Evaluating the Real Effectiveness of Training
Narayan van de Graaff, Managing Director, Advanced HR Solutions
Australian organisations spend over $3 billion annually on formal training and development. Large amounts are also spent on less formal and other types (e.g. on-the-job) of training. What value for money do these organisations get? What value for money does your organisation get?
This is such an important question. More and more senior managers are asking it, and fair enough! However, they usually can't get a definite, reliable answer. Very few organisations measure the ROI (Return On Investment) of training, or evaluate the impact of training and other HR interventions on business results (e.g. sales, costs, customer satisfaction, productivity, staff turnover). Does your evaluation process give you the above answers?
I remember a discussion on evaluation some years ago with a colleague who was the training manager for a large department in the bank we both worked in. He shared that his General Manager had just asked him how effective the training in his department was. Embarrassed, he tried to joke about it, saying, "oh, it's terribly effective", knowing that he had no hard evidence with which to be able to answer that valid question. He was, and isn't alone.
Does Training Work Anyway?
A bold question, coming from a management consultant, particularly given what I'm about to tell you! Much research carried out over the last twenty years has suggested that only
10 - 20% of training is effective.
In other words, it states that only 10 - 20% of training leads to sustained performance improvement in the workplace (isn't that what training is about, after all?). On a more positive note, some more recent evaluation research suggests that training can be very effective and deliver very high returns on investment, if done correctly.
One bit of very encouraging evaluation research was carried out by Feldstein & Boothman over five years. It showed key differences between the 20% of software trainees still using the learning six months later (High Performance Learners or HPLs) and the 80% who were not using it six months later (Low Performance Learners, or LPLs). There were dramatic differences between the HPLs and LPLs in terms of some key factors. The HPLs were much more likely to have done the following:
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Explored the software before coming to class
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Had clear ideas about how to apply the training skills before coming to training
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Used the new skills immediately and often, after the training
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Had clear and reasonable expectations expressed before the training by their manager
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Had managers who supported them after the training, followed up, gave them the opportunity to practice the new skills, followed up with them, and rewarded success.
The above points are replicable - use them and help your learning trainees to become High Performance Learners!
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the effectiveness of your training and HR interventions.
Call 0438 792 300 or alternatively email us
at training@advanced hr.com.au.
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