Features

Published September 2009

Building Extended Learning Systems That Deliver

Ed Emde

Research indicates that only a fraction of learning is used back on the job. Developing an integrated system to extend learning can boost performance and achieve long-term results in the process.

We did a lot of communicating ahead of time, and we got great feedback on the program. Participants all signed on to an action plan. But three months later, it’s like it never happened. What did we do wrong?

So, what did go wrong? Most learning professionals will recognize this familiar scenario — a stand-alone event in which too much money is invested for too little return. Most estimates suggest that only about 15 to 20 percent of learning investments actually result in performance change, and only about 35 percent of new skills taught are still being used at the end of 12 months. Yet, almost everyone in the industry has observed how often training dollars continue to be wasted on ineffective practices, despite their known shortcomings.

In finding a solution to this problem, there are three key questions:
1. What components and approaches are critical in making learning stick?
2. What challenges prevent the right approaches from being used to ensure consistent business results?
3. What does it take to increase the likelihood that the best extended learning approaches will be adopted and effectively implemented?

What’s Critical?
To answer the first question, a review of recent research on learning transfer reveals the key com-ponents that can have a significant impact on performance. If implemented in a coherent and systematic way, these components can significantly improve results.

What does work is to combine the most critical components required for learning into a comprehensive, extended learning system. Such a system lays a foundation for the learner, establishes the why and the how for learning and provides application support to make sure newly acquired skills and knowledge are used on the job.

What Are the Challenges?
If experience and research tell us that this approach is necessary to deliver learning results, why isn’t it used more consistently? Why hasn’t it become the norm in the industry? The answer is that implementing an extended learning system can present daunting logistical challenges, as well as demand too much time, energy and commitment from too many people. Overly elaborate plans and implementation requirements can overwhelm the system and turn off managers and others whose involvement is crucial. This discredits the approach and discourages repeat attempts, causing the system to die of its own weight before it ever gets off the ground.

How Can You Effectively Implement Extended Learning Approaches?
Answering this question requires both the right mindset and the right tools. To be successful, you must do two things. Pick your targets and leverage the few activities that will have the biggest payoff, and view learning as a continuous process, not a single event or series of events.

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