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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

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As part of its continuing effort to make you wonder what news is really news, Workforce Management just reposted a February article by Gary Kranz titled: "E-Learning Hits Its Stride." Here's the teaser.

"Despite some differing numbers, two widely regarded and independent reports on the U.S. training market conclude that 30 percent of employee learning last year occurred online. The question of whether workplace training improves worker performance remains unanswered, however."

The biggest question, as Kranz points out, is that it's not clear yet whether e-learning actually has an impact on performance. Based on my forty years in business we're not going to get that answer any time soon because we don't do the things necessary to determine if any training, e- or otherwise improves performance.

We don't measure learning. Instead we ask participants to evaluate the room, the instructor, the lunch, the presentation, and the location. We ask them to answer questions about everything except whether they learned something they can use on the job.

We don't set people up to succeed back on the job. Marshall Goldsmith studied 86,000 people who went through leadership training. What made the big difference in whether they changed behavior in a positive way wasn't what happened in the classroom.

Instead, Goldsmith found that the people who went back to work and "practiced what was taught, discussed what they learned with coworkers and did regular 'progress checks' to gauge improvement" were the ones that improved. Yet companies do virtually nothing to support that critical set of behaviors after the classroom door swings shut.

There are also two important sets of terms that need definition and differentiation. We need to distinguish between training and simply providing information. And we need to decide what's part of e-learning. Today that term covers everything from structured training in how to run a cash register to the use of wikis to share experience among research scientists.

The most important issue here isn't whether e-learning is good or bad or whether it's increasing in usage. The most important issue is that we spend money on "training" without defining what we want and how we'll measure success.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

Request your free copy of "Meeting the Challenges of the Boomer Brain Drain: An integrated approach."

Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.