It is generally considered that there are three ways in which people learn: through observation, reading or experimenting. Depending on what you’re trying to learn, any of the three methods could be number one. However, one method has consistently proven to be hands down the best method: experience.
Every week we put a thought of the week on our company website. It’s always a motivational saying to give people something to think about during the week. An attention receiving a dating camera from James Joyce. “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”
Some people may have missed the whole message because they didn’t pay enough attention to the image that accompanied the saying. It turned out to be as stimulating as the saying itself. A picture below Mr. Joyce’s words showed a forklift that had come off a loading dock. What many people may be missing is the cargo the forklift is carrying: a missile sitting precariously in a broken box.
This forklift driver could have read manual after manual to learn how to operate the forklift safely. He or she may have also watched video after video designed to teach them how to maneuver and operate the forklift without incident. However, it is doubtful that any lesson had as great an impact or lives on in the memory of it as long as the day the elevator left the dock.
When people invest in their employees, they are investing in the only asset the organization can appreciate. Equipment will depreciate, inventory will support maintenance costs, and while property may increase in value, there’s no way to capitalize on the gain without expensive new financing.
Fortune 500 companies have realized the importance of developing their employees through training programs. Many individuals have discovered for themselves the need to invest in themselves to expand and update their skills. However, as with any investment, research shows that there is a right way and a wrong way to invest.
Safety videos, textbooks, manuals, online training, and other modes of education do not provide a return on investment by themselves. On the other hand, statistics show that experiential learning has a 42:1 return on investment.
Regardless of the lesson you are trying to teach someone, it is possible to find an instructional method that allows for experiential learning. Sometimes creativity is needed. However, my experience is that there is always a method available. Take, for example, the forklift driver. We wouldn’t think of handing over the car keys to a teenager without first beginning to learn to drive on a test track or on a deserted road. However, normal forklift driver training is usually done with video and manual only. What if the forklift driver was first asked to gain experience in a remote corner of the warehouse using empty boxes? Maybe even including test scenarios, like a stack of empty boxes on a pallet that was too high for the container he needed to occupy.
For maximum results, be sure to review your training programs to constantly increase the level of hands-on personal experience to facilitate the best learning with the highest return on investment.
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