Evaluation of T&D Practices in SMEs

Dr Ananthapadhmanabha Achar

Introduction• Upgrading the skills of all types of workers,

including managers, is central to firmperformance in knowledge-based economies.

• With the huge investment in developing T&Dprogrammes, the question is no longer whetherorganizations should train or not, but rather it isabout whether or not training is worthwhile andeffective

• To determine whether training programsproduce real benefits for SMEs, it is of utmostimportance to evaluate the effectiveness of thetraining programme

Introduction • Eventhough the evaluation is a very important

stage for a T&D programme, this activity is themost neglected and problematic

• As a result, T&D has been considered in manyorganizations as a waste of money and time.

• In this context ,a study on the “evaluation ofTraining and Development practices in SMEs’’

is undertaken

Objectives of the study• To describe the T&D framework in SMEs with reference to

key indicators of training drivers, training need analyses,methods of training, approaches to training and types oftraining;

• To measure and assess the effectiveness of training anddevelopment practices in SMEs from the point of view ofpurpose, instrument, timing, evaluation design, and scope ofevaluation;

• To identify and discuss the major defects and challenges inconducting T&D evaluation in SMEs, and

• To raise major implications for T&D theory, evaluationresearch and practices in SMEs on the one hand and to offermeaningful and pragmatic suggestion for enhancing theeffectiveness of the evaluation of T&D practices on the other

Sample size

• Population size – 450 SMEs

• sample size - 147

Results and discussion

• Major findings of this research study are presented in the following three sections:

• Training and development practices in SMEs

• Evaluation of Training and Development Practices in SMEs

• Major deficiencies in evaluation of training and development practices in SMEs

T&D – key Indicator

ParametersMean SD F p

(a) Percentage of payroll spent on training2.10 1.10 2.325

>0.05

(NS)

(b) Training money spent per employee (Rs.)207.00 29.50 18.542 <0.001

(c) Average training hours per employee07.00 0.82 5.125 <0.001

(d) Percentage of employees trained per year33.00 5.20 11.545 <0.005

(e) HRD or training staff per 100employees2.00 0.29 1.859

>0.05

(NS)

Responsibility of T&D

sl Responsibility of T&D Number Percentage

1 Owner of the enterprise 81 55.1

2 HR Manager 39 26.5

3 Line Manager/ supervisor 27 18.4

4 Total 147 100

T&D –Driving factors

Driving Factors Number Percentage

Product innovation 89 60.5

To meet quality standards such as ISO, 43 29.3

To make more effective use of HR 79 53.7

To implement new technology 68 46.3

Organization development’ 21 14.3

Improve industrial relations 42 28.6

Improve market share 76 51.7

Improve return on investment (ROI) 37 25.2

T&D Departments- key functionss

l

Key function Number Percentage

1 Implementing training and development

programmes92 62.6

2 conducting training needs assessment 20 13.6

3 Preparation of training calendar 14 9.5

4 designing and developing training materials 39 26.5

5 Identifying and selecting T&D providers 64 43.5

6 Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness

T&D programmes’. 21 14.4

T&D Need analysis - Methods

sl Methods of training Need analysis Number Percentage

1 line manager requests 93 63.3

2 employee requests, 84 57.1

3 performance appraisal results 49 33.3

4 training audit for determining

training needs. 11 7.5

T&D – approaches

sl T&D approaches Number Percentage

1 in-house training programmes 61 41.5

2 combination of in-house staff and

outside suppliers30 20.4

3 Out sourcing of training progamme 18 12.2

4 Designed the training programmes with

the help of in house staff but depended

upon outside consultants for imparting

training.

38 25.9

total 147 100

T&D – Nomination criteria

sl Nomination criteria Number %

1 Individual’s training needs assessment 39 26.5

2 Merit of the employee justifying for

taking part in relevant training54 36.7

3 Employee requests 41 27.9

4 Easy sparing of the individual 13 8.9

5 Total 147 100

Categories of employees trained

sl category of employees No Percentage

1 Technical staff 92 62.6

2 Sales people 89 60.5

3 First-line supervisors 42 28.6

4 Manual and production

workers09 6.1

5 Mid-to-upper-level managers 31 21.1

T&D - Typessl Types of T&D Programmes Number Percentage

1 Induction 49 33.3

2 Functional skills 85 57.8

3 Team building and

Interpersonal relation40 27.2

4 Sales and Marketing 99 67.3

5 Health and safety 88 59.9

6 Others 34 23.1

T&D evaluation - scope

sl Scope of evaluation Number Percentage

1 Programme evaluation only 84 57.1

2 Departmental evaluation only 08 5.5

3 Programme and departmental

evaluation24 16.3

4 No evaluation 31 21.1

5 Total 149 100

T&D Evaluation –key purpose

s

l

key purposes of evaluation Number

N= 116

Percentage

1 To ‘determine whether or not the training and

development objectives are being met’57 38.8

2 To ‘determine the effectiveness of various components

of a training and development programme (e.g., content,

training aids, the instructor, etc.),

69 46.9

3 To ‘conform to policy guidelines and documentation of

training and development efforts (e.g., the terms and

conditions of ISO accreditation

41 27.9

4 To ‘gain practical insights in order to design, develop,

and deliver more effective future training and

development programmes’

59 40.1

5 To determining whether the training and development

programme justifies the cost’67 45.6

T&D evaluation -levels

sl levels of evaluation No Percentage

1 Reactions (did the learner like the

training?),

101 87.1

2 Learning (what was learnt from the

training?),

54 46.6

3 Behavior (how much did learners

change their behaviour as a result of the

training?),

31 26.7

4 Results (how much organisational

improvement resulted from the

learners’ behavioral change?).

13 11.2

T&D evaluation : Instruments

sl T&D evaluation : Instruments Number Percentage

1 Questionnaires, 88 75.9

2 Performance records 61 52.6

3 Attitude surveys 14 12.1

4 Observations, 53 45.7

5 Performance tests 19 16.4

6 paper-and-pencil tests 17 14.7

T&D evaluation - Timing

sl T&D evaluation - Timing Number Percentage

1 Pr-training evaluation 13 11.2

2 In-training evaluation 41 35.3

3 Post-training evaluation 101 87.1

4 Multiple-point evaluation 09 7.8

T&D – Major deficiencies sl

Major deficiencies

Number Percentage

N= 147

1 absence of transfer of learning 89 60.5

2 lack of systematic and comprehensive training

needs analysis61 41.5

3 lack of a clear written policy on training and

development49 33.3

4 a failure to evaluate the effectiveness of training

and development progammes more rigorously’93 63.3

5 weak interaction between the organisation

seeking training and the outside institutions

providing training’

58 39.5

6 insufficient funding of training and

development programmes’. 67 45.6

T&D – key challengessl key challenges Number Percentag

e

N= 147

1 Making learning as one of the fundamental values of the company, 86 58.5

2 Integrating training and development into initiatives for change

management41 27.9

3 Omitting major resources and adequate time to training and

development’69 46.9

4 Linking organisational, operational, and individual training needs’ 52 35.4

5 Gaining the willing cooperation and support of the line manager’ 74 50.3

6 Retaining the employees after training’ 57 38.8

7 Using training and development as a development tool for individuals

and teams’49 33.3

8 Ensuring that training and development allows the soft skills 64 45.3

conclusionThe present study is more descriptive than analytical in

nature. Predictably, as one of the major limitationsnormally acknowledged by similar surveys (Brewster etal., 1996), the results of this study can only reveal generaltrends in the T&D evaluation policies and practices inSMEs, and may not contain convincing logicalexplanations of the reasons for and obstacles to adoptingparticular T&D policies and practices in SMEs

T&D initiatives should be planned, developed, budgeted,conducted, and evaluated with great care. Otherwise,T&D practices in SMEs would be nothing short of rhetoricin nature rather than a reality