Training Evaluation Metrics

Establishing control in training is necessary if you want to ensure the effectiveness of your training program. Using metrics here helps you establish the control that your program needs.

Establishing control in training is something that companies today are very familiar with. Training, as we all know it, is very important if you want to foster progress and growth in your company. Even if you have extremely skillful employees, time will come when stagnation would set in if there is no room for professional and personal growth. Moreover, the corporate world is moving at a very fast pace so there will certainly be a lot of gadgets, software applications, and programs that will definitely be up and bobbing and to use these tools efficiently, training would then be an essential. And if you want to ensure control and efficiency in your training programs, then you definitely need to know how to measure training.

With an effective training program, any company can surely garner many positive results. There would even be times when the results would be more than what the company had originally wanted to achieve. But if only negative results are brought forth, then the company had better do something about the situation fast. Whatever training program that has been implemented, this would still be an investment on the part of the company. A training program that brings forth negative results would just be a useless investment. This is not good at all because training in itself is already costly even on the shoulders of a massive corporation.

It is then important to know how to reduce training costs, especially when we are dealing with the onset of recession and its hampering effects. There are actually a number of ways to foster cost reduction and one such way is the development of business intelligence tools. These tools greatly assist the enterprise in evaluating training so that the methodologies instilled can be amended as needed. Healthier changes are then implemented, creating a healthier and improved business setting.

One effective way to go about training measurement is by checking the trainees’ performance once they go live in production already. With training over and done with, you should expect the supposedly learned skills to have manifestations on the floor already. If there are positive results here, then you can say that training is indeed effective. Quantifying these results is another story, but this can be done with the use of the appropriate business intelligence tool as well. However, if negative results manifest, then training would be ineffective.

To have a more in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of training, metrics should then be implemented. These metrics are already quantifiable on their own so they can be used to determine effectiveness on their own. They can even be used to determine what part or parts of the training program need adjusting and improving.

You should also keep in mind to make available data per employee. Data here supports and validates just how effective the training program is – by showing the existence of any gaps that need filling. By knowing the nature of these gaps – if they do exist – establishing control in training is better implemented. And once these are determined, you can then take on the necessary changes, to make your curriculum more effective for future trainees.

The education balanced scorecard is a useful tool when you want to measure the performance of an academic institution. Just make sure the metrics you use are indeed effective ones.

The development of the education balanced scorecard or BSC is no trivial matter. This is because the education BSC is very important when you want to gauge the performance of an academic institution accurately. This is why it becomes extremely helpful to check the performance metrics that top of the line universities all over the world are using today. These are metrics that you can make use of as track indicators, as benchmarks, so to speak. By using these metrics as a guide, it would be easier for you to develop your own scorecard for your own academic prowess.

The metrics that you will find in the system, as well as the ones that you will be using, would be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The quantitative metrics are easy to use in terms of measurement because they are already quantifiable. An example of this is research funding assessment. All you really need to do here is assess just how effective research funding is. Since the metric is already quantifiable and you are dealing with quantifiable stats and figures here, then the interpretation of the metric would not be difficult at all.

The challenge comes in using qualitative metrics. This is because these are not simple to measure. It can be confusing estimating quality improvement when you base this on quantitative figures. Let us say that the number of graduates this academic year is higher than that of last year. It is easy enough to assume that this is a mark of improvement because more students did graduate. However, if you look deeper into the matter, this could just be because not all students who were supposed to graduate last year did graduate back then. In effect, those students who did not graduate last year would graduate this year, leading to more graduates altogether. In essence, you cannot really say that this is improvement in terms of academic performance – this indicates degradation in terms of coursework.

You also have to consider the possibility that universities would make use of metrics that are not entirely useful. For example, a university could use the qualitative metric % of graduates rating university experience as excellent. At first glance, this can be a useful metric in gauging how graduates view their university experience as a whole. However, this is a relative metric by nature because graduates would be using different bases in gauging their university experience. Some might take into account the syllabus or curriculum offered per course. Others might take into consideration their extracurricular activities. With biases at hand, it is important to choose quantity targets so that the ones you choose would indeed reflect what you want to measure – which is education quality altogether.

Oftentimes, the measures to be incorporated in an education balanced scorecard need to be process-oriented. Such metrics used in this arena can be credit hours taught to students and actual course enrolment. Whatever metric you choose to use, just make sure that all of them are indeed relevant to the goals and objectives that you want to achieve as a university or academic institution. This way, you will have a very effective scorecard in your hands.

Developing the BSC for education is a very important endeavor. Doing so makes measuring the performance of the academic institution all the more achievable.

The early portion of the 1990s saw the importance of incorporating a BSC for education. As early as that time, it has been noticed how the accountability in higher education, especially in college education, has become an important concern in the industry. The student population is increasing in number, yes, and even to this day. With more and more students all over the world, there then comes a need to provide members of the board as well as administrators empirical values and performance indicators that show just how the colleges are doing in terms of quality of education being offered. These empirical values are then given to alumni, target students, the state itself, as well as outside stakeholders.

Information scorecards have since been developed by state commissioners of colleges offering graduate education. These cards rate colleges and universities in terms of rank of performance. The popularity of schools would be based on retention rates, graduation rates, resources, and academic reputation. Some or all of these would be included in the BSC or balanced scorecard for education.

For the most part, the scorecard has been viewed as a managerial tool that is used only in the commercial sector. Little did people know back then that the same managerial tool could be used in the academic sector as well. But as soon as this was discovered, it did not take too long for the academic industry to incorporate the use of the BSC as a standard tool in measuring the quality and the performance of the academic institutions that have established themselves in the arena. However, you have to understand that there is a certain degree of difference that sets the education BSC apart from BSCs used in other industries. The performance indicators here are more specific than the ones used in other industries. Because to its particular nature, the indicators themselves can already be used to produce substantial reports that aid the process of tactical decision-making.

There are two sides to keep in mind when you want to measure the performance of universities and colleges – externally-driven and internally-driven. For the audience category, the external ones can include consumers, like parents and students; governing bodies, like accrediting companies and agencies; and revenue generators, like donors, foundations, and members of the alumni. The internal ones, on the other hand, can include members of the faculty, the academic administrators, and even the non-academic ones. The BSC must be made to measure image management and undergrad education through its external indicators. With the internal ones, the BSC should then measure the agenda of the body as well as the allocation of resources.

The pioneers of the BSC hold that there are four perspectives to look into with this tool – financial, learning and innovation, internal and commercial processes, and the customer as well. Apart from these four perspectives, it is also important for the school to incorporate the following areas into the BSC: student learning experience, academic excellence, engagement and outreach, resource management, and diversity. The BSC for education should then give an integrated perspective of the targets and goals that are aligned with these areas. Doing this makes the tool all the more effective.

Consultants and owners of business-oriented web-sites will be interested in partnership program that is now available with BSC Designer.

With affiliate program that is now available for BSC Designer, it is possible to be affiliate and resell both - scorecards from commercial library and resell BSC Designer itself.

For more information about Balanced Scorecard Partnership check the partners section online.

The new version of BSC Designer that just was released provides a great opportunities to create a strategy map for the training scorecard. Find below an example of how the strategy map might looks like:

Organizations and companies that neglect to manage recession effects on HR efficiency will be missing out on one of the most valuable resources to be had in weathering crises.

There are many ways to manage recession effects on HR efficiency, but none of them are quick, easy, or guaranteed. Historically, financial downturns and crises have made all but the most stalwart companies say “Ouch!” and they have had variable success, over the years, in weathering the stormy times and rebuilding afterwards. But most business experts would agree that what seems to be the most important factor determining survival rate is whether or not a company takes care of its people or not. Recessions are times of withdrawal, when organizations need to take care of their cores, their best and most trusted people.

Thus, a focus on maintaining HR efficiency and integrity is crucial. Human resource departments have one of the most demanding and difficult jobs in a crisis, since they are usually tasked with keeping the organization together despite the tough times ahead. Along with management, the HR department has to try its best to help steer everyone on course no matter how turbulent the financial waters.

The first line of defense, so to speak, what HR should strive to do is to calm everyone down, especially after particularly harrowing developments. Record lows in sales or profits are sure to get everybody down, but HR should do its best to reassure everyone that they can still do better. This is where clear and efficient channels of communication are very, very important. News should be able to reach all parts of the organization quickly and without delay. This will foster a real sense of involvement in every part of the company, leading to a greater feeling of unity. Memos and announcements from the top management can be surprisingly reassuring if they are honest and considerate in their intentions.

By trying to maintain morale, the HR department will also be doing its part in helping to prevent anyone from leaving the company, especially the top people. These top performers are, more often than not, also the most qualified to seek employment elsewhere. Muddled channels of communication may lead them to think that management is neglecting them and not doing enough to help the company survive the crisis. This will increase the chances of them getting worried about their careers and the long term, which might make offers or openings in other companies that much more attractive. The HR department should thus make a real effort to improve relationships with and among its employees, in times of crisis more than ever.

As in all aspects of the company, the HR department should also strive to increase cost-efficiency in its various actions and policies. But budget cuts should be gone over and considered well before implemented, especially if they will result in a large drop in HR efficiency. Companies that neglect to manage recession effects on HR efficiency will soon see their overall performance and chances to weather the recession drop considerably. By keeping communication within the organization clear and efficient, and implementing practices to keep morale and employee confidence high, the HR department can be the most valuable resource in surviving a crisis.

Taking cue from the top training metrics in the industry can certainly help any organization alleviate the performance of their training program. Here are some of the commonly used ones.

We all know how important training is when it comes to ensuring corporate success. This is because there will always be changes in terms of software development and whatnot. And for employees to learn the new skills needed to operate and manipulate the latest piece of software or gadget, then training is definitely a must. With that established comes the more pressing matter of how to ensure efficiency in training. Just how can a company make sure that the training program that it has implemented is as efficient as it should be? Here lies the importance of setting training metrics. If you are one of the companies who have yet to establish such metrics, then you might want to get your hands on the top training metrics in the arena.

Increased retention

The rate of retention is an important aspect to measure because higher retention would simply mean an efficient training program is at play. For the most part, it is the frontline jobs that would get the most attention here. Usually, newly trained employees who do not find themselves sufficiently equipped for the job at hand in terms of skills would most likely leave the company within the first 90 days after training. This is then an important metric to include in measuring training efficiency.

Increased sales

This is an important aspect to include if the training program itself is allocated towards improving sales performance or customer service. Product knowledge training can also be included here because employees who do not possess that much product knowledge would inevitably find it difficult to make significant sales figures.

Increased operational efficiency

When it comes to businesses that are production-oriented in nature, it is important for managers to look at the bottom line of operations – to check if there is a significant increase when training commences. For instance, if your training program is all about the development of new skills, then you should look at efficiency metrics before and after training as your baseline. This gives you direction when you are gauging the content of your training course.

Customer service results

Customer service is indeed one of the easiest points to start with when it comes to measuring training. Measurement can be put into place via company surveys. These surveys can gather a lot of customer-related issues that are actually related to training efficiency. By cross-checking your survey results via your metrics, you can then see if the training program does have an impact on the related survey items. This can then be correlated to an increase in customer satisfaction.

Cost of training

This is actually an internal training department measure. With organizations experiencing high turnovers, there is a definite need to lower cost per hire. But there has to be balance here. If you spend less on training your new-hires, this might also translate to poor performance on the floor. There should still be balance put into play here and you should work with both your HR department and your stakeholders in determining training costs as well as how you want these numbers at.

These are just some of the top training metrics you might want to consider taking on. By focusing on them, you can very well establish a nice set for your own training program.

Budget cuts and layoffs may seem like the only options to survive crises, but companies should also realize how important it is to control HR performance in financial recession.

With industry giants stumbling and falling down all around, many organizations and companies are quite rightly scared of how the crisis might affect them as well. The credit crunch and its accompanying effects on the economy mean that people and businesses alike are much more hesitant to spend and invest their hard-earned money. This leads to decreased sales, revenues, and profits, making it necessary to put in place many different austerity measures. However, an important realization that should be obvious but is usually obscured by panic and worry is that it is vital to control HR performance in financial recession.

That is, controlling HR performance means making sure that the HR department performs its duties better and more consistently than ever. In times of crisis, every organization, to some extent, has to fall back on its people and rely on the built-up strength of its internal relationships. These internal ties will only hold strong enough through the crisis with the unceasing support of the human resources department.

One obvious duty that HR department has to fulfill is to keep morale and employee mood as high as possible, in the face of discouraging news and economic forecasts. This should be accomplished by fostering communication within the organization. For example, meetings should not be lessened during times of crisis, but instead increased, because they provide venues for personnel to talk with their peers and superiors about their concerns. Psychologists and HR consultants should prepare themselves for the tough time ahead dealing with different personalities, from dejected executives to depressed secretaries. Extensive communication in the form of meetings and widely circulating memos will help to make everyone realize that they are part of one organization. This will also help them realize that they should try their best to help everyone else make it through these tough times.

Another related and equally important HR goal is to retain employees, especially the top performers, the best people. Crises are notorious for greatly increasing inter-organization mobility, or, that is, making employees consider their employment options elsewhere. What is often worse is that the people at the top with more credentials and qualifications under their belt are also in the best position to choose other jobs. Thus, human resources should focus on retaining these top employees by being transparent and keeping them updated on all the company’s developments. Keeping them in the loop, so to speak, will let them see how hard the organization is striving to maintain performance and integrity, even during the tough period of recession.

Of course, transparency and communication would work to the organization’s detriment without a solid business plan to back it up. Management and the various departments should work together to draft a unified, sensible strategy for weathering the crisis with minimal loss. But to implement this plan and keep everyone working well together, it is essential to control HR performance in financial recession. People are an organization’s most important assets during periods of crisis, and its policies and decisions should certainly reflect that fact.

Training productivity is very much different from training activity. The former deals with measuring the fruitfulness of a program. The latter just simply talks about what happens during the program.

Human resource managers always have a top concern when it comes to employee productivity. They tell the board members of the company to invest more on expensive training modules, software, tools, high profile resource speakers, and state of the art learning facilities. The ultimate goal is to make employees more productive. But what most HR managers tend to forget is the importance of measuring training productivity.

Yes, above everything else, since training requires time and monetary investments, managers should consider measuring the effectiveness of a training program. Otherwise, the company will end up spending thousands on seminars that do not do anything good at all. In reality though, there is no such thing as one-training-fits-all. Every skills enhancement session that takes place should be a custom program, one that specifically targets and meets the actual needs of the employees.

So, how you do you measure the productivity of a training program? Well, it actually starts by clearly defining the difference between activity and productivity. In most cases, activity can surface as something that is productive. But this is not always the case. For instance, a training program that involves plenty of dynamic games, role-playing segments, demonstrations, and tests is an activity. If it does not produce good results though, it will never become productivity.

Therefore, it is safe to say that a person can be active, but not productive. The same applies with training. Training can be fun, exciting, exuberating, and engaging, but unless it makes employees more prompt, more positive their works, more team oriented, more time conscious, more visionary people, training remains nothing but plain activity.

The best yet modest way to measure efficiency is to compare data before and after. Say for instance, the seminar is about time management. Time management programs offer workers sweet honeycomb promises, like less stress and more productivity. But if you try to compare the sales of the agents before and after the program, are there any changes or improvements? If there is, make sure that it is positive. And if it is not, then the training may just need to look deeper into the needs of the employees.

Another good example is a team building activity in a call center company. HR managers should figure out the productivity rate of each employee before and after the activity. Compare data, like improvement in calls per period, decrease in wait time queue, increase in number of satisfied or solved transactions, and decrease in number of return calls or abandoned calls. See, the thing here is that if there are not any significant and affirmative changes that take place after training, then the activity is fruitless.

Well, HR managers cannot always put the blame on the trainers, which is why the company has the obligation to implement strategies that will turn a training program into a fruitful activity. Find resource speakers that speak through experience. He or she does not need to be a popular or a high profile person. Infuse rules like proper decorum, interactivity, and stringent use of an appropriate curriculum.

HR managers should not just come up with training programs just for the sake of having one. Wherever there is an investment, there should also be a return. So, make sure that you measure training productivity, and not just do training for activity.

Starting version 2.0 BSC Designer supports metric stop lights. This is a great way to find out if some indicators from your training scorecard need attention as indicators with low performance value will be highlighted with red stop light.

Also, the version 2.0 supports localization in interface, there are English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Czech languages available. Learn more about stop-lights in online manual.