In a traditional approach to training and development, the agent of learning is the trainer. The Train-to-Ingrain concept sees the trainer as the primary developer and coordinator of programs, but the primary agent for learning and development is the participant’s boss. As stated elsewhere, the direct manager’s responsibility is to provide effective performance improvement coaching before, during and after classroom programs.

In the best case, the direct manager has help in that role. In addition to trainers, who are uniquely qualified to give support (time permitting), there are other interested individuals who can give a developing employee advice, feedback, encouragement and coaching during the extended period of reinforcement:

• Program co-participants
  
  
• Coworkers
  
  
• Subordinate team members
  
  
• Mentors

If trainers simply encourage participants to create their own learning support networks, results will vary widely. A more effective course is to plan for and arrange support for these networks, tell participants and their bosses how to use these networks, and supervise their use. Here are some of the approaches used by successful organizations:

• Brown bag lunches, during which participants can review learning media, discuss on-the-job challenges and share learning experiences
  
  
• Webinars/teleconferences, in which trainers or guest speakers can discuss performance topics with participants
  
  
• Online forums, in which participants can interact with selected individuals to ask questions, discuss issues, get feedback or share encouragement
  
  
• Action plan monitoring systems, whether an online service or a manual tickler system managed by trainers

Your organization will need to decide what to do about learning support: media, formats, frequency, participants, etc. We believe the stakes are too high to take a passive approach and simply hope that participants follow through on their own. The smart money is to ask the learners and their direct managers what kind of learning support network they need and find a way to make it happen.

For an immediate answer to any question about Train-to-Ingrain, email Meredith Bell, president of Performance Support Systems, or call: Toll-free: 1-800-488-6463, ext. 201 Toll phone: 757-873-3700, ext. 201 Fax: 757-873-3288