TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Both learning and training processes are important for development of company and its
employees. Benefits from these two processes would ensure daily and future work tasks can
be done smoothly and effectively. However, these two processes must be differentiated and
understood in order to maximize the outcome from both processes. Simply put, learning and
training are different by definition, its characteristics and methods.

While training is a conscious process of conveying information to instruct trainees about

through various methods of demonstration including speech, presentation or others, learning
on the other hand is an information absorbing process in order to increase ones skills and
capabilities. When a new employee is hired, that person will go through training about daily
work processes and how to carry out them. This process is important so that employees know
their job responsibilities and able to do the day to day operations in their own way. Different
than training, learning is a way to equip an employee with necessary knowledge and skills in
non specific and unexpected situation in which could be used to tackle futures issues.
Moreover, training usually does not have a follow through as a part of assessment except the
evaluation but for learning, usually there will be a follow through assessment after each
learning session to test and determine the abilities of the learner.

Even though training on the daily routine process seems to be easier than learning new
knowledge, companies even the big ones have failed in the implementation and utilizing the
benefits of training and development. Through comprehensive evaluation, these failures in
training and development and reasons behind it can be identified. Many studies and reviews
have been done to identify the reasons.

Lack of alignment in business needs is one of the reason why training and development
fails. Training is only beneficial if only its benefits are aligning with its business needs.
Thousands of dollars invested in training and development can be wasted if only a small
measure of benefits can be gain from it. This can be caused by the wrong trend and need for
unlinked training. Before any training can be done, its needs must be assessed and its
objective must be able to be perceived so that the training can deliver its impact. Without this
alignment and connection, core courses of training and development may not be connected to
any business results. One of the best examples to show the alignment between business
measure and training needs is the Linking Needs Assesment chart.
 One of the positive business impacts from training and development is the change in
personals behavior towards better and to get this impact, the training process itself must be
continuous and consistent. This means that regarding training as an event a series of events is
also a reason on why training and development fails. Two day workshop can be fun if treated
as one time event but its effect is little on behavior changing. Same goes with training camp,
if no further assessment or continuous evaluation to follow through, its benefits will soon
diminishes. Clearer example can be taken from building up our body. Little effect can be
gained from few times from gym attending but consistent workout can build our muscles
significantly. Thus, taking or regarding training as just an event is totally not a good catalyst
for business impact in training.

Furthermore, training sometimes can be mistaken as the only solution. Failing to

recognize other non training solution can make training produces zero impact. One study case
is a training program of a major bank in United States of America. The training program is
supposedly to train their relationships managers to prepare them to sell banks products that
are different than what they usually sell. The training result was poor and subsequent study
showed that the managers arent satisfied and their behavior would not change unless their
compensation system changes. The real problem was the existing commission was not
accountable with the product. This problem could have avoided if the compensation system
was changed in accord with each products that they sell. Thorough analysis can recognize
other solution which can occur because of motivation deficit, work environment and others.
Thus, failing to recognize other solution than training can be the reason why it fails.

Nowadays, many banks including in this country, offers leadership development program
for their executive and new employees. There is an example of a good executive leadership
development program by one of the largest bank in U.S. The program which involves four
week of modules and assignment for their trainees and mentors has a moving plan.
Unfortunately, the costs were too high and the end result was under expectation. A training
and development program can be costly which usually covers from its assessment,
development, program materials, facilities, and etc. Fortunately, there are also many effective
training network and program that can deliver reasonable price for each participant with
satisfying results. In Malaysia for an example, our government agencies offers various
training and course program at good price such as courses provided by National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Malaysia Human Resource Development Fund
(HRDF).
 When training is over, most company dont evaluate the impact on individual who
participated the program directly thus, making the participants not being held accountable for
the results. With this situation, top managements and trainers can be blamed. A study also
showed that participants do not realize that the results are totally depends on them. They must
apply what they have learned and trained and realize that the application can bring programs
success. Several leadership programs result analysis in a famous technology firm revealed that
participants have blamed their intermediate managers for lack of training supports. The results
of the training can only be succeed if the participants are motivated and realized that
themselves are held accountable for the results.

Other than that, failure to prepare the environment for transfer of skills and benefits from
the training also is the reason why training fails. Study shows that huge percentage of skills
that newly learned from training are not applied because of barrier transfer in the work
environment. No opportunity and time to use the skills, no resources available and reward
system to support the skills, no need to apply what has been learned are one of many
examples of barrier transfer. It is important to recognize these barriers at the early process in
order to minimize or eradicate it to prepare the environment so that those skills can be used.
This problem has long existed because there is only a little attention paid to it until it became
a major problem; a hindrance for the training benefits and impacts.

Objectives of training must be differentiated from the objectives of traditional learning;

they are at different level. Training objectives should be at Kirkpatrick level which is the level
4 which can give desired business impacts that corresponds with measures for a balance
approach of training. If there is a lack of focus and specific direction from program designers
and stakeholders included, the training program may lose its desired impact. With multiple
levels objectives driven designed program, all those involved including executives, sponsors,
trainees and trainers will really have the idea of how to apply the training and how to support
the training.

A training and development program is said to be successful when its business impacts can
be seen. Regardless of other factors, processes or influences that may affect the business
impacts, many assumed and credited the success to training program alone. This failure to
isolate the effects of training can cause some training benefits to be discredited. Thus making
training with its business improvement connection blur. It is important to identify the effect as
it also would be useful for upcoming trainings. To identify the effect of training, there are
several techniques to make the connection clear such as the trend line analysis, use of experts,
forecasting methods, several levels estimate of impacts, and customer inputs.

Executives are the leading examples to employees. Their roles are much more than
managing and allocating days of specific training. Actual presence and involvement of
individuals from executives is important. Executives should give strong commitment in
training. Lack of commitment from executives in training is also the reason why training and
development fails because commitment from executives means more resources and visible
model for a training program.

Feedback and information from every result of training and development are important.
Sponsors, stakeholders and top executives are often demand these useful information. Even
employees and participants need this to track and self evaluate their performance while
designer need it to further analyze and improve their training module and program. Without
this information and a good stream of result data, chances of making more successful and
failure evaluation of training aspects cannot be completed.

In a nutshell, it is truly important to recognize these reasons. All necessary work should be
done in order to meet with the objectives and expectations and also to prevent a training and
development program from failing.

Reference:

1. Tim Baker, 4 September 2014, What Is The Difference Between Training and
Learning and Development? Training Journal.
2. Jack J Phillips & Patti P. Phillips, September 2002, Elevens Reasons Why Training
and Development Fails and What You Can Do About It.
3. Ann Latham, 2 October 2013, Why Training Fails, Association for Talent
Development.
4. Michael Beer, Magnus Finnstrom & Derek Schrader, October 2016, Why Leadership
Training Fails and What to Do About It, Harvard Business Review.