How Do You Measure Learning Outcomes and ROI from External Training Programs?

Hello All, Hope everyone is doing great. I need some help. We send our personnel to various external programs from time to time, but I always wonder what institutional learning and knowledge we have acquired from such workshops and training sessions. Does anyone have a structure to figure out how we can achieve that?

Understanding Learning Outcomes and ROI

A structure that will help us understand the learning outcomes and ROI. If anyone has any insights, kindly share them with me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]. Hoping for the support.

Thank you all.

Regards, Manish Thakur

Dear Manish,

When you say "external programmes," do you mean Public Workshops? Public workshops are organized by some training companies. These companies handle the marketing of the programmes, and companies nominate their staff based on the programme's suitability. However, there are a few limitations of public workshops, as outlined below:

a) Training programmes are aimed at bringing about organizational change. By nominating a couple of staff members, it is not possible to achieve organization-wide change. Take the example of training on Communication Skills. By nominating a few staff members for a public workshop on communication skills, will it be possible to instill a culture of communication in the organization? It seems impossible! I also conduct training on purchase and inventory management subjects. How can we increase the Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR) by just nominating 1-2 staff members for a public workshop on purchase management or inventory management?

b) It requires tremendous motivation from the participants (the staff members that companies nominate) to learn, absorb knowledge, assess the applicability of that knowledge, and actually apply it. I have been conducting public workshops since 2008. Trust me, not even 1% of the participants are that motivated.

c) An exception to point (b) above is a few technical or taxation-related programmes. However, when it comes to soft skills learning, implementation is a far cry. In the last eight years, I have trained over 500 procurement professionals. However, only 1-2 have contacted me to discuss how to implement Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) in their company.

d) Participants in public workshops come from diverse backgrounds, each having different expectations. Therefore, exact customization of the training is not always possible.

e) Building on point (b) above, many participants attend the program to unwind from the routine hustle and bustle of their work. Learning takes a back seat for them.

f) Some participants attend training sessions in other locations due to personal interests. The real motive may be to meet a relative or friend, attend an interview, or engage in property transactions. This intention is often disguised under the guise of "training."

By the way, why are you concerned about gauging the learning from public workshops? How many companies or HR/Training managers measure the effectiveness of training for in-house programs? Who has done that? I would be pleased to know of such a person.

Conducting training requires a significant amount of organizational research. Based on this research, one needs to develop a goal statement that clearly defines in measurable terms what needs to be increased or decreased. Every training program should aim at cost reduction. How many HR/Training Managers are aware of the costs associated with their business?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Hello Dinesh. Thanks for the response. I agree that most companies do not gauge the learning outcomes of public workshops, but don't you think that it should happen? Companies invest a lot of money in these kinds of trainings/workshops so that employees can learn something from them and implement that knowledge in the company to improve performance. However, as you mentioned, most companies do not evaluate the learning, which is why companies are becoming hesitant to nominate their employees.

In my company, I am trying to bring about a change where I can demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of the money spent on attending the trainings/workshops. Simultaneously, employees will also be more attentive and will view these trainings/workshops as an opportunity to unwind from their day-to-day routine.

Dear Manish,

I appreciate your desire to bring about a change. You wanted to measure the ROI on training; nevertheless, the measurement of ROI is the outcome of organizational maturity. A lot of systematic and planned work is required before embarking on measuring ROI on training.

Cultivating a Culture of Learning

To measure ROI, first, you need to make conscious efforts to cultivate a culture of learning. Without this culture, you may not succeed. Call me on my mobile, and I will inform you about the preceding activities that need to be done to establish a culture of learning.

Self-Learning for Employees

How much time do you reserve for self-learning for employees? Many times, it is unnecessary to nominate an employee for a particular workshop. Employees can also engage in self-learning. However, many employees are overworked and do not even have a minute to spare for learning.

Support from Top Management

Secondly, to measure ROI, you cannot "plough a lonely furrow." You need a lot of support from top management. What are their views? Are they supportive?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Assessing the Effectiveness of Training

Yours is a very valid question. The best way to assess the effectiveness of training (be it internal or external) is:

1. Identify and list the objectives of the training before imparting it.
2. Communicate the objectives to the trainees.
3. Require the immediate superiors to look for the 'reactions' in such areas immediately after the training and record them.
4. Require the staff who underwent the training to submit their 'Action Plan' for implementing the training input—just a few bulleted points.
5. Conduct a review on the same areas after a considerable period of time (depending on the subject/content of the training) as the impact of the majority of training programs is long-lasting.

But please have confidence that every training has its own impact. We can measure and monitor.

Regards.

Dear Manish, I appreciate your query and the anxiety associated with it. In this regard, I suggest the following:

1. Please ensure that the contents of the particular training program fully respond to your organizational needs. If necessary, you can incorporate some of the salient items into the program structure. If this is not feasible, you will have to be content with the extent to which it meets your organizational needs and maintain the same level of expectations from your employee-participants.

2. Once a particular employee is nominated, before their departure, please have a discussion with them about the program to which they are nominated and the managerial expectations.

3. Upon their return from training, hold a discussion session with the nominees and relevant management representatives regarding the knowledge they have gained and how it can be applied in the day-to-day operations of your organization. Ensure cooperation from the management team in this regard.

4. Schedule periodic sessions with them, following the same approach as outlined in point 3, to assess the practical application of their knowledge in the organizational environment.

This approach may help in determining the Return on Investment (ROI) for the training of your employees. It is challenging to quantify ROI directly in terms of the investment (fees, travel expenses, cost of absence from duty) compared to the knowledge gained, which is subjective and depends on its applicability in your organizational setting.

Regards,
S.K. Johri