Effective Training: How to Achieve the Results You Always Wanted

I recently came across an organization that was doing it all wrong. Yes, they "trained" their employees, but their efforts were haphazard, not strategically aligned and random at best. (Luckily, they were not a HARDI member organization!) Why, this organization asked, are we not seeing all of the benefits that we were promised when we developed our training program?

As it turns out, labeling something as "training" isn't enough to ensure a return on that investment.

I hope you do not misunderstand me. I am a firm believer in the power of training and development. It is a matter of fact that spending time, effort and money on the right training strategy will result in significant returns that far outweigh the cost of your initial investment.

For those of you that still need convincing of the value of a proper training strategy, let's start at the beginning. So what exactly can you expect when you train your employees properly? First, and probably most obvious, you will see an increase in knowledge, skill and ability of your employees. You will often see an increase in quality and a decrease in the costs associated with that employee (error reduction, safety violations, etc.).

Now, you have employees working for you with more skills and better abilities. You have demonstrated to them their "worth" by spending the time and effort to train them. This effect will produce a second tier of benefits to your organization. Employees will begin to feel increased loyalty toward your organization. You'll see reduced tardiness and absences. Turnover will decline. Morale and satisfaction with work will increase.

These benefits will result in another round of cost reductions and quality improvements, which will ultimately lead to improved performance reviews and less discipline creating an evolutionary cycle of benefits from proper training.

And now for the kicker: revenue growth. In 2011, there is finally enough statistical evidence to prove what we have long suspected: organizations that invest more in training days and dollars per employee may produce greater revenue per employee than those that invest less in this important human capital process. While we cannot statistically say with certainty this revenue growth will happen without fail, the statistics are compelling enough to warrant a conversation about whether, during this slowing economy, cost cutting within learning and development might possibly hurt the bottom line more than help it.

If you are convinced that spending time, money and effort training your employees is "worth it," then you should pay attention to the second piece of the equation — conducting your training efforts in a way that makes sure they pay off. I'll refer you back to my initial example of a company that was training, but not training correctly, therefore not realizing all of the benefits to the organization.

Developing an appropriate training strategy is nothing to take lightly, so I won't attempt to help you build yours in this format. I do, however, want to provide a few brief pieces of advice for the how-to's of developing the right training strategy.

First, you must ingrain training and development into the culture of your organization. Are you recruiting, selecting and rewarding employees who have the drive to grow and develop? Are you yourself participating in these activities? Do you mention training in your handbook, on your website, in your company's mission and vision statements? Your organization's training efforts should be a vital component of the employment equation, not a nice add-on.

Secondly, you must set the stage for learning to take place by setting expectations and learning objectives with your employees. Before you conduct training, tell employees how they will be expected to use the training on their jobs. Identifying specific issues, problems, projects or areas where the training can and will be expected to be applied makes participants aware of the importance of the training and improves their learning experience.

The principles of adult learning should set the example for how to conduct your training. Notable ideas include the use of coaching and repetition, the ability to apply what they've learned in real-world scenarios, providing an environment free from judgment and an opportunity to steer the direction of the learning.

Finally, you should consider what happens after your training class. Obviously, you have wasted training dollars if the employee returns from a class to a work environment that has barriers to using and applying the knowledge gained. Organizations should send employees to training with a plan of how they will apply what they have learned upon returning to the workplace. Supervisors should work with their employees post-training to ensure that they utilize their new knowledge and skills. To the extent possible, the utilization of this new knowledge and skill should become an institutional requirement by incorporating it into performance reviews, new projects, promotional opportunities and development plans.