(Intro) Training RAI™ and Raising the Bar through Assessments

Even in this climate of tightened belts and increased analysis, more than 90% of training initiatives continue to fail.

If that sounds surprising, try to remember the last training session that resulted in measurable and sustainable behavior change. Then try to remember a session that quantifiably impacted revenue, costs, or productivity. Does the fact that the great majority of training initiatives fail still seem so far fetched?

When we ask leaders about behavior change and impact related to training, we typically get a long pause and then a pensive and pained look. Then we usually get a long answer that would make many politicians proud for the lack of clarity and specifics.

Unfortunately, the training bar is still too low. Most people continue to consider training “successful” simply when participants get a few “Aha’s” and feel that it was not a waste of time. We can’t think of another business process that gets less scrutiny or has lower expectations than training. The training bar needs to be raised.

Q3 Poll

To help raise expectations and quality, our recent Q3 Poll highlights 4 critical success levers behind impactful learning initiatives and a positive Training RAI™: Relevance.Adoption.Impact.

• Strategic Business Link: An urgent business relevance - 20%
  
  
• Skill Gap Assessment: The strong understanding of individual skill gaps - 28%
  
  
• Performance Coaching and Support: The consistent and timely performance coaching of participants by their bosses - 20%
  
  
• Training Measurement: The impact on the business - 28%
  
  
• Other - 4%
  

We define Training RAI™ as a solution with 3 key characteristics.

• Relevance: The solution needs to be relevant to the (1) Business, (2) Leadership, (3) Target Audience, and (4) Audience Supervisors. Without relevance, you would be better off buying books on the subject – you’ll get the same result.
  
  
• Adoption: The new skills, knowledge, and behaviors must be consistently adopted. Without on-the-job application, a disconnect will occur between learning objectives (skills and knowledge) and performance objectives (desired results).
  
  
• Impact: The business impact needs to be measured. Contrary to popular belief, this can be done quickly and easily. Measurement is a key component to driving accountability for execution and providing actionable feedback for follow-on coaching. Read more about training measurement.
  

In this article, we will tackle one of the major impediments to obtaining a positive Training RAI™: a Lack of Individual Skill Gap Assessments and Coaching Profiles. In our experience over the last 15 years, we have seen that the lack of proper individual training skill assessments and coaching plans causes a disproportionate amount of training failure. The majority of corporate learning initiatives continue to bypass individual skill assessments prior to designing or delivering new training programs. Skipping over the first step of assessing skill gaps is one of the root causes behind the 90%+ failure rate. What if doctors prescribed the same medication and the same dosage to all patients before an individual diagnosis? Training practitioners who continue to sell, buy, and facilitate training with little regard to ensuring that the prescribed solution is the best fit for each participant could similarly be accused of “malpractice.” And even if you have diagnosed correctly, each participant has different strengths and weaknesses that need individualized attention before behavior can change and performance be improved. Not many problems get solved without a detailed, carefully considered plan. When asked, most training practitioners mistakenly identify attributes such as participant materials, length of program, location, facilitator personality, content, and instructional design as the culprits behind failed learning. If only it were that easy. Changing behavior is a process, not an event. With the assumption that a clear and thorough business case must precede any individual skill assessment, this article outlines the top 6 assessment questions that you should ask to ensure a successful Training RAI™.