Do you “Train” or “Facilitate Learning”?

In the last decade or so, organizations have done every bit they can to become effective learning and development OR training organizations. Training managers work round the clock to ensure that employees learn and grow in their chosen domains. The moot question is whether the training programs are effective enough to achieve the overall organizational and fulfil business needs while, at the same time, maintaining high interest and motivation level in employees. There could be several responses to this question and these could vary from organization to organization.

Most organizations would respond quickly by saying that they have well-defined training programs, which take care of all of these needs. But when asked how they evaluate the effectiveness of training, there could be some significant pauses in their response. That’s understandable because evaluating or judging the effectiveness of training programs is a complex task and there are some subjective areas where difference of opinion may exist. So we will not jump into those muddy waters. Instead, our aim here is to simply find out how training is conducted in organizations or, more realistically, to answer the question, “Is learning happening within the organization?”

G-Cube is the preferred learning partner for several organizations. As a result of this engagement, we have found there are certain questions the responses to which may help us find some key insights. This, in turn, can help us make better learning programs. Some of these questions could be:

• Does your training program support employees in identification of their personal learning needs and assist them in finding ways to meet these needs?
• Do you devise learning programs that focus on the application of knowledge and skills to the job?
• Do you tailor learning solutions to meet the needs of employees and the organization, or are there generic programs for most of the audience?
• Does your training program enable employee and organizational learning from various relevant sources (not limited to only the ones used in training programs)?
• Do you measure the success of the training program only by the satisfaction level of employees about the learning experience?

Of course, there are various other parameters for defining and executing an effective learning program, besides the answers to the above questions. So, it may often be difficult to determine whether the training program is meeting its defined objectives or whether it is meeting the expectations of the business and the people (includes stakeholders, sponsors, employees, etc.). The answer may remain ambiguous.

In many cases, we have seen that stakeholders and sponsors endeavour to enable their employees through valuable learning (or training) programs. However, various constraints – such as duration of training, employees’ availability, content redundancies, and budgetary issues – make it difficult to get the required results. In such situations, it may be better to delay training (rather than deliver something that does not meet the objectives) till these factors become more aligned and conducive.

In other scenarios, there may be no real requirement of a training program for the identified need; nevertheless, trainers or learning partners are still asked to develop the program because of certain high-level agendas. What can a learning partner or trainer do in such situations? The answer to this question depends on individual choices and responses, and we leave these to readers. Whatever be your stand, it is highly recommended that trainers or learning partners should facilitate learning rather than just deliver the same. At the same time, organizations need to ensure that training programs are not only worthwhile but also meet the expectations of the people and the business. There could be various methods to achieve this, and the success of these methods depends on how realistically and comprehensively the business case is evolved and analyzed.