I think our whole way of doing things in training is suspect. That's why real ROI is a good talking point but not a reality. Here are some things I think we ignore or violate:
1. We want behavioral development but our delivery is all cognitive, even role plays.
2. We don't link learning to people's daily priorities so they can flag certain priorities for behavioral practice.
3. Out trainees put our workshop manuals on the shelf before they have mastered the behavioral competencies
4. We deliver such large doses that the curve of forgetting slays ROI.
5. We build no reinforcement system into the post training period.
6. We don't tie learning to people's intrinsic motivators.
7. we talk about performance support tools as though the learning has already been completed and just has to be supported. But the real payoff is behavioral and that learning hasn't even begun when participants leave the workshop.
8. We do bubble gum training. When the flavor is gone from the workshop, people have no further use for it.

What do you guys think?

I think it wise that "we" avoid sweeping generalizations. If you're experiencing all that a lot, I urge you to seek out and network with people who do know what they're doing. I have yet to be disappointed by my experiences with the International Alliance for Learning.

Also, if that's happening in your organization, I hope that you have taken up the banner for MAJOR changes and that you have pursued staff development so that everyone understands how people learn and how to make learning have an impact on the learner, their performance and the organization.

Maybe the question is -- if you're seeing all this...where are you seeing it and what are you doing to change it?

quote:

Originally posted by nero wolfe:
Laura, what then hinders instructional designers from understanding the most basic element of a business.

Hi Nero -- interesting question...
As with my previous post in response to the OP, I can only guess at generalizations based on anecdotal evidence. Perhaps it's a basic lack of drive to pursue the necessary information? Perhaps it's a lack of competency for or complete fear of navigating an organization and having political savvy to get to the right people with the right questions? Perhaps it's lack of perception or knowledge that they OUGHT to be proactively pursuing this information? What are your ideas, Nero?

Laura,

Ok, let's take my statement one by one:
1. Our delivery is all cognitive, even role plays. There is a big difference from following a safe, contrived script in a role play and applying a discussion model on the job.
Usually the last time a model was udes was in the classroom.
2. We don't link learning to people's daily priorities for behavioral practice. If someone is doing this, I would like to know how. Got any examples?
3. People put our training workshop manuals on the shelf before hte ocmpetencies are mastered.
Just where do workshop notes end up? How many people do you know who go the shelf and comb through scores of pages looking for something applicable to today's priorites and get some behavioral practice while executing them?
4. Large doses of training slay ROI. The curve of forgetting tells us that 10% will be remembered in 30 days unless there has been reinforcement.
5. There seems to be no reinforcement system. How are trainers orchestrating the reinforcement to keep the learning remembered? How do you do it?
6. We don't tie learning to people's intrinsic motivators. People learn for their own reasons, not just because we give them something and tell them it is good for them. Herzberg taught us that job enrichment is a learning incentive. Job enrichment being rcognition, advancement, challenging work.
Are we really designing courseware to meet individual's personal learning motivators.
How are you doing that?
7. We talk about performance support tools as though behavioral learning has already happened and just has to be supported. But behavioral learning hasn't even begun when people leave workshops. The real learning task is ahead and what is working against that is the curve fo forgetting, conditioning that resists change, lack of reinforcement form the boss etc.
8. Bubble gum training is that really great workshop that was fun to chew on but it soon lost its flavor. How do you and others keep it alive?

Laura, yes I was afraid you would say something like that. The business and of consequence the job has changed. You need more on the ball.
Nero