Why Training Doesn't Work

“Nitin, I have some issues to discuss. Can we meet sometime this Friday? I have called Mr. X also”. This call was from Mr. A, training head in an organization, who I had got to know some time back. Mr. X was also a fellow trainer working as an independent consultant.

We met that Friday. I could see that Mr. A was upset about something was not willing to talk till Mr. X arrived. Finally when Mr. X came in, Mr. A came straight to the point. “I have been put on notice. Both the Managing Director and the Operations Head are not happy about the effectiveness of what my team does. I have been asked to pull up my socks or look for another job.”

This was serious. “Is there something specific that has happened or is it a general comment?” I asked. “We have a huge order from an American client. To make sure that nothing goes wrong, a cross functional team was created. We pulled out the best people from manufacturing, services, maintenance and sales teams to form a group exclusively for this client. I was given the job of building a cohesive team of these people. We spent three days in a training workshop with them. But it has not worked. They are not working as a team, and it is affecting the order. The client is unhappy and so my Managing Director is unhappy!”

Mr. X: What did you do with them in the three days?

Mr. A: We talked about the importance of working in a team. We gave inputs about skills required. We talked about communication skills and conflict management… the works!
Mr X: Maybe that was the problem… Your inputs.
Mr. A (Exploding): What?! What do you mean the inputs are a problem? That was the finest workshop you could ever have on team work! Even you couldn’t have designed a better program!

Even I was surprised at Mr. X’s comment. The workshop did seem to have all the right ingredients. Maybe the problem was in the delivery. I was about to ask, but Mr. A pre-empted me.

Mr. A: We got excellent ratings from the participants. They loved the program. Everyone was so charged after it was over. No, the problem is that my Managing Director has unreasonable expectations!

Mr. X: If asking you to assist in bringing about a change in people is unreasonable, I disagree. Isn’t that what your job is?
Mr A. (A bit defensive now): We did what we could do to the best of our abilities. If people refuse to practice it at work, what can we do?
Mr. X: Exactly… that is the issue… They don’t practice what you teach at work.
Mr. A: Yes! I said that! And that is not my problem!
Mr. X: Maybe it is… Tell me, do the team members know how important this job is for the company?
Mr. A: Of course they know!
Mr. X: Do they also know that working as a team is critical to their success?
Mr. A: Yes they do…
Mr X: Do they also know the cost of failure?
Mr A: Yes they do… What exactly are you getting at?
Mr. X: The point I am trying to make is that they know all this and yet they do not work as a team… Why?
Mr. A: How do I know? Maybe they are just dense!
Mr. X: Maybe you should try to find out and maybe that’s what you should have focussed on in your workshop.

 Silence... It made a whole lot of sense.

Mr. X: I have seen this in a  number of situations. Ask anyone if team work is important, or is customer service important and they all say yes. Yet it doesn’t always happen. The issue is not about their knowing, the issue is deeper than that.

Me: What could the possible reasons be?
Mr. X: It could be anything… it could be attitude; it could be some biases or even insecurities. Sometimes it could be cultural issues. The idea is to target the deeper issues and the desired outcome will happen.
Mr. A: What about skills… Those could be an issue too.
Mr. X: Sure, but you won’t know what exactly is the real issue that you have to work on, unless you do some research with the audience.
Mr. A: I don’t know how I am going to find the time, what with all the other work I have.
Mr. X: Don’t you understand? That is your work, rather the main part of your work. The effectiveness and success of your training initiatives depend on that!

I could see Mr. A mull over what he had heard. Yes, it made sense. How often had I similar experiences as Mr. A. If I looked back on all those training initiatives which had failed to make any difference at the workplace, it was because the core issues had not been addressed.

Then Mr. X winked and smiled. “If it still seems a lot of heavy work, you could always hire me….”