Lesson

It is important that we understand that in order for training and development to work in organizations, those organizations must invest in human resource-related activities. If done correctly, training and development can meet the goal of increased profitability and competitive advantages in a chosen industry. However, creating effective training is sometimes easier said than done, and it can be challenging for organizations because its benefits are not always immediately visible or easy to quantify. Some organizations do not know where to begin and fear that investing money in training will not be worth it. It is also challenging to determine the full impact of training and what employees learned from the training. How can organizations, in cooperation with training and development professionals, address these problems?

No matter the challenges, organizational training seems like an important investment. However, many organizations do not take the time and trouble to analyze the benefits of training. It can be difficult to evaluate the usefulness of training in terms of specific return on investment. Why spend so much on something that may or may not benefit the organization? Why is training so highly utilized?

The concept of training transfer, or how well what is learned in training is actually used in the job, is something we should think about a lot more than we do. Transferability should be considered throughout every stage of training, and it can be done through the following:

1. Support of new behaviors from the organization, supervisors, and peers is necessary. What if you learned a new procedure in training, and your department indirectly (or directly) encourages you tokeep doing things the old way? How likely are you to stick to the new method?

2. New behaviors must be rewarding and not punishing. If the new method of doing something takes twice as long as the old way, which will the average worker choose?

3. If training is ineffective, there is little point in doing it. Training evaluation is possibly the most important step in the training process. You may remember Kirkpatrick's four-level model from earlier in the course that provides a path (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006):

4. • Reaction
5. • Learning
6. • Behavior

7. • Results

8. The following are questions that you should ask yourself at each stage:

9. Reaction • Did the trainees feel the training was valuable?

• Did they enjoy it?

• Would they recommend the training to others?

10. Learning • How much did the trainees learn from this training?

• Did this training provide them with the skills needed to perform their jobs?

11. Behavior • Will this training change how employees act or behave?

• Will the training have a positive impact on behavior?

• Will the training have a negative impact on behavior?

12. Results • Are trainees better equipped to meet organizational goals?

13. For example, if we just want measure a reaction to the training, we will use checklists or questionnaires. Possible questions to include on the survey or questionnaire are:

14. Do you feel this training was relevant to your position in the company?

15. How will you use this training in your daily job?

16. How could this training be improved?

17. If we want a results-oriented outcome, we would measure through the performance appraisal process.

18. It used to be widely accepted that without the low-level outcomes, the later outcomes could not happen. However, this may not always be the case. It might appear easier to learn from a fun, enjoyable training, but liking a training is not always a prerequisite for getting something out of it. Further, the methods of evaluating these outcomes are quite different and not always done effectively. Training processes must address the following points:

19. 1. The outcome level that you will evaluate for each of the different topics,

20. 2. how you will measure the different training outcomes, and

21. 3. samples of the questionnaires or surveys that will be used, if applicable.

1. Choosing anddesigning a training and development initiative that fits the needs and culture of the organization can be a challenging task. The first step is to diagnose the environment, such as the readiness of the target audience to accept change. Second, develop an action plan to address specific target issues, such as sexual harassment in the workplace. Third, evaluate the results to determine if the behavior toward this issue has changed.

2. Some may assume that training and development does not include data or math of any kind; however, this is a false statement. Training does involve assisting people, but there is still a need for an understanding of statistics and how to use data. These concepts are important because the data is used to measure the effectiveness of the training and what employees learned. The data is the most accurate way to measure the outcomes of training; we cannot just go by our gut feeling on a training. The most observed statistic to consider is the relationship between the learning process of the training and the transfer of knowledge. The data can help determine how much employees learned and how many benefited. When assessing the training, it is important to note that the training need to be constant in regards to the environment and the way information is presented. This is referred to as reliability of the process. For example, you may want to use data from an employee satisfaction survey or information from pre- and post-training measurements. It can be a challenge to measure behavior change effectively. Observations and interview over time may be the approach in this situation. In addition, using statistical information about employee retention, increased productivity, increase sales, increased customer satisfaction, and fewer customer complaints may help correlate with training results.

3. Training is intended to support the employees and organization in meeting organizational goals. Training and development professionals are tasked with creating and implementing programs in order to meet these goals. Additionally, training and development professionals highlight the value in these activities and incorporate a variety of different training techniques and tools.

4. Reference

5. Kirkpatrick, D. & Kirkpatrick, J. (2006). Evaluating training programs: The four levels (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

6. Suggested Reading

7. In this unit, we discussed measurement of the training and how to determine the effectiveness. This PDF explains this in more detail:

8. Weatherly, L. A. (2003). The value of people: The challenges and opportunities of human capital measurement and
Burkett, H. J. (2008). The ROI (return on investment) of career development: A case study. Paradigm, 12(2), 1.
Hedderly, D. J., & Scott, H. (2015). Measuring the effectiveness of video training through technology-based education. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 80(1), 41-50.

Lippman, H. (2001). Work/life value can be measured. Business & Health, 19(6), 43-44.
Moon, E. (2006). Rev up performance measures by overhauling employee training. Public Management, 88(7), 33.