manager influences power before training

• Trainer influences power during training

• Manager influences power after training

This concept of transfer training poses a challenge in the design process because of its complexity and the need to sustain the learning after training has happened. As a learning professional, this positions my learning philosophy differently as I think about how I may validate that transfer is happening. My design approach might not just include learning objectives, defined outcomes, instructional activities, or assessments - but also a transfer strategy.