Is your training providing the highest level of ROI?
In my role as consultant and trainer it has always been important to me that the training I deliver makes a difference for the participants of my workshops. How will they use the information effectively? How will they make a difference in their own lives and careers? How will it impact the people they work with?
I was fortunate early on in my learning and development career to have fabulous mentors. Reinforced repeatedly was the importance of involving the customer in the needs assessment and design and development of training. As a trainer getting to know my clients well— their culture, business, goals and objectives etc. is essential to ensuring that the training is useful and meaningful.
Donald Kirkpatrick is well known for his published studies that focus present framework for measuring the effectiveness of training (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Kirkpatrick.) For consultants and trainers data for the first two levels of Kirkpatrick’s ‘four level’ model for training is fairly easy to measure and evaluate if you provide training that participants engage in and exercises and practices that can be observed and coached. The next two-levels measure the effective transfer of skills to the job (usually observable about 3-6 months after the training) and at the fourth level the ability to connect the results of the training to measure against monetary or performance based criteria. This is where the participant’s manager’s role becomes critical.
Research conducted by Mary Broad and John Newstrom, (authors of Transfer of Training) reports that only 10-20% of training results in measurable behavioral change on the job. How often do participants go back to their jobs and their manager’s ask the question “How was the training?”…end of conversation. How can you create that transfer? How can you increase your ROI? It must start from the top. Reinforcement and application of the training on the job must be seen as one of the key competencies of any manager.
What will your management team begin to do differently? Stay-tuned….