The group of respondents used in this research study are a relatively young and diverse group of people. The environment in which they operate is fast-paced, stressful, constantly changing, and places huge demands on them to grasp, understand and ultimately transfer their acquired knowledge and skills to the workplace. These respondents need to be enthusiastic and motivated to ensure the successful transfer of their skills to the workplace. Transfer of new learning does impact on their career progression and even on meeting their performance outcomes. Ultimately a lack of transfer of new learning could affect their job survival.
The factors that are the major enablers of learning transfer are mainly intra-personal factors associated with the managers. This translates to a strong intrinsic motivation and a high personal perception which is most likely unique to each individual respondent.
An analysis of the intra-personal factors in this study reveals the following findings:
The group of respondents are motivated to transfer their learning and want to make use of these newly acquired skills and knowledge when they return to the workplace.
There is a strong link between the ‘Motivation to transfer’ factor and the belief that applying these skills and knowledge would lead to performance improvement. The organisation will benefit, as the investment in utilising the skills and knowledge will positively affect future performance which could result in a more productive workforce.
Regardless of obstacles that may arise in the future, the respondents have a general belief that they can adapt their performance to meet the demands of working in this fast paced environment. There is a strong sense of overcoming obstacles, not doubting their own abilities to transfer learning and a high level of confidence.
The major barriers are made up of situational indicators, learner orientation indicators and managerial indicators. The results show ‘Performance coaching’ to be the major barrier to learning transfer for this group of respondents. This is of major concern for the organisation, as an investigation into the historical data of the organisation reveals that the line managers and supervisors overseeing the respondents underwent a detailed learning programme in 2011 to become workplace coaches.
Another barrier revealed by the study is that the programme has not delivered the intended results. It could be argued that not enough formal or informal indicators are
given to the respondents to assist them with the learning transfer process. This translates to the fact that no formal coaching plans and objectives are in place between the line managers and respondents, or that little advice is given to trainees on how to improve job performance using the newly acquired skills. Furthermore, no evidence of peer coaching could be found.
Another major barrier to learning transfer is the opportunity to use newly acquired knowledge and skills when returning to the workplace. An analysis of the qualitative results supports this barrier in that respondents agreed that these two aspects are significant barriers for them:
Not enough time to apply the knowledge and skills acquired from the learning programme when returning to the workplace.
There is too much happening to give the respondents the chance to use the skills and knowledge acquired from the learning programme.
These are both situational indicators and could mean that the organisation is not providing the respondents with resources (e.g.: equipment or materials) and/or tasks to use the acquired knowledge and skills of the learning programme on the job. These are both powerful ways to improve learning transfer as they give meaning to the processes explored in the learning environment and they align closely with what is expected in the workplace.
Learner readiness is a crucial aspect of learning transfer, as it prepares the respondents for what to expect, how their performance should change once they have completed the training and how they will be expected to participate in the training. In this study, it is significantly one of the major barriers to learning transfer.
Perceived content validity concerns are evident in the quantitative data analysed, as well as the qualitative feedback received. To ensure learning transfer, it is crucial that facilitators understand the workplace demands of the target audience to whom they deliver training. Furthermore, instructional designers and learning material
developers should design appropriate learning solutions and learning material that accurately reflect the realities of the job.
Peer support is a powerful way to improve transfer of learning and should be encouraged. Colleagues that support one another in the workplace act as motivators and could, with their hands-on experience of doing the same job, act as informal coaches. It could be less intimidating for learners to approach their peers as opposed to a trainer or line manager.
Significantly, the findings of this study coincide with the previous LTSI validation study conducted in 2003 in the South African context. Version 2 of the LTSI was used in that study that measured 89 items with the same 16 factors of the LTSI Version 3 used in this study. Similar to the previous study, the results of this study also highlight the importance of the following factors in improving learning transfer in the organisation:
The organisation should use the results of this study to compile an organisation-specific learning transfer strategy. This would pinpoint the inhibiting barriers or factors, and allow line managers to manage the success of transfer more proactively.
A learning transfer climate for the work environment should be prioritised. As stated by Coetsee and Eiselen (2003), the following could be used in practical terms to increase the chances of successful learning transfer:
i. Create deliberate opportunities for learners to apply their newly acquired skills and knowledge once they return to the workplace.
ii. Facilitators should discuss the content and how it should be used practically once back in the workplace.
iii. Employees should be provided with the same resources, learning material, systems and equipment they used in training when they return to the workplace.
iv. Ensure that there is transparency in the way training was provided and how the skills and knowledge should be used in the working environment.
v. Designed and developed content for training should reflect and include work related examples. In this way learners will be able to make the link between what they learned and what they should do when returning to the working environment.
vi A clear link should be made between learning application, performance improvement and where transfer occurred, a reward should be considered.
vii. Managers and peers should actively look for opportunities to provide formal and informal recognition to learners when they apply the knowledge and skills they acquired during training.
viii. Line managers should clearly understand the behaviour change that is required now that the training is completed. They should play an active part in ensuring the commitment and adherence to the learning process. ix. Line managers should clarify performance expectations and set
performance goals once learners return from training. Coaching plans to improve performance should be compiled and agreed upon. Where learning is not applied as was taught in training, an appropriate form of sanction should be considered.
4.9 Conclusion
A detailed discussion on the results of the quantitative and qualitative data was presented in this chapter. The significant results of the factor analysis, reliabilities, frequencies, correlations and comparisons were shared, and the common narrative barriers to the transfer of learning were examined and discussed.
In Chapter Five the conclusions and recommendations of the research findings are discussed.