Rod Power, Managing Director – NRS Media Europe

We all want a return on the investment we make in any training. The problem with most training programs is that they’re ineffective. That’s because they’re not learning programmes, although they are often dressed up to be.

What’s the difference? Training programs will deliver a lot of great theory, practical tips and tools, but it will be up to the individual to put these into practice. Let’s be honest, most don’t.

On the other hand, Learning programs have only one objective – to change behaviour. There’s a big difference, especially when it comes to getting a return on investment. It is only by changing behaviour that you will reap rewards from any development program. If there’s no demonstrable change, your people will continue to do what they’ve always done and you will gain little or no return.

In their excellent book on changing behaviour, Switch, Dan and Chip Heath describe why this occurs. They liken a person’s make-up to a Rider sitting atop an Elephant, the Rider being our conscious intellect or will-power and the Elephant being our subconscious, emotional selves. If you direct the Rider (give the intellect great theory, tips and tools), it can pull on the reins and get the Elephant to head in a different direction… for a while.

But if the Elephant has no vested interest in going in the direction the Rider is telling it to go, good luck to the Rider! In other words, if your training isn’t getting people emotionally involved, affecting their subconscious behaviour, after a surprisingly short period of time they will revert to their old behaviour.

Anyone who has gone on the diet/exercise roller-coaster can relate to this. You intellectually know you should eat well/exercise, and for a short time you take conscious control with your will-power. Then the sugary snacks start whispering your name, or the bed covers develop a super-human hold on you first thing in the morning and you’re back to where you started from.

So the first step in any learning is to move participants into an emotional state where they are open to changing their behaviour. Then you must constantly reinforce the negative effects of the old behaviour and the positive benefits of the new.

One of the best ways to do this is through practice, with constructive feedback immediately afterwards. “Role Play” is one of the most hated expressions in the training lexicon by participants, but that’s because they know their ‘Elephant’ is about to be engaged. Training without practice is just entertainment.

There are many more techniques you can use to “motivate the Elephant” which I will discuss in later blogs. However, to truly ensure you secure your return on investment, you must utilise the third element of the Heath brothers’ change framework – Shape the Path. If the Rider and Elephant are in a jungle, with only one path they can follow, then they are likely to go in that direction.

So to my mind, what matters most is not what happens in the training room, but what happens afterwards. What is the sustained process of follow-up, supported by systems, that ensures your participants are adopting new behaviours and puts them back on the path if they are not? This is what most training lacks, and without it you are in danger of adding your training spend to the entertainment budget.

Rod Power is the Managing Director for NRS Media’s European headquarters and has worked with NRS Media for many years including roles as COO and Head of Organisational Development. Rod is renowned in the areas of Leadership Training and Human Resources Development. Before joining NRS Media, Rod consulted to various media organizations in the areas of Human Development and Sales Strategy. As an executive coach, facilitator and keynote speaker he has helped people and organizations regularly over-achieve their sales targets.