CHAPTER NINE

Transfer of Training
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Define transfer of training and positive, negative,

zero, far, near, horizontal, and vertical transfer
 Describe the major barriers to transfer of training
 Describe Baldwin and Ford’s model of the transfer
of training process
 Describe the strategies that managers, trainers,
and trainees can use before, during, and after
training to improve transfer of training
 Define identical elements, general principles, and
stimulus variability and explain how they can
improve transfer of training
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Explain what a transfer of training intervention is

and describe relapse prevention, self-
management, and goal-setting interventions
 Explain what a post-training supplement is and
describe booster sessions, self-coaching, and
upward feedback interventions
 Define transfer systems and describe the transfer
system factors
 TRANSFER OF
TRAINING
Refers to application of knowledge and skills
learned in training on the job and maintenance of
acquired knowledge and skills over time
 Two conditions:
• Generalization
– The use or application of learned material to
the job
• Maintenance
– The use or application of learned material to the job
over a period of time
 TRANSFER OF
TRAINING
Types of Transfer of Training
 Near: Applying new learning to situations that are
very similar to those in which training occurred
 Far: Applying new learning to situations that are
novel or different from those in which training
occurred
 Horizontal: Transfer across different setting or
contexts at the same level
 Vertical: Transfer from trainee level to organizational
level or impact on organizational outcomes
 TRANSFER OF
TRAINING
Extent of Transfer of Training
 Positive: Trainees effectively apply new learning on
the job
 Zero: Trainees do not apply new learning on the job
 Negative: Trainees perform worse on the job after
training
 TRANSFER OF
TRAINING PROBLEM
 60–90% of what is learned in training not applied
on-the-job
TRANSFER OF
TRAINING
 TRANSFER OF
TRAINING PROCESS
 TRAINING INPUTS

Trainee Characteristics
 Most likely to transfer:
• High cognitive abilities, motivation to learn,
self-efficacy
• Internal focus of control and high need for
achievement
• High job involvement, job satisfaction, and
organizational commitment
 TRAINING INPUTS

Training Design
 Active practice and conditions of practice
 Learning principles:
• Identical Elements
– Experiences and conditions that closely
resemble those in the work environment
– Similar to physical and psychological fidelity
 TRAINING INPUTS

 General Principles
• General rules and theoretical principles
that underlie the use and application of
a skill
 Stimulus Variability
• Providing a variety of stimuli or
experiences; multiple examples of a
concept; practise experiences in varied
settings
 TRAINING INPUTS

Work Environment
 Pre-Training
• Management actions send messages/signals
regarding importance and organizational support
of training
• Organizational constraints: lack of time,
equipment, and/or resources
 TRAINING INPUTS

Work Environment (cont'd)

 Post-Training
• Support provided by trainees’ supervisor and
peers
• Training transfer climate
• Continuous learning culture
– What are the important considerations learned in earlier
chapters on learning culture?
 TRAINING INPUTS

 To recap: Baldwin and Ford’s model of transfer of

training process indicates:
• Transfer generalization and maintenance are a
function of trainee characteristics, the work
environment, and learning & retention
• Learning and retention are a function of trainee
characteristics, training design, and the work
environment
• Thus, transfer of training is influenced as far back
as the design stage
 CONTINUOUS
LEARNING CULTURE
 A culture in which members of an organization
believe that knowledge and skill acquisition are part
of their job responsibilities and that learning is an
important part of work life in the organization
• Research supports transfer is greater in these
cultures
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities before Training

Management
 Decide who should attend
• Readiness to learn/trainability
• Trainability tests
 Increase motivation to learn
• Meet with employees to discuss training needs
• “WIIFM”
 Provide employees with support for learning and training
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities before Training (cont'd)

Trainer
 Ensure application of ISD model
 Ensure both trainees’ supervisor and trainees are prepared
in terms of knowing objectives and benefits
 Find out supervisor and trainee needs and expectations
 Ensure that trainees are prepared for training in terms of
prerequisite courses/readings etc.
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities before Training (cont'd)

Trainees
 Find out about training objectives prior to attendance
 Meet with supervisor to discuss training program and
develop action plan for learning and transfer
 Prepare for training program
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities during Training

Management
 Participate in training programs
 Attend training programs before trainees
 Reassign employee’s work while they are
attending training
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities during Training (cont'd)

Trainer
 Incorporate conditions of practice, adult learning
principles, and other learning principles in design
 Include content and examples that are relevant
and meaningful
 Provide interventions at end of content portion
 Have trainees prepare a performance contract
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities during Training (cont'd)

Trainees
 Enter training program with positive attitude and
motivation to learn
 Engage themselves by actively participating
 Develop an action plan for application of training
on-the-job
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities after Training

Management
 Ensure trainees have immediate and frequent
opportunities to practise and apply what they learned
 Encourage and reinforce trainees’ application of new skills
 Develop action plan with trainees, reduce job pressures
and workload, arrange practice sessions, give
promotional preference to employees who have received
training, and transfer and evaluate employees’ use of
trained skills on-the-job
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities after Training (cont'd)

Trainer
 Stay involved
• Conduct field visits
• Observe trainees, provide feedback and support
 STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSFER

Activities after Training (cont'd)

Trainees
 Begin using new knowledge and skills on-the-job ASAP
 Meet with supervisor to discuss opportunities for transfer
 Form a “buddy system”
 Consider high-risk situations that might cause a relapse
and develop strategies for overcoming them and
avoiding a relapse
 Set goals for transfer
 TRANSFER
INTERVENTIONS
Take place in the learning environment before the
trainee returns to work
 Relapse Prevention (RP)
• Anticipate transfer obstacles, develop coping skills
 Self-Management
• Perform a series of steps to manage transfer
behaviour
 Goal-Setting
• Set specific, challenging goals to enhance transfer
– Goal-setting interventions
Teach trainees about the goal-setting process
 POST-TRAINING
SUPPLEMENTS
 Booster Sessions
• Extensions of training programs that involve a review
of the training material
 Self-Coaching
• Trainee self-reflection, goal-setting following the
training
 Upward Feedback
• Feedback from subordinates on performance of
training behaviours
 TRANSFER SYSTEM

Summed up in Holton and colleagues’ transfer system:

All factors in the person, training, and organization
that influence transfer of learning to job
performance
 Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI)
 A diagnostic tool to assess transfer system
• 16 factors
• 1–11 are specific to particular training program
• 12–16 are general factors
 TRANSFER SYSTEM

1. Learner readiness 9. Perceived content validity

2. Motivation to transfer 10. Transfer design
3. Positive personal outcomes 11. Opportunities to use
4. Negative personal outcomes 12. Transfer effort–
5. Personal capacity for performance expectations
transfer 13. Performance–outcome exp.
6. Peer support 14. Resistance/openness to
7. Supervisor support change
8. Supervisor sanctions 15. Performance self-efficacy
16. Performance coaching
Specific factors
General factors
 TRAINING
EFFECTIVENESS MODEL
 SUMMARY

 Discussed the transfer of training process and

reasons why it is both important and a serious
problem
 Presented Baldwin and Ford’s model of the transfer
of training process as framework to understand how
to facilitate and improve training transfer
 Activities for improving transfer (before, during, and
after training) and who should implement them
(manger, trainer, trainee) are methodologies to
improve ROI