by Major (Rtd) Dr. Prebagaran Jayaraman
Many governments, organisations and individuals are committed to investing in talent development and capacity building. Indeed, it is a noble initiative.
But would you consider this initiative noble if you knew more than 80 per cent of the investment is a WASTE? Millions of people struggle daily for basic survival needs. I am sure no one intentionally will waste money.
Initially, I was surprised and a bit upset reading about the so-called ‘WASTE’ of talent development initiatives. I have been passionately involved in talent development for more than three decades.
The Association for Talent Development published a report in July 2018 titled, ‘Missing Link in Learning: Transfer’. I was convinced of the waste. I can resonate very well. I have first-hand experience in failed learning transfer mega projects.
Failures are great teachers, especially when we are willing to learn. I am a committed lifelong learner.
The report clearly describes with empirical evidence the waste of money on talent development. While investment in talent development is getting good attention, not many people know the post-training action required to transform the ‘seed’ of training into ‘fruits’ that add value.
Imagine planting high-quality seeds without water and fertiliser. All you get after a few weeks is dried seed!
You and I don’t have to be among the 80 per cent wasting money on talent development. I am committed and competent to helping individuals, organisations, and governments to be among the 20 per cent who can transform learning into RESULTS.
I believe with more awareness, the requirement for a systematic approach to post-training activities will be institutionalised. All change starts with ABC, Awareness Before Change. Together, we can reduce the amount of WASTE in talent development.
What can we do to improve learning transfer?
Allow me to suggest three fundamental actions to transform learning into results. These actions are divided into three phases. Pre-training, during training and post-training. What can we do during these three phases to facilitate learning transfer?
i. Pre-training- Use systematic instructional design focused on desired learning outcomes. Equip your talent development team with skills and tools for sound instructional system design.
ii. During training: ensure the learning facilitators know the desired learning outcomes. Ensure collaborative effort between learning facilitators, learners, the learning and development team, and functional leaders to focus on the desired behaviour change to demonstrate the desired learning outcome.
iii. Post-training: Determine the required resources, including a dedicated team and processes to monitor and facilitate learning applications.
These three steps will help transform learning into results. I will share specific steps and tools to execute the above actions in future articles. I am sure no one wants to waste money.
Your awareness will be the first step to change. Let’s translate learning into RESULTS.
As currently the Chair of the Chartered Management Institute Regional Board (Malaysia), Major (Rtd) Dr Prebagaran Jayaraman has been a teacher, lecturer, military training officer, corporate trainer, and project manager for the training of a multi-billion ship-building project. He also runs a training academy and is an authorised master trainer to conduct HRD Corp’s Train-The-Trainer Certification Programme.