HOW TO GET THE BIGGEST R.O.I.
FOR YOUR TRAINING DOLLARS
By:
Cher Holton, Ph.D.
Kim walked into her office one
morning and found a note from her supervisor on her desk. It said: “You
have been scheduled for the Manager As Coach Seminar next Wednesday and Thursday
in Room 204 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Plan to attend.”
§ § § § §
John attended a 3-day
conference and came away with several action items he wanted to implement. But
when he got back on the job, he was so busy he simply put his material and ideas
on the shelf, and continued doing things the way he had always done them.
§ § § § §
Shelley had really looked
forward to attending the 2-day Professional Development program her company
offered. But she was extremely frustrated when she was called out of the
training seven times for office “emergencies”. The other course
participants were also frustrated at the constant disruptions her messages
caused.
§ § § § §
Steve returned from his 5-day
Leadership Symposium filled with ideas to share with his manager. The day he
returned, his manager asked him--in passing--how the conference was. It’s
now been two months, and that’s the ONLY time Steve and his manager have
mentioned the program.
§ § § § §
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? If they do, it’s not surprising. They aren’t made up to prove a point. They represent actual situations which occur in overwhelming numbers throughout corporate America. A phenomenal amount of money is invested in training every year, but are organizations taking steps to guarantee a healthy return on the investment?
Corporate trainers and consultants -- both internal and external -- are being challenged to justify the dollars spent in training and development, and demonstrate the impact to the bottom line in terms of dollars. However, the potential for true transfer of skills back to the workplace is all too often sabotaged by the very supervisors, managers and team leaders who are demanding results.
The secret to transfer of training to the real word, and as a result a bigger R.O.I. for your training dollars is the manager of the attendee. Here are some guidelines outlining the manager’s role in helping employees (and the company) get the most out of the training experience :
BEFORE EMPLOYEE ATTENDS THE TRAINING SESSION OR
CONFERENCE:
• Meet to discuss why he/she has been scheduled for the training. What specific need(s) were identified that this training will address? Is the program going to focus on current or future needs? Does the content help bridge a skill gap identified, or will it relate to the employee’s professional development?
• Agree on 2-3 objectives from attendance. What specific issues should the employee focus on throughout the program? What type of action plans will the employee be expected to bring back from the program?
DURING THE TRAINING SESSION OR CONFERENCE:
• Do not interrupt the employee during the training session or conference unless it is an extreme emergency. Your interruptions not only break the continuity for the employee; they disrupt the entire class. If the employee holds a position that requires you to get information from him/her, keep a list of issues you need to discuss and arrange a specific time at lunch or after the sessions to cover critical concerns.
• If possible, schedule a back-up to cover for the employee while he/she is involved in the training session. This way, the employee can truly focus on the training without worrying about all the work piling up in his/her absence.
FOLLOWING THE TRAINING SESSION OR CONFERENCE:
• Meet with the employee to critique the program. What were the 2-3 best ideas received? How was the quality of the instruction and materials? (Feed this information back to your Human Resources Department so they can monitor the quality of training received).
• Review the objectives you had agreed on and assess if and how they were met. Did the program meet the objectives? What specific action items did the employee bring back to implement on the job? Create a dialogue around any other issues/ideas/learnings that the employee received as a result of attending the program.
• Create a specific action plan outlining how the employee will implement the ideas. Determine ways you can assist, support and reinforce the developmental efforts. (See the Sidebar for a sample Targeted Development Action Plan).
• Schedule follow-up meetings to review progress. The first review meeting should be scheduled to occur within 3 weeks, to ensure continued momentum and success. These review meetings can also serve as springboards to discuss on-going problems, next steps and future developmental activities.
By taking your responsibility as a leader seriously, you can dramatically increase the return your company gets on its training dollars. And even more importantly, you will see the results of the training when your employees actually use the skills they spent so much time and money learning!
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Cher Holton, Ph.D., an Impact Consultant of Choice, is committed to guiding and inspiring people to live at the speed of choice, one choice at a time. Known for her unique interactive Keynotes, Turbo-Training™ and Retreat Forward™ Summits, Cher serves a diverse clientele, including corporate, government and healthcare organizations. Cher is one of a handful of professionals world-wide who has earned both the Certified Speaking Professional and the Certified Management Consultant designations. Cher can be reached at 800-336-3940, by email: cher@holtonconsulting.com or through her website: www.holtonconsulting.com