Measuring the return on an investment in training or development is often not attempted on the grounds that it is ‘too difficult’. We have a framework and planning process that maps the expected return on investment, and identifies clear performance metrics for a training or change programme.
This approach - called
©Performance Based Solutions - uses continuous improvement tools and techniques to establish the objectives of the training and development or change programme, and the key contextual factors which must be addressed if the training or change is to succeed. For example, in the case of a new training course, ©Performance Based Solutions identifies the business case, and also flags the contextual factors which can 'make or break' the success of the training (such as the nees to align key processes, provde important facilities or build supporting management skills).
This allows our clients to
evaluate the positive impact of their training and development and so
promote its benefits within the organisation alongside other strategic
investments – such as spend on a new IT system.
As part of the ‘Going for
Growth’ (G4G) change programme, we helped
Allied Domecq Inns
to develop a set business
performance metrics that could be used to evaluate the success of the
programme. In addition to improvements in sales, margin, customer satisfaction
and staff turnover, we also tracked performance across a wide range of
supporting change activity - such as the completion of G4G training courses and
adherence to important G4G processes. The performance metrics were reviewed
monthly by ADI's top team and helped them keep the change programme on track to
deliver significant improvements in sales and customer service
.
When
Barclaycard
commissioned cda to develop a change programme that would deliver sustained
improvements to customer service skills, they were very clear that they wanted
to be able to measure the impact of the programme. This was achieved by
aligning the programme with Barclaycard's key business metrics (such as JD
Power) and ensuring that Barclaycard's internal measurement processes - such as
the Call Monitoring/Coaching process for Call Centre staff were also closely
linked to the skills and behaviours developed by the programme. In this way, it
was possible to measure the impact of the changes on both day-to-day Adviser
performance and customer satisfaction.
When
North Lincolnshire Housing Services
received a second 'poor' assessment from the Audit
Commission, their response was to develop a Recovery and Continuous Improvement
Plan, which included an investment in developing the customer service skills of
their people. The success of the programme was evaluated against a range of
measures, including tenant survey results and tenant complaints, staff survey
results and financial performance. They identified significant improvements in
customer satisfaction throughout and following the period of the training.
A simple method to show a
direct return on an investment in training is to have the manager or staff
member deploy their new skills in a readily identifiable way. In the 'Leading
Business Success' programme at
Welcome Break
the directors nominated strategically important projects for the
business for the programme delegates to use as development vehicles. The
visibility of these projects was important, as was the opportunity to apply
learning in the work environment. These projects provided a useful way to
establish the immediate impact of the programme
.
Related press articles
- The proof is in the pudding
Recruit Magazine (Dec 2003)
