Incentive-Based Peer Training: Will It Truly Boost In-House Talent and Motivation?

Incentive-Based Peer-to-Peer Training Program

A peer-to-peer training program is generally an informal initiative where employees share their knowledge based on their interests. Will linking this to monetary incentives help the company build in-house talent? Considering that employees who take the lead as in-house trainers in their chosen subjects will likely enhance their skills and train others, this could be beneficial. The idea is to motivate employees to refine their skills and pass on their knowledge through a formal training program.

Pros and Cons of Incentive-Based Training

What are the pros and cons of such a training program? The incentive aspect is crucial—will it motivate employees and add value to the program?

Alternative: Subject Matter Expert Training

On the other hand, wouldn't paying for a 2-day training session with a subject matter expert be more effective? Which option will create long-term value for the organization?

Please share your thoughts.

Regards,
Suvinee.

Hey Suvinee,

Initially, you can have a training session with a subject matter expert to get your key people trained and gain insight into the subject. Then, going forward, they can pass on the same knowledge and train others and new joiners. I have seen this model work well both in terms of finances and knowledge sharing.

Cheers

I can understand why you have raised this query about peer-to-peer training. I could read between the lines. Possessing knowledge on a particular subject is one thing, and the ability to transfer it to someone else's head is another. It's not even a question of the transfer of knowledge; at the workplace, what we require are skills. Will peers be able to build these skills? If building skills in someone were that easy, then professions like teaching, training, coaching, etc., would not have existed.

Training Skills and Assessment

Training skills are absolutely independent. It takes years to master these skills. If you wish to conduct peer-to-peer training, are these peers capable of training? Who has assessed their training skills, and on what parameters were these skills assessed?

Conducting training requires building knowledge resources. To do this, a lot of time is spent reading books, magazines, web resources, etc. When an external trainer conducts training for a day, a sincere trainer could spend a couple of days building content, aligning it to the client's requirements, and so on. Will "peers" be able to do this back-end activity?

Recording and Evaluating Training Effectiveness

After each training, we, the trainers, maintain a file to record lessons. With each batch, the quality of training improves. This process continues for years. However, in your case, "peers" will consider this training as their secondary duty. Will they record their lessons? If records are maintained, who will benefit from these records?

Any training, whether in soft skills or otherwise, must be linked to ROI. We must be clear about what should be increased or decreased. Far from measuring training effectiveness when "peers" conduct the training, have you measured the training effectiveness when external trainers were hired?

In peer-to-peer training, both sides are spending their time—one for learning and the other for training. Can you measure the ROI on the time spent? The question of incentives can be discussed only when revenue is generated through this method. Incentives will be a small part of the savings/revenue. How will you measure the savings?

Questions for Consideration

In view of this, the following questions merit consideration:

a) Who will do the training, when, where, and how? Similarly, who will learn, when, where, and how? What if there is initially a lot of interest, but it wanes over time?

b) How will you measure the cost of this activity? On what parameters will you measure it?

c) How will you measure the benefits? What parameters will you use?

d) How will you measure the costs arising from the transfer of incomplete knowledge? On what parameters will you measure it? Will one instance of customer dissatisfaction or operational breakdown wipe out all the savings made?

e) Will the internal trainers be taken seriously? Please do not forget the famous Hindi proverb "ghar ki murgi dal barabar."

Alternative: Formal Mentoring Programme

What is the via media? As an alternative, you may launch a "Formal Mentoring Programme" in your company. In this programme, mentees (learners) are assigned to a mentor—a senior person who acts as a guide, coach, trainer, consultant, adviser, etc. They meet regularly, and the mentor guides the mentee in learning new skills. The focus shifts from training to self-learning. Mentors also help in building the personality of their mentees, developing their careers, and understanding the company's vision, mission, and values. I assist companies in instituting formal mentoring programs. Feel free to contact me if you are interested. Click on the hyperlink to learn more about Mentoring training.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

I can understand that some companies can't afford external trainers, and it's difficult to manage the budget for that. We have tried a peer-to-peer training program, and it was somewhat successful. We appointed experienced professionals in-house and asked them to present their favorite topics to us. I agree with Mr. Dinesh; we must hire services from external trainers to achieve beneficial results. However, many times, companies can't spare a specific budget for training. Meanwhile, you can proceed with your idea and develop skills from your experienced staff. You will definitely learn something rather than not taking the initiative and learning nothing.

Regards,

Thank you so much, Ashima, Dinesh, Kashif, and the Thinksurvey team. All your inputs are really very helpful. Apart from gaining a broader perspective on this issue, it has helped boost my confidence as well. I will consider all your inputs and see how they best fit into my current organizational dynamics. I agree with Mr. Dinesh; the ability to transfer knowledge also makes a huge difference to the outcome of training and the extent to which internal trainers are taken seriously. Many other organizational dynamics go into this.

I will surely get back to you if I have further queries on this.

Regards,
Suvinee.