Workplace Climate and Peer Support as Determinants of Training Transfer.

Although billions of dollars are spent annually on training and development, much about the transfer processes is not well understood. This study investigated the interaction of workplace climate and peer support on the transfer of learning in a corporate field setting. Supervisor ratings of performance on several skill dimensions were obtained before and after training. Trainees in a division with a more favorable climate and those with greater peer support showed greater improvement. In addition, peer support mitigated the effects of a negative climate. Trainees with peer support in a negative climate achieved the same degree of transfer as trainees in a positive climate. These results suggest that more proximal factors, like peer support, can overcome the effect of more distal factors, like climate, in promoting transfer. This study also advances understanding of the transfer process by assessing workplace environment with the use of measures other than trainee perceptions.

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