Training Will Fail Without a Path to Transfer

When assessing the many interventions one could put in place to improve human performance, training is oftentimes looked at as ideal. It can be tempting to think that simply creating a learning module and showing it to employees will solve problems. However, knowledge and skills acquired through training run the risk of being lost unless a proper transfer intervention schedule is planned and implemented as part of the original training process.

As part of a speaker series in my Human Performance Technology class at Purdue, Dr. Mohan Yang, Ph.D. spoke about learning transfer in a presentation titled Transfer of Training: A pathway to performance improvement. Dr. Yang is an assistant professor in the training specialist program at Old Dominion University. Some takeaways from his presentation are:

• Transfer is when learned knowledge, skills, and attitudes are retained and applied over a period of time in the active performance context.

• Research shows that most training interventions, if they don’t implement transfer interventions, only result in a 30% transfer rate after a year.

• Transfer needs to be discussed for context, and designed for context.

• Near transfer happens inside the learning context, or a similar context. Far transfer happens in performance context or a dissimilar context, where trainees can strategically apply what they learned in various scenarios and settings.

• Ideal transfer increases as time goes on.

• While attitudes and feelings toward the training do play a part in transfer, current research shows it to be minimal.

• The biggest barriers to transfer are due to the environment, such as lack of reinforcement on the job or a non-supportive culture.

• Next to trainers, managers are the most important person in ensuring transfer occurs.

• Setting trainees up with mentors helps effectively transfer learning into far context and improve knowledge and skill acquisition.

In conclusion, a training intervention is incomplete unless it includes a process for transfer. Effective transfer takes place over time, and is a combination of practical, relevant, and well designed training with a supportive environment.

*Context - this post was written for Purdue’s Human Performance Technology course, as part of my Master’s in Learning Design and Technology.