Training Evaluation Metrics

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.

People who have been around several industries know that there are kinds of jobs that are seemingly immeasurable in terms of productivity. One of these jobs is training. It is a given fact, too, that it is difficult to manage what cannot be measured. Therefore, it has always been a challenge to measure training productivity. However, there are ways to manage this to cut on costs. Certainly, there will be times when training is not productive, especially if the training sessions are made up of some activities, like games that do not have any relevance with the training curriculum at all.

In general, there is only one way to measure how productive training is, and that is to measure the effectiveness of employees in doing their jobs once the training is done. One needs to measure their performance prior to training and compare it with their performance after the training. If the target is met or achieved, one can deduce that the training is effective and productive. If not, then it may be said that the training sessions were not fruitful. If this happens, blame should not be placed on the trainer. What needs to be done is to conduct a training needs analysis and then carefully find out the gap. Once the gap is identified, the trainer can then move on to creating tailor-fit modules for the team.

On another note, the trainer should also be assessed. If there is one person who is in charge of the class and the activities therein, it is the trainer. The trainer might be good in teaching. However, there are other things that one needs to consider when doing the training. For instance, motivating the trainees and coming up with good activities that will enhance the learning process-initiatives are what these are called. The trainer should also display wit and should be quick in responding to any inquiries the trainees may have. Of course, decorum is expected from the trainer so he gets respected. No one will show any interest in the class if the trainer is not someone they take seriously. There has to be discipline instilled among the participants and it is the trainer who will do this.

Next, to improve productivity in training sessions, one needs to check the curriculum. Even adult learners will get confused if the order of the modules and discussions are in a haywire. There has to be a sequence-a logical one at that-when training people. Without this, people will get confused. Things should not be jumbled ideas all rolled into one. There needs to be a standard approach in learning a new product before moving on to the very core of it.

Another issue that one needs to look into is the training environment. With this, we do not only mean the classroom, but the general atmosphere that the trainer creates. Some trainers are very uptight and trainees are thinking of the next break schedule instead of focusing on the subject. All individuals must be treated with respect and common decency if training productivity is to be achieved.

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