Implementing a Training Program --- As Easy as 1-2-3? Not if you Start at Step 4

by Tracy L. McEnaney and Alicia M. Alvero
Queens College, The City University of New York

For some organizations, implementing a training program can be a daunting task, and yet for others, it’s just another day at the office. I had wished for the latter experience when I was plucked from my banking operations role and “asked” to implement a Sales & Service Quality training program at a medium-sized bank in the Midwest. Having zero experience in the field of Training & Development or Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), I felt both honored and horrified to be the chosen one to facilitate this program. The bank’s executive committee decided they needed to take a bold new direction. Like so many organizations, they knew that changes were necessary for survival.

As the banking industry became more competitive, there was a crucial need for banks to become more sales-oriented -- not just service-oriented. Industry research indicated the more accounts a customer had at one bank, the less likely they were to take their money elsewhere. The bank decided to hire a consulting group to assist me in implementing this magic solution to their problem. The consultants provided us with some market research indicating that one of the major goals of this program would be to have the employees cross-sell more bank products. For example, if a teller noticed that a customer frequently overdrew his or her checking account, they would suggest a product such as overdraft protection. The objective of this sales approach, in conjunction with improved quality customer service, was to increase customer retention, and therefore, increase bank profits.

Though management presented this endeavor to me as merely a training package in need of implementation, I soon found out that this “project” was a huge undertaking -- involving an organizational culture change affecting every bank employee -- and that strong resistance was just around the corner. I often said that trying to change a 90 year-old bank’s ingrained traditions would be as easy as moving the marble columns that support our stately lobby. However, with the backing of the bank president, and the much-needed help of two outside consultants, I forged ahead with the program. An office-wide memo was sent to all employees announcing the new program, and informing them that a “disciplined measurable system” would be implemented to ensure that we were providing quality service to customers. There was no mention of the extensive training program employees were about to be subjected to, or the dreaded five-letter word, “sales” in the initial communication. Nor did the memo indicate that employees’ customer service skills would be measured by “secret shoppers” who would evaluate their banking experience. The memo clearly omitted some key facts and, in my opinion, the proper context necessary to orient employees to this new banking environment. Yet, now as I look back on this experience, I wonder if these were purposeful omissions, or management’s naïveté regarding the magnitude of this endeavor.

Much research has been done on the topic of training to assess its effectiveness in changing and maintaining behaviors. According to Perlow (2001), training can be an effective approach for changing target behaviors, however, before implementation there are many important factors to consider. Program development, in and of itself, is crucial to the success of any training implementation. This is especially true when taking on a program attempting to make significant changes, such as the bank’s endeavor. As suggested by Perlow, (2001) one must first understand the organization’s culture and context. This step was clearly missing from my experience. Although a tried and true training package was purchased and ready to be plugged in, no one had addressed the issue of our current state. It was as if we started the implementation process at the middle point, rather than first laying the important foundation, and then building a strong framework that would support our goals. Was management really aware of the profound change in behavior we were asking of our employees? Second, if they weren’t, then surely the middle managers, who are always key to the success of a program such as this, didn’t see what was coming either.

Though I may be drawing a perilous picture of this situation, the outcome was not at all fatal. There were certainly many successes with this program, or I wouldn’t have been able to finish this paper, as I would have been off on another project (or at another employer)! However, the growing pains were more severe than necessary, and I would have strongly benefited from the principles of OBM. Perlow (2001) discusses the importance of program development and cites Maher’s (1983) implementation procedure, called DURABLE, as a good example of a strong framework to use when considering a training intervention. This seven-step procedure begins with D (durable) – ensuring that you’ve met with the key people of the organization to clearly discuss not only the goals of the program, but the steps necessary to get there. While this step was technically accomplished in the bank’s case, we did not include the branch managers and other key middle managers in the planning/proposal stage. I believe that omission contributed to some initial resistance by the managers. The second step is U (understanding) – ensuring that the organization is prepared for execution of the plan. This step was also glossed over as management did not realize the breadth of the program and did not position their managers to be ready for this type of behavior change in their employees.

The third step is R (reinforcing) – ensuring that management reinforces the desired behavior. An essential component of any training program is to systematically determine which behaviors are critical to the success of an organization. Another important factor is to assess whether the current behavior is a skill deficit or a motivational issue. While the target behaviors at the bank were successfully identified by the outside consultants as cross-selling bank products and enhanced customer service, it was just assumed that employees lacked the skills needed for the desired behaviors. Therefore, mandatory training sessions were held at each facility for several months on topics such as Telephone Training Techniques, Customer Relations, Cross-Selling and Sales Management Training. Though the training techniques were effective – we used a combination of written and verbal instruction, performance modeling, and role-playing – the important step of assessing the current state was overlooked at the bank. Time and money was wasted for not discovering earlier that training alone would have little effect on those who could demonstrate those behaviors but didn’t want to.

Perlow (2001) makes a clear point based on his studies, indicating that training is ineffective when there is a lack of motivation. Since initially there were no consequences, or contingencies of reinforcement in place for the desired behaviors to be maintained, we found only modest improvements resulting from the training. Having the benefit of hindsight, I would have first assessed the employee’s current skills and attitudes and then implemented both a training program and a performance feedback and incentive program simultaneously, supported by management, to reinforce the target behaviors.

The fourth step is A (acquiring) – ensuring that you acquire the proper tools to implement such a program, including a communication plan and an ample budget for successful implementation. Though we did put our dollars to good use by hiring a reputable consulting team, there weren’t enough internal resources availed to me, especially since this was not my area of expertise. Eventually, I was able to hire an assistant and build a training committee of product experts within the bank to assist me with the rollout and maintenance of the program. I believe the training program would have been more successful if we stressed the fifth step of DURABLE, B (building) – making sure that all levels of management were on board with the program, and that they were demonstrating their belief in this charge to their employees. The sixth step, L (learning) is one that I believe we did best – providing employees with the proper tools in order to acquire new skills. Our training sessions were comprehensive and multi-faceted.

Finally, the seventh step, E (evaluating) was also one of our strong points. The consultants provided the bank with detailed assessments of the secret shopper’s banking experience. This helped us determine if the targeted behaviors increased, and where we needed more training. The subsequent creation of a cross-selling tracking system also allowed us to see how we did in the area of sales.

I would like to see more research on whether the success of a training program is closely linked to the culture of an organization, and its state of readiness. I learned that assessing the climate and setting the proper foundation is key, and while you may think your first step in training implementation is creating your training calendar, you would be wise to push that back and make sure you are really starting at step #1.

References

Perlow, R. (2001). Training and development in organizations: A review of the organizational behavior management literature. In C. M. Johnson, W. K. Redmon, & T. C. Mawhinney (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Performance: Behavior Analysis and Management (pp. 169-190). Binghamton, NY: The Hawthorn Press.

Maher, C. A. (1983). Description and evaluation of an approach to implementing programs in organizational settings. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 5, 69-98.