Let’s talk about transfer motivation. Learners with a high transfer motivation will leave the training with a strong feeling of commitment, and the mindset of ” Yes, I want to put this into practice!”. After reading Dr Ina's book, it really hit me that this is something often overlooked when preparing a training.
Research tells us that a strong desire to actively use and implement what you have learned in your everyday work is key (however not a guarantee) when it comes to succeeding with your transfer work.
However, sometimes we are so keen on making sure we provide our learners with all the important content they need for a specific training - we forget to plan for how to increase the motivation for those attending the training. How could you plan for creating transfer motivation in your next training, and support your trainees to say ”Yes, I want to apply what I have learned into practice!”
- You could look over how you communicate about the training to the learners. Instead of just having a text describing the content, maybe you could have a testimonial from a previous participant that really succeeded in their transfer work after the training.
- Make sure you use supportive and benefit-oriented wording, and that the benefits and the value of the training are clearly communicated.
- It’s very powerful to boost motivation by encouraging self-initiative and self-responsibility. Maybe you could introduce a motivational letter as a pre-assignment to do before the training, or just send out a short question on what their expectations are before?
- Or, maybe you need to have the courage to offer less training in your organisation? From a transfer perspective, sometimes fewer offers, more clearly tailored to your company and employees specific needs can enhance the motivation and thus amp up your transfer success.
To sum up, planning for transfer motivation is an activity that might sometimes fall in the shadow when designing a training - but to give this golden nugget some extra attention and love will for sure increase your transfer success!
