How Do You Measure the Impact of Behavioral Training? Seeking Your Insights!

Hi, I am a bit perplexed and am seeking your opinions and views. A few of my clients have requested to measure a behavioral training program. I am at a loss to understand this request and am troubled about providing them with a suggestion. Since many training and HR professionals visit this site, I seek your comments and suggestions in this area.

Regards,
Saandeep, New Delhi

There is no specific metric or tool by which you can measure a behavioral training program. However, you can use the below metrics for measuring the effectiveness of other training programs:

Training and Development Metrics

1. Percentage of Employees Trained: The number of employees receiving training as a percentage of the total employee headcount.
2. Training Costs as a Percentage of Compensation: Training costs as a percentage of compensation costs.
3. Training Costs as a Percentage of HR Expenses: Training costs as a percentage of HR expenses.
4. Training Costs as a Percentage of Revenue: The total costs of training and development as a percentage of the total revenue.
5. Training Costs Per FTE: The amount spent on training per full-time equivalent employee.
6. Training Costs as a Percentage of Operating Expenses: The internal and external training costs as a percentage of operating expenses.
7. Training Costs Per Trained Employee: The amount spent on training for each employee who received training.
8. Training Investment Factor: Training cost per employee.
9. Training (ROI): The total financial gain/benefit an organization realizes from a particular training program, less the total direct and indirect costs incurred to develop, produce, and deliver the training program.
10. Training Staff Ratio: The number of full-time equivalent employees for each full-time equivalent employee working in training and development.
11. Training Costs Per Hour: The amount spent on training per employee per hour of training provided.
12. Training Hours Per Employee: The number of hours spent on training and development per employee.

I understand that you work as a training consultant, and from your perspective, you need to have a solution for your client, no matter how unconventional it may seem. One approach you can take before any behavioral training program is to evaluate the standard of the participants by assigning them ratings. After the training program, request your client to observe them for the next 3 to 6 months and provide a rating once again.

This could be a way to measure behavioral training and offer a solution to your client. Please continue sharing your experiences or any other approaches you adopt.

If you need further clarification, feel free to reach out for a discussion.

Regards

If you had searched this forum, you would not have been confused. Anyway, check my following comments on past posts:

- https://www.citehr.com/311628-measur...ml#post1411484 (though this is related to technical training, the comments are useful for behavioral training as well)
- https://www.citehr.com/336611-roi-ca...ml#post1552221

If your clients want to measure the effectiveness of the training, then they must conduct the test after 1-2 months. How many clients will be ready for this?

Ok...

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Sandeep, I am in search of organizations conducting Behavioral Training & Development Programs and am interested in knowing the Return on Investment of such programs, which has so far been considered a difficult task. I am pursuing my PhD on this topic from the Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics. I need a database to implement my research work and prove the way it works.

Regards.

You have given a good suggestion; however, it can be further improved. The most important measure of training on stress management is revenue loss due to stress before and after the training. While your suggestion stops at Level III of the Kirkpatrick Model, I would like to take it further to Level IV.

Measurement of Revenue Loss Due to Stress

Measurement of revenue loss due to stress is challenging but not impossible. Nevertheless, it requires significant maturity on the part of HR and the organization as a whole. In very few cases, you find this maturity; hence, training professionals often limit their measurement to feedback at the end of the training, receive acknowledgment, and move forward.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar