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Action Plans: The Key To Tangible Business Results From Trainings And Workshops

Forbes Coaches Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Valerio Pascotto

A concern with many who are in the business of offering workshops and trainings is to demonstrate that they have an impact on business results. The challenge is to show a direct correlation between the training/workshop and an improvement in reaching targets or at least in a higher proficiency with the behavior being addressed. A further return on investment on training would be measures of innovation, insights and reflections.

While targets are easy to measure, the correlation between target improvement and training at best would be anecdotal as the variables are too many to control. Behaviors might be more easily anchored to a training workshop learning, but assessing them becomes less reliable as they rest on people's observation and opinion, which we know may be faulty and tainted by personal experience and bias.

Ultimately the best measure of a workshop is the impact on the business of what has been learned through practical application. The workshop becomes a learning experience where participants have realizations, insight, recognition and comprehension followed by exploring, deepening and bridging the insights into daily work.

The most indicative tool for promoting a learning experience and anchoring training/workshop results is an action plan that participants fill during and after a training/workshop.

What Is An Action Plan?

There are certain conditions that an action plan has to meet to be a critical part of the process of learning, to provide reflection and application, and to become a tool for thinking and crystalizing new possibilities.

1. To start, it requires a mindset where the “teacher” is not the only contributor of knowledge, but the facilitator of a dynamic, creative process where the participant contributes as well and even more.

2. The actions identified by the participant need to be activities that he or she are currently not doing, thus encouraging innovation and experimentation.

3. Next, the actions should be focused on creating the bridge between learning and doing, with the quality of the action being a measure of success. The participant is utilizing what is being learned to impact specific objectives set by the business. In this way, the action plan becomes strategically aligned to the business, resulting in outcomes that are of genuine interest to senior executives and to the participant's own immediate manager.

4. Furthermore, the action plan needs to be inspirational rather than perceived as an assessment tool. It is an exploration and experimentation by the individual to generate stories, experiences and understanding that can benefit the whole organization. In other words, there is a noble sense of purpose when the organization learns as much from the outputs of the training activity as the participants who are taking part. The action plan hence becomes a tool for the participant to give back and feel that they are adding value.

Another form of action plan is a team action plan. The advantage of a team action plan is greater clarity on the common goal and challenges, greater horsepower as more than one brain is participating in the creation of the plan, and more inspired commitment, as the participant’s follow-through impacts others and the overall success becomes a shared responsibility.

Action Plans Need Follow-Up

Regardless of choosing a team or individual action plan, for it to become a tool that measures and facilitates the successful implementation of workshop/training learning, a few other considerations are necessary.

The action plan requires follow-through. This could be in the form of one-on-one coaching with someone identified during the workshop to be the coach. Participants can be part of a buddy group to collaborate and co-coach each other on the implementation of their action plans and to discuss key outputs from the workshop. The coaching should focus on the implementation of key learnings, the impact of the activities undertaken, barriers and ways to overcome the barriers.

Another form of follow-through is email feedback with touch points from coaches who check in on the action plan advancement and offer their perspective on the quality of the action plan achievements and the link to the workshop learning.

Coaches also need to maintain a communication channel with participants where they share experiences of practical applications carried out since the workshop with colleagues and coaches. Such reviews and discussions would also involve senior executives both as an opportunity for feedback as well as them discovering more about the views and challenges of frontline managers. The goal is making the most out of sharing action plans with the participant's own managers and with colleagues.

Storytelling generated from the most innovative action plans as well as the journey through challenges is another ingredient to celebrate action plans and their value in terms of meeting opportunities the organization is facing.

In summary, the action plan is a tool that links day-to-day work results and behaviors to the workshop/training and becomes the pivotal ingredient for learning. The critical variable for the action plan tool to be successful is moving it from a “need-to-do,” reminiscent of “homework" requirements, to a storytelling occasion. It should be an inspiring pathway to make an impact and increase value and purpose for participants while enjoying an atmosphere of collaboration.

Keep in mind that the action plan is not an assessment tool or an evaluation tool of the participant. Rather, it is an opportunity to give back, add value and celebrate learning that increases engagement, passion and ownership, all while showcasing the practical results the learning has brought about.

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