I’m often asked by clients how to ensure that the learning from training courses results in improved performance in the workplace.

As an example, a client has recently asked me to develop a ‘Leadership Skills’ training programme and to outline a plan for ensuring that the learning from the programme would lead to the delegates improving their leadership behaviours.

This is a summary of the plan I have designed for them:

The Plan

Step 1: Define what ‘Leadership Skills’ means at Agency A.

Step 2: Develop performance standards that describe what leadership skills look like in practice.

Step 3: Assess the delegates’ current skills and competency against the performance standards.

Step 4: Prioritise and define as learning objectives the outcomes from the assessment.

Step 5: Design and deliver the training. Introduce the leadership skills performance standards as part of the training. Deliver the training in three sessions with the delegates implementing the skills learnt in each session as workplace projects.

Step 6: Provide coaching to delegates as they implement the skills in the workplace projects.

Step 7: Deliver a review workshop that includes:

1. The identification of any ongoing learning needs and how these will be met.
2. Communicating how the performance standards will be integrated into the performance review system.

Step 8: Ongoing coaching of the delegates by their line manager and management of performance against the leadership performance standards.

Summary

The key is in anchoring the training and learning to performance standards which are then integrated into the performance review system. This means the application of the learning from the training into the workplace is a ‘must do’ rather than, as is sometimes the case, an optional activity. Supporting the delegates in their practice of the skills is, of course, vital.