Do you do it? “No way’” you’re saying,
but the truth is, you do this all the time.
It’s classroom training. Sometimes you call it
workshops or seminars, but it’s the same thing.
This ‘solution’ is the corporate cure-all. Customer
service complaints on the rise? Classroom training. Been
sued for sexual harassment? Classroom training. Product returns
spiked last quarter? Classroom training.
And it doesn’t work. Research shows that people forget 85% of
material presented in typical classroom training after only three
weeks. (source: Research Institute of America).
That’s why you get that initial bump in performance and then
a month or two later you’re back to normal. You ask your staff in
frustration “Didn’t we JUST train people on this?” They nod their
heads, shrug their shoulders and roll their eyes. “Stupid people”
is the thought on everyone’s mind.
Not stupid people. Stupid training.
We know in our hearts that classroom training isn’t effective.
If it was, our problems would go away with the training and they don’t.
Yet month after month, year after year, we put people through days
and days of it. Why?
First, it’s easy. K-12 education, college and graduate school
have made classroom training the most familiar teaching format to
us and our employees. We have a formula to do it (slides plus
handouts plus exercises), facilities to do it (rooms, furniture
and flip charts with the fruit-smelling markers) and our employees
know the drill (come in, sit down and listen).
Second, classroom training is deceiving; it looks and feels effective.
You glance around the room and think ‘Wow. We’re reaching 25 people at
once. We’ll have the whole company trained in no time.’ People are
asking questions and nodding. ‘They’re getting it.’ you conclude. You
even have a quiz at the end to prove it.
And yet three weeks later it’s almost all gone.
It’s all about retention.
What matters more: how much you teach or how much they remember?
Stop mistaking content delivery for learning. Your first response to ‘
We need a class on X’ should be: ‘No.’ Followed by: ‘Find a better
method.’
Classroom training should be used solely for topics that require
people in numbers, e.g., public speaking, group dynamics, team-building.
Using it for transferring facts and developing expertise is a waste of time.
Start demanding methods that demonstrate sustained performance
improvements quickly and conveniently.
New Methods are Far Better
Well-structured one-on-one learning or mentoring programs (NOT
the typical OJT used in most organizations) can deliver fantastic
results very cost-effectively.
Technologies like on-line learning, simulations, and social networks
can provide rich environments that engage learners, especially Gen Y and
Millennials, and can promote consistency across a widely dispersed workforce.
There’s a exciting world of knowledge transfer alternatives out there
to choose from. You’ll get better results and your employees will love
you for not making them sit through yet another classroom training session.
Let’s ride!
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