Opinion

By John Henderson

We’ve all heard the famous quote by Henry Ford, “the only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”

When you invest in someone’s professional growth, how do you measure the return on your company’s investment? There are several models that can help you measure return on investment (ROI). One model that many people use is the Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation. In this model, there are four levels to evaluate:

• Level 1: Reaction. This is simply noting how people directly respond to the training. Were they satisfied? You can measure that by evaluation responses.

• Level 2: Learning. What knowledge and skills did the employee acquire due to the training? This can be measured by observing the employee’s performance after the training — was there improvement?

• Level 3: Behavior. How did the employee’s behavior change? Has there been an increase in productivity, motivation, and employee engagement?

• Level 4: Impact. How has the training impacted the goals of the team and/or organization?

While the Kirkpatrick model is widely used, if you are looking for a more mathematical way to measure ROI, you can use a more traditional formula: simply calculate the dollar return (benefit: have sales increased, have efficiencies increased, has retention increased), and divide it by the cost of the investment (training).

Now, with all that said, let’s look at how to effectively get the most return on training investment.

First, determine the skills gap and identify the appropriate training course for the person to attend.

Second, set them up for success by doing the following:

• Explain to the person why you are sending him or her to the training session. I once had a participant during a break tell me he thinks he was sent to the leadership series because he was in trouble. I asked him if he would be comfortable asking his supervisor why he was selected to attend. When he returned to the next class, he proudly proclaimed, “I’m here because they think I have high potential to be a leader.”

• Provide the person with all the logistical information and an overview of what the content of the training will be.

• Provide the trainee’s supervisor with the same information.

• Encourage the trainee and supervisor to meet after the training is completed to discuss what was learned and how the employee intends to use the newly learned skills.

Investing in your employees’ training can bring great ROI if you make sure to follow the four steps outlined above. Don’t spend your learning and development dollars without ensuring that the participant is prepared and ready to learn.

 

John Henderson is director of Learning and Development at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org