Taking into account the new demands for learning professionals as strategic business part-ners (Dave, 2004), this paper analyzes the transfer determinants for training effectiveness from the learning professional's perspective. The purpose of this study is to understand the challenges of learning professionals to be able to offer support and consulting for line man-agers in transfer management. Therefore, this contribution presents the results of a case study on transfer management within a business school of an internationally operating bank for which the transfer determinants were analysed especially to enable their line managers for transfer and learning. The specific question framing this inquiry was: How do learning professionals redefine the task of promoting transfer according to the needs of the line managers and translate it into their interventions? This paper proposes the theoretical background of a framework for transfer management, which meets the organisational requirements for corporate learning. Following existing variables of transfer research, those were extracted and modified which affect the role of the learning professionals and the learning organisation (Holton III, Bates, & Ruona, 2000; Hasanbegovic & Seufert, 2007). The framework contains training specific scales (ability to recognize the learner readiness, motivation to support transfer, supervisor support) as well as general scales on the individual (openness, self-efficacy of learning professionals), group (peer support, openness to change within the business school) and organisational level (task force, leadership) which can influence the transfer into the workplace.

Since the learning professionals fail to collaborate closely with the line managers concerning learning transfer, expert interviews with the involved stakeholders (program managers, learning business partners and line managers) were conducted to analyse the current transfer barriers and to validate the theoretical findings on appropriate transfer interventions. This research investigated, through the analysis of interview transcripts, the subjective experience of professional developers as experts negotiating the complex terrain of transfer manage-ment at their business school. Following a qualitative content analysis, data collection, analysis and theory stand in reciprocal relationship with each other, whereby the overarching codes categories were revised as patterns emerged (Gläser & Laudel, 2004). In a second step, a questionnaire was developed for learning professionals which focuses on their individual experience of their transfer work as basis of assessment. This instrument implies the factors which were specified within the transfer model and the extracted patterns from the expert interviews. In order to evaluate the transfer management climate at the business school a complete inventory count was conducted. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the existing transfer determinants at the educational organisation of the bank. The sample consisted of N= 149 staff members located in Switzerland, Great Britain, USA and Asia consisting of 35 learning business partners and 114 program managers.

The results on training specific scales indicate that the supervisors are not estimated as facilitator for learning transfer by the learning professionals due to a) missing interest for training, b) different ideas and attitudes on education and training and c) missing skills for coach-ing. No more tools and methods are necessary for improvement, but a systematic change process to accompany the supervisors in developing their skills for coaching learning processes. Moreover, the results on training design scales show that supervisors do not under-stand what transfer evaluation means in general. At the same time, they do not seem to be systematically supported by the learning professionals at the business school in defining the transfer goals or in accompanying their employees' after training. General scales like peer support indicate that the extent to which colleagues reinforce and support the use of learning on the job is limited due to spare exchange and collaboration and a lack in transparency concerning the learning professional roles and their relational structure. The results demonstrate gaps between formal descriptions in the leadership competency framework and the "lived" role of supervisors. Supervisors demand applicable trainings, but treat them like something to check off. This attitude indicates missing epistemological beliefs for transferable learning and knowledge.