Featuring scholarly and practitioner insights from HR and people leaders, industry experts, and researchers.

This video addresses a common challenge known as the training transfer gap—the disconnect between the knowledge gained in training sessions and its practical application in the workplace. Despite significant investments in employee training, studies reveal that only about 30% of what is learned is actually applied on the job. The video explains that the traditional focus on individual learning and motivation overlooks a critical factor: persistence or volition, which is the grit required to continually apply new skills amid daily work pressures. This persistence is heavily influenced by the employee’s environment, particularly the support from colleagues and managers. Highlights 🔄 The training transfer gap means most learned skills don't get applied at work. 💡 Only about 30% of training is used on the job due to lack of persistence and support. 🤝 Learning is more effective as a team sport, not a solo mission. 👥 Managers and peers are key to sustaining training transfer and knowledge sharing. 🏆 Peer support can be more powerful than managerial support in encouraging skill application. 📅 Simple practices like follow-ups, peer partnerships, and teach-back sessions boost training impact. 🌱 A culture of continuous learning and sharing drives innovation and team growth. Key Insights 🌟 Volition or persistence is critical to applying new skills: Motivation alone is insufficient. The concept of volition—the sustained effort to use new skills despite obstacles—is crucial. This underlines the psychological dimension of training transfer, emphasizing the need for ongoing encouragement beyond initial learning moments. 🤗 Social environment fuels persistence and learning application: The analogy of learning a dance underscores that skills improve significantly when practiced in a social context. The peer group and workplace culture act as catalysts, reinforcing new behaviors and making the transfer of training more likely to succeed. 👔 Managers as coaches significantly influence training outcomes: Managers who engage before and after training, set clear expectations, and assign practical projects help employees bridge the gap between knowledge and practice. Their active involvement is a strong predictor of training transfer success, demonstrating the managerial role as a critical lever in learning ecosystems. 👥 Peer support often surpasses managerial influence in fostering knowledge sharing: The video cites research showing that peers can have a greater impact on encouraging risk-taking and sharing skills. This insight highlights the importance of horizontal relationships and trust among coworkers in creating a collaborative learning culture. 📊 Structured follow-ups and collaborative activities embed learning into daily work: Practical strategies such as manager check-ins, peer partnerships, teach-back sessions, and digital platforms create multiple touchpoints for reinforcement. These methods reduce the cognitive load of transferring skills by making learning a shared, continuous process rather than a one-time event. 🚀 A learning culture transforms training into sustained organizational growth: Beyond individual gains, embedding learning into everyday work cultivates curiosity, innovation, and stronger professional networks. This systemic approach results in a positive feedback loop where applying skills leads to recognition, which in turn fosters more learning and collaboration. The multiplier effect of this ecosystem approach drives agility and better business outcomes.

Despite significant investments in workplace training, a stubborn gap often prevents employees from applying new skills to their daily tasks. Recent research suggests that the most effective way to close this gap is to view training transfer and knowledge sharing as parallel social processes rather than individual burdens. Success depends heavily on social support, as active encouragement from supervisors and peers creates a reinforcing environment for learning to take root. Organizations can further improve outcomes by focusing on volition, which helps employees persist through obstacles encountered after a workshop ends. By intentionally fostering knowledge networks, companies can transform isolated training events into a sustainable organizational capability that enhances both performance and satisfaction. Ultimately, evaluating the growth of these professional connections provides a more accurate measure of a program's true strategic impact.

In this HCI Webinar, I talk with Doug Ladden about why you can't achieve sustainable leadership success without help from others along the way. Doug is a co-founder and the CEO of Deliveright Logistics, Inc., a technology, logistics, and final-mile delivery provider to retailers of big and bulky goods such as furniture and exercise equipment. Deliveright's patented Grasshopper technology platform offers a complete solution to delivery companies specializing in big and bulky products. Deliveright's nationwide network also powers the U.S. logistics supply chain of major eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retailers, from the manufacturer's dock to the customer's home. Deliveright simplifies complex logistics for hard-to-handle goods and provides best-in-class service to its customers. Before Deliveright, Doug was a co-founder and Senior Partner of DLJ Investment Partners, a private equity manager of middle-market mezzanine funds with $3.5 billion in AUM. As an active investor, he sat on multiple boards of directors for companies, including TransCore, a leader in electronic toll collection systems and owner of DAT digital load boards at truckstops. He currently serves on the Investment Committees of Quilvest Capital Strategies' private debt funds. Doug has expertise in logistics, related technology applications, and private debt investing.

Despite significant investments in workplace training, a stubborn gap often prevents employees from applying new skills to their daily tasks. Recent research suggests that the most effective way to close this gap is to view training transfer and knowledge sharing as parallel social processes rather than individual burdens. Success depends heavily on social support, as active encouragement from supervisors and peers creates a reinforcing environment for learning to take root. Organizations can further improve outcomes by focusing on volition, which helps employees persist through obstacles encountered after a workshop ends. By intentionally fostering knowledge networks, companies can transform isolated training events into a sustainable organizational capability that enhances both performance and satisfaction. Ultimately, evaluating the growth of these professional connections provides a more accurate measure of a program's true strategic impact. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abstract: Workplace training continues to absorb sizeable portions of organizational learning budgets, yet a stubborn gap persists between what employees learn and what they apply, share, and sustain on the job. This brief synthesizes recent empirical work on training transfer, knowledge sharing, and post-training knowledge networks to offer a practitioner-oriented framework for maximizing training impact. Drawing on a mixed-method study by Mehner, Rothenbusch, and Kauffeld (2025) along with foundational and contemporary research in industrial-organizational psychology, the discussion identifies motivation, volition, and social support—particularly from supervisors and peers—as pivotal levers. The brief argues that treating transfer as an individual concern underestimates training's potential; instead, organizations should design for parallel processes of application (transfer) and diffusion (sharing) that ride on intentional knowledge networks. Industry illustrations across construction, financial services, and healthcare demonstrate practical implementation. The closing sections outline forward-looking pillars for embedding learning capability as enduring organizational infrastructure. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Doug Ladden about why you can't achieve sustainable leadership success without help from others along the way. Doug is a co-founder and the CEO of Deliveright Logistics, Inc., a technology, logistics, and final-mile delivery provider to retailers of big and bulky goods such as furniture and exercise equipment. Deliveright's patented Grasshopper technology platform offers a complete solution to delivery companies specializing in big and bulky products. Deliveright's nationwide network also powers the U.S. logistics supply chain of major eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retailers, from the manufacturer's dock to the customer's home. Deliveright simplifies complex logistics for hard-to-handle goods and provides best-in-class service to its customers. Before Deliveright, Doug was a co-founder and Senior Partner of DLJ Investment Partners, a private equity manager of middle-market mezzanine funds with $3.5 billion in AUM. As an active investor, he sat on multiple boards of directors for companies, including TransCore, a leader in electronic toll collection systems and owner of DAT digital load boards at truckstops. He currently serves on the Investment Committees of Quilvest Capital Strategies' private debt funds. Doug has expertise in logistics, related technology applications, and private debt investing.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Despite significant investments in workplace training, a stubborn gap often prevents employees from applying new skills to their daily tasks. Recent research suggests that the most effective way to close this gap is to view training transfer and knowledge sharing as parallel social processes rather than individual burdens. Success depends heavily on social support, as active encouragement from supervisors and peers creates a reinforcing environment for learning to take root. Organizations can further improve outcomes by focusing on volition, which helps employees persist through obstacles encountered after a workshop ends. By intentionally fostering knowledge networks, companies can transform isolated training events into a sustainable organizational capability that enhances both performance and satisfaction. Ultimately, evaluating the growth of these professional connections provides a more accurate measure of a program's true strategic impact. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Despite significant investments in workplace training, a stubborn gap often prevents employees from applying new skills to their daily tasks. Recent research suggests that the most effective way to close this gap is to view training transfer and knowledge sharing as parallel social processes rather than individual burdens. Success depends heavily on social support, as active encouragement from supervisors and peers creates a reinforcing environment for learning to take root. Organizations can further improve outcomes by focusing on volition, which helps employees persist through obstacles encountered after a workshop ends. By intentionally fostering knowledge networks, companies can transform isolated training events into a sustainable organizational capability that enhances both performance and satisfaction. Ultimately, evaluating the growth of these professional connections provides a more accurate measure of a program's true strategic impact. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.