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organizational factors influencing transfer 259
TABLE 12.3 Post-training strategies for enhancing transfer
• Organize opportunities to perform trained skills in the workplace to enhance skill retention
and generalization (Ford et al., 1992; Quinones et al., 1995/1996; Tesluk et al., 1995)
• Implement situational cues to remind trainees of prior training (Rouiller & Goldstein, 1993)
• Develop a reward structure for positively reinforcing the application of trained skills (Rouiller
& Goldstein, 1993)
• Promote an organizational culture (e.g., continuous learning culture, transfer climate) that
encourages transfer (Tracey et al., 1995)
• Design a relapse prevention intervention to raise awareness of the relapse process and to
facilitate the development of strategies for dealing with obstacles to transfer (Marx, 1982)
• Conduct training evaluation to evaluate the longer-term effectiveness of training using a
variety of measures (Kraiger et al., 1993)

OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM

A lack of opportunity to perform skills on the job can impede transfer by affecting the
chance to practice learned skills. Ford, Quinones, Sego, and Sorra (1992) found that
four months after completing training, trainees reported wide variations in terms of the
range of trained skills they had applied to the job and the number of times that these
skills were applied. Trainees who have more opportunities to perform trained skills tend
to generalize these skills to other work-related tasks (Tesluk, Farr, Mathieu, & Vance,
1995). Supervisors play a key role in providing opportunities to perform, as they tend
to assign challenging and interesting tasks that promote continued skill development to
employees who they perceive as talented or motivated (Quinones, Ford, Sego, & Smith,
1995/1996).

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND CLIMATE

Organizational culture and climate can affect training outcomes by rewarding or pun-
ishing attempts to transfer. Rouiller and Goldstein (1993) defined transfer climate as the
situations and consequences that either help or hinder the transfer of learned skills to
the job. Situational cues remind trainees of their training and provide opportunities to
use the skills (e.g., the setting of goals for trainees by supervisors). The consequences
of applying the learned behaviors can also become cues that will influence further use
of these skills (e.g., positive feedback from the supervisor). Both situational cues and
consequences contribute to the transfer climate, with more positive climates associated
with greater transfer (Rouiller & Goldstein, 1993).
Continuous-learning culture refers to the need for trainees to participate in ongoing
knowledge and skill development. Continuous-learning culture, along with transfer cli-
mate, has been shown to influence the transfer of supervisory skills (Tracey et al., 1995).
Social support for the application of skills from the employee’s supervisor, as well as
from work colleagues, is an important contributor to the organization’s transfer climate
and continuous-learning culture (Tracey et al., 1995). Where limited opportunities to
perform skills and a lack of positive organizational culture or climate are apparent,
incorporating a relapse prevention module into the training course may prepare trainees
for difficulties they are likely to encounter when attempting to apply trained skills in the
workplace.