5 Reasons Why Training Doesn’t Stick

Continuing our 5 Reasons series, this month we talk about why training doesn’t seem to make a difference. You invest in it, you mandate it, you monitor it–and sometimes it seems to make absolutely no difference with your team members seemingly ignoring the new processes, forgetting the clever techniques they were shown, or even reporting that they were never given any instructions.

Here are five reasons why training can fail to register, from wrong timing to poor design, with solutions for teams of all types and sizes.

1. It’s too early

Training works best when participants get to use the skills they are learning right away. So if you are planning a tool release, the best time to train is the week before. If you are training new support agents on soft skills, it’s best to have them shadow for a while before the training so they have a context for learning, and give them a chance to work with customers right away. If you are training CSMs on upselling, give them opportunities to upsell.

This issue is easy to fix! Schedule training in the sweet spot right before the actual need. If you must space out the training over time for logistical reasons, provide a refresher right before the need.

Lesson: schedule training right before it’s needed.

2. It’s too passive

Think that your team members will learn from watching a video, or reading a knowledge base article? Some will, but most won’t because they won’t have a chance to integrate the learning into new habits.

When you’re training for new skills, you must build in opportunities to practice right into the training. It can be as simple as allowing the participants to interact with a new tool–or as involved as getting them to role play customer interactions. Always offer tasks relevant to the training; this is a must-have, not a nice-to have.

Lesson: incorporate hands-on practice to training.

3. It’s all about how, and not about why

If you are changing a process, the change itself may be incredibly simple, but learners may resist it just because they are used to the current process and don’t see why they need to handle things differently. “Because I said so” is not enough: you need to have a rationale that makes sense to the learner. And it never hurts to acknowledge that (1) change requires effort and (2) there may be costs or inconveniences associated with the change.

Lesson: always present why a certain action is required or desirable.

4. It’s too long

You don’t need to explain each field of a new tool. You don’t need to require that learners spend at least X minutes on a video. You don’t need to lock up new managers for a week to teach them how to manage.

Good training piques curiosity, gets learners on the right track, and… stops. For those who want to go further, you can provide materials for review, coaching opportunities, refresher sessions, or online discussion forums. If the training is boring, it’s likely to be too long (or, point #1, above, disconnected from reality, or, point #2, above, too passive, or, point #3 above, lack a why).

Lesson: provide MVP training, with opportunities to go deeper through other modalities.

5. It’s too easy to cheat

It’s a good idea to have a mastery test after training, but if you are relying on memory-based multiple-choice tests, you may conclude that learners are fully equipped to perform the new skills because they passed the test–only to find that they cannot actually perform the skills IRL.

What to do instead? Steer clear of pure memory-based tests, which only measure recall and are also very prone to actual cheating. Instead, as much as possible, incorporate realistic tasks in the testing. For instance, ask the learners to create and update a knowledge base article (if you’re teaching KCS); ask them to grab and resolve a case (if you’re rolling out a new case-tracking tool); ask them to have an upsell conversation with a fellow learner (if you are teaching upselling techniques); ask them to role-play working with an irate customer (if you are teaching de-escalation techniques). Don’t fret about how you will measure the results: use AI to analyze and summarize the outcome, and also as a coaching aid.

Lesson: use realistic testing mechanisms, aided by AI for scoring.

Of course, having a solid curriculum development team helps create effective training (or hire us!)  And especially if you are deploying to a large team, do test the training with superusers or other testers. Specially ask them to give you feedback on whether the training feels relevant and active.

What have you tried to make your training stick? Tell us in the comments