Transfer of self-leadership skills within the Dutch police:A three-wave study

This three-wave study examined the training-to-work transfer process of a self-leadership skills training programme for crime scene investigators working for the Dutch police force. The transfer process is complex and depends on numerous factors. Two important steps forward are taken in the present study. First, we take into account all transfer steps in one study to gain insights into the transfer process, and second, by being specific about the work situation in which transfer outcomes should occur, we address the "criterion problem" that is often mentioned in transfer research. Based on the Ability Motivation Opportunity model, we hypothesised that the posttraining transfer process starts with being motivated to transfer and that this motivation increases the use of self-leadership during work. Another aspect that may facilitate the use of trained skills is supervisor support, as it offers opportunities to use self-leadership skills during work. In turn, self-leadership skills at work were hypothesised to lead to increased work performance. We tested our transfer model in two different work situations experienced by crime fighters. Our findings show that the use of self-leadership skills is positively related to the detached concern of crime fighters in specific situations. Additionally, our findings show that the use of self-leadership skills mediates the relation between the motivation to transfer and work performance in specific situations. Finally, our findings show that including different transfer steps (i.e. the motivation to transfer, use of skills, and performance), different performance measures, and different work situations in the transfer process provides more insight into when and how transfer-to-work after training occurs. These findings suggest that if organisations aspire to improve such transfer, then they should be specific about the intended posttraining behaviours and performance and the situations in which these outcomes should emerge

Met deze handvaten kun je het effect van trainingen verbeteren

Organisaties investeren veel in training van medewerkers. Maar heeft dat het gewenste effect? “Daar wordt vaak te optimistisch over gedacht.” Wat is nodig om het geleerde op het werk in de praktijk te brengen? Het promotieonderzoek van Jolanda Botke biedt aanknopingspunten om de trainingsopbrengst te optimaliseren

Enhancing Transfer of Soft Skills Training within the Dutch Police

Abstract With soft skills of employees becoming increasingly important for their successful performance, organisations spend a large amount of money on employee soft skills training. However, it often remains unclear to what extend such training is effective. This study shows that transfer results after a soft skills training unfold in a stepwise, staged process, that start with being motivated to transfer, followed by using new skills. This use of skills may consequently turn into improved performance. Additionally, the current research found that since the open character of soft skills may lead to many different types of outcomes in many different contexts (even unwanted transfer outcomes), being specific about the type, context and timeframe of performance (occurrence and measurement), is pivotal in gaining insight into successful transfer. In each transfer step, barriers to transfer may exist. Therefore, successful transfer also needs the disabling or minimising of existing barriers to success

De waarde van VR voor het trainen van soft skills

Uit onderzoek blijkt dat medewerkers soft skills sneller en beter kunnen leren door Virtual Reality (VR) in te zetten (PwC, 2020). The Simulation Crew en Hogeschool Arnhem en Nijmegen namen de proef op de som en ontwikkelden een VR-training om te leren laaggeletterdheid bespreekbaar te maken. Samen met Tilburg University evalueerden ze het effect van de trainin