You probably know that one of the best ways to get your trainees thinking about how they’ll bring what they’ve learned from the training back into the real world is by having them reflect and fill out an action plan. I wanted to share with you an action plan template that I’ve found to be a little more successful than simply having people write out 2 or 3 things they plan to do when they return back to the real world.
One problem with a lot of action plans that I’ve seen is that they’re introduced in the final 10 or 15 minutes of a training session, and participants fill them out in a hurry because they can see that the training is about to end and they’d like to leave.
This version of an action plan template is something that participants can use, beginning early during your training session (perhaps even at the very beginning) by taking some time to reflect on their current state and what they’d like their future state to be when it comes to the content or skills that you’re teaching.
Action Plan as a Reflective Journey
This action plan helps take your training participants on a reflective journey throughout your training session by having them think about:
- The current state of their situation
- Their vision for their future state if they’re able to apply what they’ve learned in your training
- What specific actions they’d like to take to bridge the gap between their current and future states
- A brainstorm of anything that could get in their way of taking those actions (budget, time, resources, support, etc)
- What actions they can take to mitigate those challenges
Prioritize Action Planning
Since participants can’t take action on all of their items at once, the final piece to this action plan is to have them prioritize their action items by identifying which steps are:
- Low effort/high impact
- High effort/low impact
- Low effort/low impact
- High effort/high impact
It’s certainly a more complex and involved way of looking at next steps and action items, and it will definitely take more time to reflect and fill out a form like this, but the payoff in terms of actually having your participants prioritize and apply things from your training could be immense.
By using this structured action plan, participants create a clear, thoughtful roadmap for applying what they’ve learned. Instead of rushing through a to-do list, they’ll develop a personalized strategy that boosts follow-through and impact. Give it a try and see how it enhances your training’s effectiveness!
