In my October newsletter, I asked “What’s going on with training?” More than 90 training professionals across the United States responded. THANKS to all who shared your experiences!

Communities Got Clean Water, Thanks to YOU

I promised to send a donation to the Global Women’s Water Initiative for each completed survey. Our collective donation helped to invest in a whole new generation of women water experts in developing countries around the world. (Survey results are still coming in, and you can still respond). THANK YOU!!

The Survey Told a Clear Story

“Sally”, the persona I will use to show the survey results, is a subject matter expert who presents training, just like 68% of you. She may well be a learning or human resources professional.

First, Picture Sally as a participant in an on-site, group training session at work. She loves it! Like 77% of survey respondents, Sally finds the interaction and feedback of on-sight, group training helps her learn best. Another persona, Richard, on the other hand, represents the smaller percentage (23%) of folks who prefer online training.

Now, picture Sally clenching her fists, wrinkling her forehead, and heaving a sigh. Although on-site training is her passion, she, like 75% of everyone else who responded, suffers from lack of time to hold enough of it in the workplace. (Only 20% of survey respondents identified “cost” as the biggest barrier to training.)

What Does This Mean?

Chances are that this survey only reinforces what you already know. Training’s biggest schism is that, although the great majority of us value classroom training the most, we can’t find the time to do it.

So–are there solutions? Here are some ideas:

• Short, online content can precede or follow a live training session to achieve maximum learning in the least amount of time.
• Use non-classroom tools (checklists, templates, job aids) to supplement classroom time.
• Many “Sallys” of the world need to master the skills to create both live and online learning opportunities.

(What other implications do YOU see?) Please let me know how you might use survey data to create effective training strategies for your organization.

Meanwhile, THANKS again to those who participated. Happy training to all!