Stop Wasting Your Time on Scrap

Nothing is more discouraging than to invest a great deal of time and effort to create something and then see it go to waste because it is never used.

And yet that happens to learning professionals every day. Estimates vary, but the consensus is that somewhere between 50% and 85% of training is never utilized in a way that actually improves performance. 

Ten years ago we coined the term “learning scrap” to describe training that is never used and therefore is a waste of everybody’s time and money. We wanted to draw the analogy to manufacturing scrap. Both kinds of scrap waste time, materials, and opportunity; both undermine a company’s competitiveness, and both discourage the people who produce them.

The high rates and cost of manufacturing scrap crippled the U.S. automobile industry back in the 1970s.  Training scrap is crippling our industry today. A recent article in the online Wall Street Journal was provocatively entitled “So Much Training, So Little to Show for It.” That’s not the kind of publicity we want or need.

To increase confidence in training’s ability to contribute to competitive advantage, we need to tackle the scrap issue head on. While many of the causes of training waste are not our fault, they are our concern.  When a business invests in training but sees no change in workplace performance, the conclusion is that “the training failed” and they are reluctant to continue to invest.

In reality, of course, most learning scrap results from inadequate reinforcement and support on the job.  Be that as it may, our job satisfaction and perhaps our jobs depend on improving learning transfer and reducing leaning scrap.

So how can we do this?

• Help management understand that training is not a cure-all. Position training for what it is: a vital part of the solution when additional skills or knowledge are needed—and a waste of time when the real issues are poor management or low morale.

• Explore alternatives first. Be sure employees have the clear goals, relevant incentives, necessary resources, and timely feedback they need to perform before concluding that they require training. 

• Recognize that learning is a process, not an event. A McKinsey & Company report concluded:  “To improve results from training programs, executives must focus on what happens in the workplace before and after employees go to class.”

• Design the complete experience. Take responsibility for helping to create a positive transfer climate before and after the training itself.

• Make sure that the performance management process and incentive systems are in alignment with what is being taught, otherwise the training will fail. 

• Get the managers on board or forget the training. If front-line supervisors are unwilling or unable to reinforce the training, it is almost certain to become just more learning scrap.

Bottom line: Training has the potential to be an important source of competitive advantage or a tremendous waste of time. It all depends on how you approach it. It is up to us to make sure training adds value.

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Want to learn more about how to increase learning transfer, reduce training scrap, and improve business impact? Attend the Learning Transfer Certificate Program before the ASTD 2013 International Conference & EXPO, May 17-18, 2013.