1. Don’t Be
a Training
Order Taker:
Avoid the Guus is city manager of a small
town in the Netherlands.
One of the main tasks of the local
Performance
council is managing the interaction
between the council and citizens.
According to a recent satisfaction
Paradox
survey, 40 percent of the approximately
20,000 letters written annually to
citizens lead to complaints. It takes a
civil servant, on average, about two
hours to write a letter. Guus finds this
WLP professionals need to gather root cause situation inefficient and unacceptable.
data before offering performance solutions. He instructs his training manager
to start customer-oriented writing
By Thomas J. LaBonte, Jos Arets, and Vivian Heijnen training immediately.
Photo by Corbis

2. The Learning Reflex
Redefine problem/opportunity Redefine problem/opportunity
negative positive
negative
positive
Training/learning
Performance at work Career results
The training manager aggressively ••• by Tom LaBonte and Jim Robinson
persuades colleagues about the need for This fictional example shows the revealed that up to 80 percent of lack
data to ensure the right solution the first essence of the performance paradox— of performance is the result of poor
time. He gathers data on the barriers not challenging a requested solution workplace processes and other non-
to success and offers solutions that will and not gathering root cause data yet training causes.
improve results using the ASTD Human expecting results. Managers are frustrated because
Performance Improvement (HPI) Model Performance paradoxes are fueled training may not deliver the changes
based on the research of Thomas Gilbert. by a lack of partnering between work- they seek in employee behavior. When
In the data report meeting, the train- place training and performance (WLP) questioned about partnering with
ing manager discusses the key findings: professionals and their clients. Being workplace trainers, managers often
• he process from receiving a citizen’s
T a reactive order taker leads to a lack of ask, “Why meet with someone who
question to answering credibility with line managers. does not produce business results and
the letter is not documented. When questioned about their rela- who does not know my business and
• he computers are outdated and
T tionships with clients, internal practi- can’t add value?” From their perspec-
frequently break down. tioners typically respond, “My clients tive, such responses are quite rational.
• here is a lack of clear standards.
T don’t get it! They will not engage or To deal with these issues, internal
• here is poor collaboration between
T take ownership. They expect me to practitioners need to deal with the fac-
the different departments that answer implement and come back when the tors that drive the performance paradox.
the citizens’ letters. project is done. They don’t want data
Guus finds that the real causes of or details, just action. They have been The training reflex
citizen complaints are the result of poor in the business long enough that they According to Jos Arets and Vivian Hei-
customer service and the differences of think they know the answers. So re- jnen, the training reflex occurs when
opinion on priorities between the coun- gardless of the issue, my clients always managers automatically default to
cil staff and citizens. He understands ask for the same thing: training.” training as the solution to a problem.
that training alone won’t lead to de- They often request training because
sired performance, so he focuses on pro- Default action they don’t know of any other solutions;
cess and resource solutions with some Managers and supervisors need to they believe training is a silver bullet
training on a revised process to improve look beyond training as the sole solu- that will improve performance; they
citizen satisfaction. The performance tion to every performance problem. resist the time and money it takes to
paradox—providing training when They observe poor performance gather data; or they are unwilling to
lack of knowledge isn’t the root cause and assume that lack of knowledge allow trainers into their workplace to
of the problem—has been avoided. and skills are the root causes. In too determine root causes because of fear
Unfortunately in many organizations, many cases, trainers willingly accept or potential embarrassment.
this scenario often leads to a different a client’s request for training without The training reflex reinforces itself in
outcome. finding the real problem. A 1999 study two ways. If the problem improves with
58 | T+D | December 2006

3. Trainers must
training, then training continues to be
the default solution. If training is insuf-
an indefinite lifecycle in the
organization.
first change their
ficient, then the problem may be rede-
fined or another training department
Time, resource issues, and
pressure on line managers for
mindset, behavior,
may be selected to fix the problem. The
training reflex is affirmed and more
results can be overwhelming
and that stress can drive them to
and deliverables if
training is conducted until it works. act fast in the hope of getting a they expect clients to
change their mindset
There are other factors that drive quick lift to the bottom line.
the performance paradox. Training The waste of time and
and behavior.
may form the basis for employee de- resources; skepticism about
velopment, but training itself does not the value of internal HR and
guarantee the expected performance training practitioners; cynicism
outcome. Even with the combination about workplace training; increased mindset and behavior. Trainers must
of the desire of trainers to deliver and resistance to change; and a déjà-vu act as proactive business partners
the performers to learn, providing effect when training is recommended instead of reactive order takers by
training with little or no data to sup- in the future can cause frustration learning the business, understanding a
port a training need fuels the perfor- for the manager and the learning client’s business needs, and frequently
mance paradox. professional. meeting to discuss performance prob-
Managers often don’t clarify the lems and opportunities. At every client
real performance problem, but they Solutions interaction—including telephone calls,
request a solution based on poor per- There are three steps that can be ap- emails, and meetings—trainers must
formance they observe in the work- plied simultaneously to avoid the per- plan for and deliver value. They must
place. Trainers who immediately agree formance paradox. clarify the real problem so that their
to the client’s request without clari- Trainers must first change their data, solutions, and results address
fying the real problem, measurable mindset, behavior, and deliverables their client’s performance gaps.
gaps, and root causes give the paradox if they expect clients to change their There are some very specific
December 2006 | T+D | 59

4. Factors that lead to the performance paradox client on outcomes of value that
will transform performance gaps
Pressure on the manager and business results in a positive way.
Hunt for diplomas
to improve performance Limit the use of training to develop
competencies. Make training one com-
ponent of complete performance solu-
tions. For new performers, new systems,
Thinking the other and new products and services, training
way around Training-reflex can equip the performers with required
skills and knowledge. A personal devel-
opment plan (PDP) supports individual
accountability while tracking and mea-
suring progress on learning. Learning is
performance paradox applied in the workplace using a team
development plan (TDP).
Apply learning through workplace
performance. Based on root cause da-
ta, learning solutions can be integrated
questions that WLP professionals • hen did the lack of results first occur?
W into complete performance solutions
should ask to find the real problem • here did the lack of results occur?
W to produce organizational results and
and engage the client in a business • Is there enough worth to make this a
applied and tracked through team
discussion: priority for action against other com- development plans. The PDP and ex-
• ho are the performers who are not
W peting demands? pected results are aligned with the TDP
producing desired results? After asking those questions, and goals of the organization. Individ-
• hat results are they not producing?
W WLP professionals need to sell the ual and team goals and plans are set by
60 | T+D | December 2006

5. The model for development and performance the appropriate levels of management.
Synergy between competence-based
learning and performance-based re-
Reflection PDP
sults may then occur.
The riskiest course is to continue
giving in to the training reflex and turn
a blind eye to root causes of perfor-
mance gaps. Do you have the guts
to move from the role of reactive
order taker to that of a business
partner? Prevent the performance
Development Performance paradox whenever possible and
deliver tangible business value by
applying the human performance
improvement process. T+D
Tom LaBonte is the managing director of
Workplace Performance in Huntersville,
North Carolina; tlabonte@workplace-
performance.com. Jos Arets is manag-
Reflection TDP ing director of Blue Note Consultants, a
commerical and consulting firm in the
Netherlands; arets@bnote.ni. Vivian Heijnen
is an HPI consultant and instructional de-
signer at Blue Note Consultants;
heijnen@bnote.ni.
December 2006 | T+D | 61

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