Case Study 10

Tools for Application of Learning

Situation/Need

Whatever the intervention: training course, workshop, coaching session, team development programme etc., the real value comes from what happens afterwards.

The extent that the participants are able to apply the learning from the intervention will determine the value obtained from the investment of time and money.

All of our clients need a range of application tools that will help transfer learning back to work.

Approach/Solution

Before the intervention, effective preparation is vital. We provide self-assessment questionnaires, personal profiles and briefs to guide a conversation between participant and manager. This helps clarify not only what the participant wants to learn, but also the targeted positive consequences of this learning (i.e. business benefits).

Some Examples:

Each manager attending the ‘Foundations of Management Programme’ run for the Oracle Corporation receives a ‘Manager’s Toolkit’. This includes over 150 activities for a manager to carry out ‘on the job’. Each activity is a part of the manager’s normal job. It also includes a way of reviewing how well the activity was performed and a review process to continue the learning.
All participants in the ‘Advanced Management Skills’ programme run for Kaspersky Lab in Moscow carry out a number of follow-through activities including a one hour Skype conversation with their course consultant approximately 6 weeks after the programme. The agenda for this call is the application of learning to their most significant management challenge.
The Management Development Programme designed for and delivered to the Cygnet Group consists of two modules separated by approximately 3 months. In addition to application work between the two modules, linking the content of both, we also have a learning review meeting approximately 3 to 6 months following Module 2. This provides another progress review point.

Results

Each application activity increases the probability of the learning being applied successfully to significant projects, current problems and difficult relationships that are part of the participant’s job. Significant benefits are reported from the participants during follow-up reviews and evaluation studies. These include benefiting from collaboration actions, breakthroughs with stalled change projects, aligning team objectives, improving customer relationships, etc.