Is Your Training Program Is Your Training Program Effective?Effective?

Phil Garing, Managing Director

Lisa Galarneau, eLearning Solutions Director

What we’ll cover…What we’ll cover…

• What does ‘effective’ mean?

• Are you setting the right goals?• Are you mapping business and training

strategy?• Are you delivering the right way?

• Are you getting a ROI?

• Steps in the right direction

What does ‘effective’ training What does ‘effective’ training mean?mean?

• Makes the organisation more productive

• Changes behaviour/shifts perspective

• Involves employees in the process of learning, respects their time and helps them understand how their learning contributes to the organisation

• Makes demonstrable improvements to the bottom line

What does ‘effective’ mean? (cont.)What does ‘effective’ mean? (cont.)

• Ineffective programs leave trainees bored, uninspired and frustrated

• They can be superfluous – informal learning may take precedence

• Show little or no return on investment

• Result in no measurable organisational change

Have you heard:Have you heard:I know my training program is effective because…”

• “we rolled out 25 new training modules in one month”• “1024 trainees attended the course”• “646 trainees completed the course”• “234 trainees completed assessments”• “trainees said they enjoyed the course”• “we saved $24,240 in travel expenses• “I finished the project on time and on budget”• “no one complained”

Are you setting the right goals?Are you setting the right goals?

• Must be explicit about the goals and process of accountability

• Learning should be the focus, not training– Application of learning should be the goal– Learning means changed behaviour

• Creating a culture of learning and knowledge sharing

• The benefits of a good ‘employer brand’• Training program should support business

strategies

Are you aligning training with Are you aligning training with strategy?strategy?

• Doing the wrong thing efficiently does not help• Organisational objectives are often unhooked

from training design– Knowledge management, but ‘discrete’ resources – Organisational change, but same learning

• So:– Identify the resources you want people to use– Articulate the behaviours you want– Design training around them

Are You Delivering the Best Way?Are You Delivering the Best Way?

• Are you selecting the best mix of resources for your learners?

• Are you ensuring that training is relevant?

• Are you setting context for your learners and helping them to understand the big picture?

From Strategy to Return:From Strategy to Return:Measuring ROIMeasuring ROI

Why not ROC? • Good training takes an investment • Results (change) often take time• It involves more than just $

A cost-driven focus • May drive down the quality of the learning experience• Probably won’t recognise the true returns over time:

a spiral of contraction

The TheoryThe Theory

• Measure the investment• Measure the return• Provides a static measure of ROI• Improve the learning process• Measure the improvement

For example:For example:• Add up the delivery costs• How much time has training saved?• Calculate the salary saving• Compare to delivery cost

Fasttrack Consulting, U.K.

• The number of people• Time spent training• Travel cost• Facilities and technology costs• Compare to remote delivery costs

Centra.com

Real MeasurementReal Measurement

IndicatorsIndicatorsTraining Delivery

• Training time

• Training cost

• Travel expenses

• Reduced downtime

Learning

• Completion rate• Pass rate• Page clicks

Changed behaviour

• Organisational culture

• Enterprise skills

• Motivation• Strength of

brand

Business Indicators

• Productivity• Customer

satisfaction• Employee

turnover• Wastage

MeasurementMeasurement

Quantitative or Qualitative?Quantitative or Qualitative?Quantitative

• Easier to measure• Can be converted to $• Can be automated• Often measures training, not

learning• Inputs focused

Qualitative

• Often intangible• Results get ‘contaminated’• Anecdotal results seem less

reliable• More likely to measure learning• Outputs focused

Getting useful informationGetting useful informationSome Principles:

• If the information isn’t useful, don’t bother gathering it• Ensure you have a real benchmark• Measure the change you are seeking to achieve• Look for:

– Subjective analysis– Longitudinal information– Anecdotal value

Approaching ProjectsApproaching Projects

Some practice:• Pilot projects to measure results• Approach projects iteratively• Look for the most bang for your bucks

(focused change)

Steps in the Right DirectionSteps in the Right Direction

• Addressing training as a strategic activity• Aligning the entire organisation behind one

strategy (including training department, management, HR, IT, etc.)

• Using an educational design process– Learner profile analysis– Best mix of resources– Looking at the overall lifecycle of learning

In ConclusionIn Conclusion

• Training cannot occur in a vacuum, nor can a training department operate in one

• Delivery of training doesn’t mean people are learning and that the learning is carried back into the organisation

• Employees want to learn: make it relevant, practical, engaging, and help them understand why it matters