An article in CLO magazine describes what it takes to make learning stick in the workforce.  As financial belts are tightened across the nation, it is important to evaluate each department and their measurable contribution to the workplace.  The question addressed in this specific article looks at the effectiveness or potential effectiveness of learning and development departments.  Are our people learning specific tools to help increase productivity?  Are our people being trained to work most effeciently?  How are our training sessions being assessed to determine these things?  Effective L&D departments can easily answer these questions but there are some key factors that help.

L&D doesn't happen in a bubble.  Training ought to be directly and clearly related to an individual's expected role.  The public schools are famous for making teachers of all disciplines sit through a training that doesn't effect their classroom.  Sure it may be good information, but wouldn't their time be better spent elsewhere?  Employers and trainers need to constantly evaluate their audience to make sure that learning is relevant, important, and useful. 

Follow-up is another key.  You can't introduce something new, expound on it, and then just expect everyone to jump in.  You must set up clear expectations for implementation and accountability for application.  When can we realistically expect our people to begin using this new tool?  Are our people really using this new tool like they ought?  Without these guidelines, implementation will be indefinitely delayed and your training resources will be wasted. 

When designing your next learning program, decide whether learning is worth it to the audience and then up the stakes if the current plan falls short.