The ABCs of Effective Training

Did you know that American businesses spent almost $160 billion to train their work force last year?

Sadly, our research shows that all but about 10% of that learning was lost by the time workers were back on the job.

It makes those of us in training needs assessment services cry with frustration. If only more organizations would pay attention to what many have learned about training, money would be saved and performance would actually improve on the job.

Here are the basics of what needs to be done for training to make a difference:

      A.    Analyze what your training needs are. Don’t just guess. Conduct a training needs assessment so you know who needs training, what kind and why.

      B.    Know that behavior should change. Measure before and after so you know just how effectively the learning has been applied on the job.

      C.    Establish clear learning objectives and metrics for the program. Without that clarity, there is no way to determine if goals have been achieved.

      D.    Develop adequate support from the business. Be sure you have high-level backing for the program and can include follow-up systems to ensure on-the-job application.