|
Even more
disconcerting, many employees’ performance doesn’t seem to improve after
they attend training seminars. Instead,
unproductive work habits continue (such as not pushing for related sales,
or spending too much time idle). Such an outcome may lead owners and managers to believe that employees will never work more than the minimum amount required to collect a paycheck. This outcome, always disappointing, becomes intolerable when your company is faced with increasing competition and decreasing profit margins.
When
Training Isn’t The Answer
The
first question that must be considered is whether training is really the
solution to employee performance problems. Let’s look at what training can
and cannot do.
Training
is directed at improving your employees’ skills in the workplace. Many
performance problems, however, are not due to skill deficiency. For
example, unsatisfactory performance that will not necessarily improve with
training probably reflects at least one of the following situations or
attitudes: |
|
|
•
The
staff member does not understand exactly what level of performance is expected.
The performance problems listed above revolve around issues other than training. Indeed, they reflect a lack of motivation, vague performance standards, insufficient performance feedback, inadequate pay- for-performance incentives, poor organizational resources, and an unsupportive organizational culture. Training alone cannot solve these problems. Before you can develop specific training programs, you must eliminate these roadblocks, which are really leadership issues. The leadership of the company needs to honestly assess themselves and how their behavior impacts the overall organization, then develop a plan of action to eliminate organizational diseases (i.e., anything that detracts from profit).
|
|
When
Training Does Work Training becomes the appropriate solution when the staff member cannot do the job because of a genuine skill deficiency. As a test, ask yourself if the employee’s performance is less than it could be because of one or both of the following conditions:
Manufacturers and distributors
usually provide product and technical training. In contrast, for developing human resources, training may require an external consultant.
Regardless of the type of training you do, it is important to measure its effectiveness,
which you can do in four basic ways.
1. Reaction:
Reaction
is defined as what the participants thought of the particular training
program. This is typically accomplished when participants fill out an
evaluation after the training program has ended. This is the simplest form
of evaluation and really doesn’t tell you much about what employees
actually learned. Most trainers believe that initial receptivity provides
a good atmosphere for learning the material, but does not necessarily
lead to high levels of learning.
2. Learning:
This
level of evaluation is concerned with measuring the learning of
principles, facts, techniques and skills presented in the training
program. The evaluation must use objective and quantifiable indicators of
how well the participants understood and absorbed the material. Knowledge
is typically measured by some form of test. This type of evaluation is
appropriate for measuring changes in a trainee’s knowledge or skills.
3. Behavior:
The
term “behavior” is used in reference to the measurement of job
performance. Just as favorable reaction does not necessarily mean that
learning will occur, increased knowledge and skills do not always result
in improved behavior on the job. Evaluations of behavior generally come
from observations from the participant’s superiors, subordinates and
peers. This type of evaluation shows the extent to which employees are
applying knowledge and skills learned in the training.
4. Results:
This
level of evaluation quantifies organizational improvements resulting from
training that boost the bottom line. Such improvements may include reduced
turnover, reduced absenteeism, increased sales, decreased delivery time
and increased cost savings. This involves collecting data before and after
the program and analyzing the improvement. Because additional variables
such as seasonal sales patterns and trainees’ ages and work experience can
affect the data, careful analysis is required, to pinpoint the actual
effect of the training. An important advantage of an evaluation of results is that you can calculate a return on investment (ROI) as follows:
Rate of Return =
Dollar
Value of Results
divided by
Program
Costs The program costs include such expenses as:
• Hiring trainers
Calculating
Training’s ROI
Calculating
the dollar value of the training results depends on the training goals.
For example, assume you have a high rate of turnover with your counter
staff. An analysis of the problem reveals that a substantial conflict
exists between managers and subordinates in the organization.
Managers
tend to give “orders,” and are unwilling to delegate authority. Basically,
the managers expect blind obedience from subordinates. You decide that a
training program for improving leadership skills help, and institute
such a program. Several months later, the results analysis reveals
significant bottom-line impact.
Because
managers are applying the skills taught in the training seminar, morale in
the organization improves. Most importantly, turnover
from inside salespeople substantially decreases. Whereas eight inside
salespeople left the
organization in the
five
months prior to the training program, only two were lost in the five
months following the training program. To obtain the dollar value of the results of training:
1. Calculate all
of the costs of turnover (e.g., hiring, training new employees, reduction in
productivity, accounts lost, etc.) for 8 inside salespeople. 2. Subtract from that figure the corresponding turnover costs of losing two inside salespeople. The result is the net business cost savings provided by the training program.
3. Divide the net business cost savings by the
program costs to get the ROI.
Management
Backing Finally, training will not be successful unless two factors are present. Top management strongly supports employee training, and trainees are required to put into practice the skills that they learned in the classroom. When both of these conditions are met, employees will realize that management places high priority on improving work skills. In summary, it is crucial to the success of any training program that you isolate the root causes of performance deficiencies first. When you use training programs to address these deficiencies, always measure the effectiveness of the training.
|
