An email to all executives: “HR development has decided to include a supplemental transfer-supporting process in our trainings. From now on, each employee must have a one-hour pre-training and one-hour post-training discussion in accordance with the attached guide and the log form on Page 4. The logs must be submitted to the Human Resources Department within one week of the pre- and post-training meetings. Sincerely, The HR Department.” How would you react to such an email as a manager who supervises any number of direct reports?
“What is that supposed to be about?!” Or “Not another a form to fill in!” Or “Where should I re-allocate the time for this from?” etc. – These are all common reactions when HR development introduces a new process for transfer support from supervisors. Why? The supervisors primarily think: “Oh, that’s just great. They’re offloading even more work on us” and understandably resist. Then it becomes difficult for HR development. At best, the new process works when it is tightly controlled – make a follow-up call, write reminder mails, create sanctions – how tedious and how uncomfortable! It doesn’t have to be like that.
The resistance arises because managers see no personal benefit and advantage. And that’s exactly what is needed to make it transparent. It’s about getting supervisors on board and making sure they understand the purpose and benefits of transfer, training, and their role as transfer supporters. All this is much more important than the question of what the form for the transfer discussion looks like or what should be included in the accompanying e-mail. So far, so good. The only question left is: How does it work? How do you convince managers? How do you get them interested in transfer? What can we do, what can we focus on?
“The resistance isn’t to the form — it’s to the feeling of being sidelined. Involve managers, and resistance turns into ownership.”
Here are some key points from Dr. Ina Weinbauer Heidel’s book “What Makes Training Really Work” summarized for you:
- Make transfer a topic supervisors care about. Not all supervisors have the topic of transfer on their radar. Make transfer a topic that supervisors care about.
- Emphasize the importance of their leadership. Many supervisors are unaware of how important and indispensable they are to transfer success. Demonstrate the importance and role of supervisors in transfer success and convince them of the need for and importance of their support
- Highlight the benefits to management. Emphasize the very personal benefit of the trainees’ transfer success to supervisors. (“If your staff apply what they have learned to their work, you and your department benefit because …”)
- Give examples. Show supervisors concrete implementation examples of what transfer support means and what it can look like. Support them with appropriate tools (guides or sample topics for transfer discussions, best practices in transfer support, etc.)
- Sharpen transfer goals. Establish clear transfer goals. If possible, even agree to these in consultation with the supervisor. Only with clear goals can the supervisors know what they should support
- Counter the fear of bureaucracy. Avoid framing transfer interventions as bureaucracy and paperwork for supervisors, but as support and guidance. Avoid compulsory forms as much as possible, and make better use of smart, compact guidelines, tips, examples of best practice, etc.
- Start where the shoe pinches (pain points). Start implementation of transfer interventions where supervisors themselves have a strong interest in achieving the transfer goals (for example, for a particular academy or specific training). If they have a strong commitment to achieving the transfer goals and to the training, supervisors are also more willing to try new transfer interventions
- Involve and engage. Involve supervisors in developing and deciding on transfer interventions. Self-/co-developed interventions are much more convincing than “imposed” ones.
To win over supervisors as transfer supporters, it is particularly helpful and effective to actively involve them in the design process.
If a manager wants training for their department, carefully review the needs and/or invite them to the selection and assignment clarification discussions with the trainer. Advise the supervisor on which transfer-promoting activities are useful for the training and, if possible, develop them together (e.g., transfer tasks, follow-ups, …). It is “their” training and “their” transfer success; your role as a human resource developer and/or trainer is as an enabler, consultant, expert, and sparring partner! The same applies if the initiative for the training or the program does not come from a supervisor (e.g., section head or department manager, but from another, typically more “top-down” source (e.g., a request from senior management to set up a management program or an initiative by your HR development unit to establish a trainee program).
“Transfer success improves exponentially when supervisors are co-creators, not just end-users, of the learning process.”
Make training a matter of importance to the organization, or, better yet, a key topic for supervisors that they personally care about. Involve them in the needs assessment, ask what matters, what is important to them, and what they value. Have them decide on and participate in the selection of trainees and, optimally, in the development of the transfer support activities. Depending on organizational culture, time issues, and the scope of the training or training program, the possibilities for involving supervisors can range from multi-day or multiple conceptualization workshops to meetings, surveys, and interviews or may be limited to brief and informal discussions at the coffee machine.
Whatever your organization can handle, make sure that supervisors feel involved, consider training useful and beneficial, have a personal interest in making the transfer work well, and, as a result of their commitment and involvement, want to support successful transfer.
