The goal in the delivery of most learning programs is supposed to be “effectiveness.”
Why, then, does it seem like so many programs are focused on efficiency?
We try to get as many individuals in the room as we possibly can.
Then, we pack as much information as possible into as short of an amount of time as possible.
Why is this?
It’s not the goal of the client, and it’s certainly not your goal as a consultant. But again and again, we fall into the same one-track mind, efficiency over everything trap.
It’s no secret that one of the reasons we’re pushed to design our programs this way comes down to the concern our clients have surrounding their budgets.
Here’s how this problem is agitated during a typical learning and development session:
First, when you take an efficiency approach, your learners get frustrated.
Science knows why: The Ebbinghaus model of memory tells us that there is actually only a very short time span where new information is readily accessible to a learner.
New information is rapidly released from the memory of a learner if there is no intervention that takes place.
So, when you’ve packed a bunch of full of people into a room, and you try to get as much information as you can across to them in as short of an amount of time as you can possibly fit it, the problem is exacerbated.
Studies show that our memories are at their worst when we’re provided with high volumes of information in a short period of time.
Even if a learner in your session can retain the information you’ve taught them long enough to commit to making a change, they’ll then face another challenge.
Now, they must maintain focus with their attention being pulled in many different directions, many times each day.
Learners are burdened with the task of not only implementing the change, but then sustaining the change.
The problem is a lot like trying to maintain a New Year’s resolution.
80% of those who set out to achieve their New Years’ resolutions end up failing – most of them by mid- February.
Similarly, the learners in your training sessions might have understood the new information and they may have even had the desire to change.
But how will they remember to continuously commit to those efforts?
In the next blog post, we’ll discuss the problems organizations face on a larger scale in making lasting changes as a result of training and development sessions.
We’re on a mission to help boutique consultancies by giving them the tools to reach guaranteed momentum, as well as prove and amplify their impact. We’d love to show you how we can help. Book a time to talk with us.
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