Time is of the essence – design your programmes so people are required to put into practice as quickly as possible in the real world the key knowledge and skills that will make a difference to their performance.
The longer the delay, the tougher it will be for them to implement their new knowledge and skills.
They will forget what they learned, and their sense of commitment to change will wane until it is too weak to overcome the pressures of business as usual.
Obviously, they can’t immediately implement everything the next day they are back at their desk.
You need to develop a sequence that makes sense to the trainee and their manager so they get the chance to practise, and build one behavioural block on top of another.
Consider how the process of learning transfer should interact with other projects, so learners can transfer. For example, if you train on a new IT system too early before launch, they cannot transfer their learning before it fades.
Think about timing of activities beyond the classroom, not just in the classroom.
