Demonstrating the value of Training

One of the things I  try do continually is to assess what various organization's training needs and challenges facing them are. Over time, one of the favorite woes of training/hr managers is 'management approval'. Sometimes the user department and HR  are convinced of the necessity for certain types and levels training but get shot down at approval level. Responses most often heard are - "no budget", "it’s the wrong time", “not enough value to the business", "we can’t afford to let people off work at this time" amongst other well worn answers.

Some managers are stumped for a response when faced with these answers and the training goes on hold. Many business leaders appreciate the concept of training the workforce but are unable to make the commitment in resources required to make it happen. Here are a few tips for the manager who needs to train thier team for better performance in the face of stiff competition for organizational resources.

1.      Find a way to clearly define and communicate the value of your training initiative to the organization. This may seem easy on paper. In practice we in HR and training are challenged by our limited ability to analyze data and express ourselves in numbers, especially in financial terms. We must learn to speak the language of our business. This is the only way to engage attention at the executive level.

One way to do this is to measure performance trends and their drivers both at an organizational (what are we doing?) and competitive level (what are our competitors doing?).  If w are able to make a case for value in terms of financials - increasing profits, retaining customers, decreasing costs, minimizing waste, driving innovation, increasing employer engagement or competitive advantage, to mention a few;  we will have the needed  attention at executive level to make things happen.

It is important to know where our business is (in performance and the underlying competencies required) compared to where the business needs to be. We must know how our organization did in the past, what we are doing now and future business directions - these trends need to be firmly in view as we make our case to management. Our requests for approval should be based on thorough research, clear analyses and where possible related to the bottom line  in Naira and kobo terms.

2.      Adopt a multifaceted approach to training.  From the viewpoints of transferring skills, managing costs, and enabling learning across the organization, a heterogeneous or blended approach is useful. It is possible to reduce the investment required in more expensive types of training (e.g. classroom training provided by third parties) by including/ increasing other types of learning - online learning, mentoring/coaching programs.

Training gets more effective as the combination of different approaches ensures (a) learning re-enforcement (b) encourages internalization (c) reduces monotony (d) can be a viable tool for improving synergy and collaboration across the organization.

Another good alternative is to train a few internal 'expert' to train others within the organization. This reduces the number of people attending external training, and builds organizational competency in the area of knowledge retention and distribution. For this to work however, there must be a conscious effort to harness the newly created training talent through regularly scheduled knowledge sharing sessions.

3.      Document, measure and record post training impact. Quite often, business leadership sees HR spending a lot on training with minimal evidence of transfer of this investment to the workplace. This problem can be tackled in 2 ways – (a) Select training that is action oriented. There are many learning alternatives available on the market today and 3rd party trainers with varying levels of competence. In making your selection of training provider and articulating your training requirements, it is critical to emphasize the need to integrate a practical approach that focuses on making the skills taught relevant to your specific situation and desirable for use in real life. Learners do best when they are able to practice what they are being taught and can make the connection between the learning and solutions to everyday work issues. (b) Measure and report performance impact back to management. Don’t let the last thing they see of the training be the approval request. In making the request, try to create specific achievable and measurable outcomes (as best as you can).

Once you have approval, measure on several levels – learners, assessment of the training attended, impact made from the supervisor’s perspective, as well as achievement of the outcomes previously set. This should be done both short term (0- 3months) and long term (12 months or more) and insights shared with the organization. You will find that as a training function, measuring the impact of learning also gives you the insight needed to make better training decisions and provide strategic direction.

See 2 other view points on making the most of training from the individual www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-get-maximum-value-from-a-professional-development-class/411  and organizational www.trainingmag.com/article/maximizing-business-value-training perspective .

A very popular approach for measuring training effectiveness is the Kirkpatrick model. Research it online and/or email me : info@psnlbusinesssolutions.com  to request a free toolkit for using the Kirkpatrick model to measure training impact for your organization.