Elucidating the Effect of Post-Training Transfer Interventions on Trainee Attitudes and Transfer of Training: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Using a mixed methods sequential explanatory approach, this chapter explores how post-training transfer interventions (relapse prevention, proximal plus distal goal setting) influence the transfer of learned knowledge and skills to the job, either directly or through changes in specific dimensions of trainee attitudes (i.e., readiness to change, autonomous motivation to transfer). Quantitative data were collected from employees (N = 160) who attended a time management training program, and analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. This was followed by in-depth interviews (n = 16) that focused on participants’ perceptions of and reactions to the transfer interventions. Findings suggest that relapse prevention and goal setting directly and indirectly facilitate training transfer and provide greater insight into the underlying mechanisms that account for how and why post-training transfer interventions influence trainee attitudes and training transfer.