According to Training Magazine's annual industry report, organizations in the United States spent $55.8 billion on training in 2006 which translates to $1,273 per employee, up from $955 per employee the previous year. Obviously, companies are getting the message that training is important. Yet, training is not an end in and of itself. I believe the true test of whether a company values training and learning is what happens after the training.

Picture this - An employee just returned from training. It's Bob. He learned a lot of great new tools and processes to apply to the business. On the day he returns from training, Bob is motivated and excited to apply what he's learned. Do you think if I called him six months later that motivation and excitement would still be there? It may not. There are a lot of cultural and internal forces that inhibit the application of new ideas, knowledge and approaches learned in a training session. Of all the forces, the trainee's boss has the most influence on whether that knowledge will be used or not.

To best leverage the knowledge gained by training, several things should happen. The trainee needs his or her boss to listen and be open to the newly learned ideas and approaches. The boss needs to encourage the use of the new knowledge and tools. The boss needs to hold that employee accountable, including in his review questions such as, "what have you applied or done differently." Lastly, the boss needs to recognized and reward that employee for using their new knowledge.

An exchange I recently witnessed demonstrates the influence a boss can have. Ten managers in charge of driving new improvements and processes into the business attended a one day training. The managers were enthusiastic about the new ideas, processes and tools they'd learned and were eager to start applying them. At the end of the day, their Vice President came in to see how they were doing. As they introduced their new found knowledge and ideas on what to do, the VP calmly and studiously shot each idea and each person in the group down, one by one. He talked to them for 45 minutes about why their suggested approaches wouldn't work (even though they were basing their suggestions on best practices). He sent the message that you can come to training but don't try anything new.

I'm not saying it is impossible for managers to use their new ideas without their boss' support. It is just harder. For this group, I did see a few glimmers of hope from some very determined individuals. One said, "I'll use this approach in my small area, show others my success and then expand it as I am promoted over time". Another outright disagreed later when the VP was not within earshot but I could tell that she wasn't sure how things would go. Another trainee totally fell under the VP's spell, "I see what you are saying, none of what we've learned really applies to our situation," he said. Another one bites the dust even before he's left the training room. I know that the VP didn't intend to crush their newfound knowledge but his approach was one of telling, not listening. His message to them was, '"that's nice but let me give you the right answers".

Training is about empowering others with knowledge and new approaches. The rubber meets the road when that knowledge is taken back into the day to day work world. Is it embraced, crushed, forgotten? Bottom line - it's expensive to send people to training, not only in dollars but in time away from the job. Doesn't it make sense to embrace the learning so that you can get a return on your investment?