Training That Actually Works (and sticks)

You don't need another lecture on why training is important. You need training that sticks. I say this as someone who has spent more hours than I care to count in fluorescent lit conference rooms, and who's also watched half baked programmes die a slow, cruel death from the cheap seats.

Training as theatre is everywhere. Good stuff, the kind that nudges habits and shifts decisions, nudge culture, is rare. It's also not rocket science. It's simply applied psychology, in combination with design and a brutal focus on what people actually do when they walk back to their desk.

A quick and brutal truth: Skills taught in the absence of context are ignored. Skills practised and reinforced in context are embedded in the way people do things. That's the difference between a workshop and real, lasting behaviour change.

Why behaviour change is so important (and why training just won't cut it)

Organisations invest in compliance modules, technical upskilling and so forth. Then they are puzzled why people continue doing things in the same old way. Change is not just learning how to behave. It's about motivation, habits, identity and environment. You can teach a person a trick, but if you don't have confidence that it will work and people so weird as to actually try feedback on ideas and fail at it every day, the task become nearly impossible.

There is one statistic that I fall back on, and share, with executives who wonder why training should be more than a box tick and it's this: "94% of employees say that they would stay at a Company longer if it invested in their learning & development" (LinkedIn Learning (2018). That's not only about retention. It's a signal of expectation: workers want the kind of learning that helps them be different, grow and apply new ways.

Foundations: what really makes people change

Three overlapping components are usually key when designing behaviour change programmes:

• Capability: the person must know how and why to act
• Opportunity: the environment makes it easy or difficult to follow through
• Motivation: they have to feel it's worth making a change, intrinsically or extrinsically.

This is straightforward, but this is so often where programmes fall down. Trainers tend to concentrate on capability (or the ability of the receiver); managers neglect to alter systems that will either reward or hinder the new behaviour. You can teach people to be more constructive in their feedback conversations, but if performance reviews remain a punitive checklist, that behaviour won't stick.

The science we take from Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning theory, these aren't academic perks. They're the scaffolding. Use them well and you architect reinforcement loops:

• Combine cues with desired actions (contextual triggers).
• Reward frequently, from the earliest stages, but make rewards meaningful in people's work.
• Model behaviours at every level. People copy success and status.

There's an allergy to modelling on many programmes. But there's no better way to get people to listen than when they see a senior manager dealing with a tough conversation in cool fashion. That's social learning in practice: it makes the behaviour normal and signals it's appreciated.

It's design, not content

Some design best practices I now put into every programme:

• Begin with an observable and measurable behaviour. Don't say "improve communication." "Use a 3 step feedback model in weekly one on ones 80% of the time."
• Build progressive challenge. Small wins first. Bigger stretch later. Confidence adds up.
• Mix learning modes. Short micro learning, practice sessions, group reflections and real time coaching beats an eight hour PowerPoint.
• Design the environment. Take away the barriers, layer in nudges, a template, a calendar prompt, an accountability buddy from your work group.

Evaluate what is important. Behaviours, not only satisfaction scores. To be blunt: the vast majority of mandatory e learning is a waste when it's the only intervention. People finish modules, check boxes and regress into old habits. But I'm not anti digital. I am pro digital when it's smarter than a slide deck. From micro sessions, in the moment prompts from the job and coaching done through video tools, that's their time well spent.

Motivation: intrinsic first, extrinsic second

Change persists when people become pros. It's easier to be curious when you appear smart. The deepest shifts come from intrinsic motivation, learning that follows upon or relates to someone's identity, their professional goals. Scores, badges and bonuses work but only up to a point. Leverage extrinsic rewards to get the ball rolling on practice, not to keep it in motion.

And yes, you can design for both. Establish concrete personal goals in addition to Business results. Let learners choose a project in which they will be able to use the new skill right away. Responsibility is key: a public commitment to a boss or peer group transforms plans into action.

Active learning: The "non negotiable"

Tell, show, practice, feedback. It's the first sequence that works. Active learning methods, scenario work, role play, simulations, are the circumstances in which cognitive and behavioural transformation can occur. Learners try things out in low stakes environments, get quick feedback then iterate on what they've learnt. Better transfer to the workplace for those organisations investing in active learning.

That said, you don't need to be working from large budgets. Even a cheap, one off offsite might not be as effective as small, regular practice opportunities booked in for the beginning and end of each week.

Feedback and support: the engine room

Feedback is not a one time event. It's an ongoing loop. Effective behaviour change demands regular, specific, timely feedback. Managers need to be taught how to deliver feedback that is actionable and compassionate, and there should be checks built into systems: brief surveys, manager observations, peer reviews.

Coaching is the multiplier. When we combine training with follow up coaching, change accelerates. Reflection, overcoming challenges and practical application be enhanced by coaching. It's also why blended programmes have been so successful in business throughout Sydney and Melbourne: they know that it's the local context plus structured practice.

Measure what matters

Do not start with Kirkpatrick's levels as gospel, integrate them into your guiding beacon. What matters is monitoring the behavioural signs rather than satisfaction. Examples:

• How often desired behaviours are demonstrated (e.g. how many one on ones were performed using a new feedback framework).
• Quality metrics (peers evaluation, manager assessment).
• Business results as appropriate (reduced customer complaints, improved turn around times).

Surveys have their place, but observed behaviour is better than perceived learning. If no one can identify anything specific to change a week after the training, the programme has fallen short no matter how polished the slide deck.

Common blockers and ways to deal with them

Resistance: good reasons why people resist, fear of the unknown, loss of status, or just habit. Address it early. Involve people in problem definition. Give them agency. Show immediate small wins.

Time and work: the perpetual enemy. Make practice bite sized. Swap unproductive meetings for opportunities to learn. If new behaviour means a heavier workload short term, put in temporary supports.

If there is a leadership mismatch, leaders pay lip service to a new approach but then behave in ways at odds with it, it won't work. Invest in leader development first. Authenticity matters.

One of my less popular opinions: the obsession with measurement can be crippling. I'd prefer to run a programme that creates measurable behaviour with slightly wrong metrics than to wait by the wayside for the perfect evaluation scheme. Imperfect action beats delayed perfection.

Ethics, consent and trust

Behaviour change can be an ear into people's lives, which requires extreme care. The intentions and effects of training should be clear. Participants are entitled to know what's changing and why. We sidestep manipulation when we allow people to choose, respect autonomy and rely on evidence based practices.

I am always sceptical when programmes promise a radical change of personality. That's not what evidence supports. We change habits and practices; we nudge behaviours. Respect people's dignity and allow them to participate in the design.

Technology and innovation, in moderation

Virtual reality, AI coaching, micro learning platforms, they're cool. VR offers no risk training for high stakes situations. AI can personalise prompts. But technology is a means, not an end. Far too often tech is bought because it's shiny, not because of the specific behaviour problem it intends to solve.

My rule: always start with the problem, not the gadget. If the technology lowers friction to practising or gives timely, helpful feedback, bring it on. If it's a novelty, don't.

Two controversial opinions

• Half day workshops are still relevant. They provide teams with uninterrupted time to practice and set themselves. Micro sessions are great, but every once in a while you need a chunk of time for rebooting. It's an argument that doesn't win friends in some L&D circles, but it's how I feel.
• Required compliance modules should be split: law online, behaviour face to face. The idea that people will act differently after a 45 minute compliance module is naïve.

Good advice for learning leaders

• Aim for one or two target behaviours in any programme.
• Design for the first 30 days. Keep the early years frictionless and supportive.
• Coach managers as coaches. They're the agents of change.
• Use quick metrics: frequency of behaviour, peer reports, short reflections.
• Build communities of practice. People learn from people, and they sustain change.

What the future holds

We'll see more blended, personalised journeys: short spikes of learning, more embedded coaching and tech that delivers real time nudges. Better spacing and retrieval practice will be informed by neuroscience; nudges and reinforcements from behavioural economics. The Organisations that make it will be those who view training as a long term investment in capability and culture, not a single event.

Some practical advice: think of training as if it were a product. Hypothesise, prototype, test, iterate. Not everything will work. Focus on the learner. Keep the behaviour measurable. And keep on asking whether what you teach makes a difference to anyone's behaviour.

Training only transforms behaviour when it's created to. When it's not, it is merely agreeable noise. You choose which one you are paying for.

Sources & Notes

LinkedIn Learning. (2018). 2018 Workplace Learning Report. LinkedIn Corporation. Statistic cited: 94% of employees would stay at a Company longer if it invested in their career development.