Why don’t we learn from the tons of research out there about training effectiveness? You would think that we would have learned our lessons by now. But it doesn’t seem so. There are still lots of Training Specialists, Training & Development Coordinators and even T&D Managers who are repeating the same “dumb” mistakes. How do I know? Because I’ve talked to a number of them. The way that some of them use their training budgets is a sad testament to the fact that they somehow believe that objective numbers actually will make a difference to any training program, that they somehow add credibility and value to the training dollars or pounds spent. Wrong!
But those numbers sure do look good; they impress senior managers when you present them. So let’s take a look at some of those numbers that are used to justify how well we spend our training budget:
- Average number of training pounds spent on each employee.
- Average number of courses each employee has taken.
- Average number of satisfaction rating on training evaluations.
Actually there is nothing fundamentally wrong with these numbers. The problem is that there is no connection between these numbers and the quality and effectiveness of your training program or any training program for that matter. Let’s discuss each of the numbers separately and see why these numbers can be meaningless at best and dangerous at worst.
Average Number of Training Pounds Spent on Each Employee: The traditional wisdom is that the larger this number, the more chance that employees will develop better work skills, that training is seen as important to the company, that employees are being treated fairly. For this last one, some people believe that fairness means being treated the same. So some T&D professionals pride themselves on advertising that the same amount of money is basically spent on each person. Does this then mean that everyone has the same level of training needs? Of course not! We know that!
The amount of money you have to spend in your training budget does not mean anything except that you are lucky to have the money, considering the financial situation the country is in. We need to use it wisely. The mathematical average that we get from dividing the total training budget by the number of employees who receive training is exactly just that: a number. It means nothing really!
Average Number of Courses Each Employee Has Taken: Considering that research from many different sources shows that trainees will forget about 50% of the content of stand-alone, regular training courses within 2 days, do we really want to feel proud of the number of courses an employee has taken. What will he/she remember after 2 weeks? How were the courses selected? Were they the best courses for him/her?
Average Number of Satisfaction Rating on “Smiley Sheets” Training Evaluations: Sure it’s great to see good numbers on these. So what we know is that the trainer is happy, the T&D people are happy and the trainees are happy. But if we are not checking what’s behind the happiness (what are they really walking away with? what can they do after the training that they could not do before), then once again the numbers don’t mean anything much. They could have simply loved the trainer (he was funny, kind, organized, he made it fun) but it doesn’t mean that the training will help them do their jobs any better.
SOME STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
So if these numbers are useless, then what should we be doing?
- Only train competent, motivated employees. Don’t waste your precious funds on incapable and disengaged employees. Research shows that they usually remain incompetent and unmotivated! Find why they are incompetent and why they are unmotivated and then decide what to do.
- Make sure that all courses are tied back to the business objectives of your company. Do not select any courses that you cannot directly relate back to your business plan or strategic goals or operational excellence.
- Make sure that each course has at least one targeted competency. Even if you don’t have competencies in your company, use your professional judgment and choose those competencies that will help your company succeed in your market sector. Then go one step further and list the specific targeted behaviors that the course will be focused on producing in the trainees.
- Use the Pareto Principle to prioritize your training budget. This is a very controversial point for many. Here is how Pareto 80/20 rule can work:
- 80% of your training budget should be focused on helping you achieve your priorities in terms of your business objectives (top 20%). By the way you may choose to change your priority from quarter to quarter as you see results in certain areas.
- 80% of your training budget should be focused on improving the skills of your top 20% performers. It is good ROI and relatively easy to move very good employees to the excellent level and to keep excellent ones performing at a very high level. Invest here!
- 20% of your training budget should go towards improving the remaining 80% of your employees. It is very difficult and sometimes not worth it to spend a lot of energy and money improving weak employees. Identify a few key areas (2-3 max) that would give most valuable workplace results and concentrate only on those.
- 80% of your training budget should be focused on improving the 20% of your operations that bring in most revenue, best service, reduce most cost or waste. You never have enough money to improve areas. Better to impact a few areas in depth than to impact many areas in a superficial way.
- 20% of your budget should be used to improve non-priority areas of your operations.
Keep looking at the bigger picture. Be strategic.
Just remember that numbers are only valid if they represent valid concepts. Let’s not use them to rationalize training programs that are not strategically thought-out, that have no real bearing on the 3 company’s business objectives, that are selected based on their attractiveness or newness, like the items from a restaurant menu.
As professionals, we should ask ourselves these critical questions: Where is the company going? What type of skills do employees need to take it there? Do they have those skills? Which of these skills will the training budget be focused on impacting?
By: Dr. Rita Maselli-Boucicaut
This article is a product of a writing competition organized by Global HR Forum & HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine. Dr. Rita Maselli-Boucicaut won the first place in the HR Writer Competition. Judging Panel: Mahmoud Mansi, Dina Marei, Alia Faramawi, Ahmed Saadalla, Nada Adel Sobhi. General Coordinator: Ms. Nour Elzeny.
Photography: Ahmed Samir
About the Author: Dr. Rita is the Managing Director of RitaMaselli & Associates, a Management and HR consultancy founded in Cairo, Egypt in 2009 www.rmaselli-associates.com. Dr. Rita specializes in Change Management, ROI, KPIs, Crises Management Training, Competency-Based HR, TNA Automated Tools, Performance Mgt and Attitudes Training and Coaching. She has lived/studied/worked in Italy, North America, Latin America and since 2002 the Middle East. She has a PHD in Management specialized in Change Management; and MA in Leadership/Supervision specialized in women leaders and gender management.
Email: rmaselli@rmaselli-associates.com