The ONLY way to ensure people embed new things after a workshop is by proactive, relentless follow-up.
By them.
And by you.
As the saying goes “one person’s embarrassment is another person’s accountability”.
And if they aren’t accountable to someone, you’re relying on them self-motivating to change. Which might not happen. So they’ll probably need help.
So check-in with them. Examples:
- 121s – schedule regular chats, to ensure the training’s changing how they act
- Same questions – keep asking them the same question. That way, they expect it and know they need to answer it. For example: if they’ve been trained to prepare better for meetings, ask them – every time you see them – “what have you prepared for today’s meetings?”
- “Best thing. Next thing” – put a weekly reminder in your diary, to ask them what’s the best thing they’ve achieved this week using the training; and the next thing they’re planning to use
- Reminders – ask them where they’ve put their reminders to keep doing their new stuff. And don’t let them get away with “in my desk drawer that I never look in”!
Action Point
Training is:
- A cheap way of making transformational change; or
- An expensive day out
Make sure yours is the first, by diarising relentless follow-up until they’ve changed.