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How To Increase Your Company's Training R.O.I.

WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE TRAINING

Know up-front your company's training goals. Clearly identified goals will reduce the expense often associated with developing your staff.

Know the specific skill set your staff need to succeed in their positions. To this end, use the following competency-based benchmarks to help you assess the skill level of each employee.

Competency Benchmarks

Adapted from Point of Action the following chart will help you determine:

What skill set the employee has now
What skill set the employee needs later

WHAT TO DO DURING THE TRAINING

Have the trainer spend some time helping staff to set performance goals based on the training they've just received. Remember, a goal is Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-bound or SMART. It's best for them to focus on one thing they want to improve.

Turn the goal into a what I call a "GET IT" (Gainfully Effected Task). Here's how.

Gainfully. Training participants should write down what they expect to gain after reaching the goal. Goals without motivation are difficult to achieve, this will help to create the motivation needed to achieve.

Effected. What kind of effect will reaching this goal have on your company's bottom-line? Here we're looking for financial results. This step is essential in helping you increase your company's training ROI. Use questions like:

How will this save time, and how much will it save?

How much inventory will be reduced?

If this area is streamlined, what additional projects will there be time to accomplish?

How much more efficient will I be?

Now turn these questions into money using employee compensation. Your employees hourly wage is the value or the return on investment R.O.I. In the case of salaried employees divide your annual salary by 2 to get your hourly wage, i.e. $80,000/2 = $40.00 hr). So, for every hour saved because of achieving that goal (based on the employee's training session) the employee is that much more productive, consequently adds more value to the company. Calculating the savings over a 12 month period will help you get a grand total of savings.

Task. Create a daily action plan and break the goal down into small tasks. Time management experts call this chunking.

WHAT TO DO AFTER THE TRAINING

Perform a periodic after training assessment (ATA) to assess: (1) task outcomes, (2) behaviors, and (3) overall training implementation. I recommend asking the training company to create an ATA for use after the trainer has gone.

Here's to your training success!

	STAFF	SUPERVISOR/MANAGER	SENIOR MANAGER
PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE	Understands and executes specific job assignments as delegated	Demonstrates solid judgment when making decisions; Helps to develop staff members	Develops expertise in a particular area; Identifies ways to share knowlede firm-wide
TECHNICAL SKILLS	Demonstrates proficiency in organization's chosen software	Demonstrates proficiency in organization's chosen software; able to train others	Identifies ways to utilize software to meet organization, department, and client demands; Shares technical "best practices" firm-wide
CUSTOMER SERVICE	Resonds quickly to customer inquires and demands; Builds relationships with peers at client sites; Forms working alliances	Serves as the primary customer contact as need. Guarantees customer satisfaction. Takes a leadership role in professional/community organizations; Identifies and sells customer service opportunitiesa	Speaks frequently at conferences and writes articles for trade publications; Meets or exceeds firm-established threshold for revenue generation; Develops the client service skills of team
COMMUNICATION SKILLS	Writes concisely and coherently; Prepares and assists in the delivery of both internal and client presentations; Demonstrates confidence and assertiveness when interacting with clients, colleagues, and supervisors	Writes concisely and persuasively and provides constructive feedback on staff writing; Reviews and develops writing and speaking skills of staff. Speaks confidently and knowledgeably when presenting to subordinates, colleagues, customers, and upper management. Diffuses conflict and confrontation and develops a high-performing team	Identifies overall strengths and weaknesses of team communication skills and recommends individual and collective improvement plans; Serves as a model for effective writing, speaking and interpersonal communication
MANAGEMENT SKILLS	Manages time and tasks appropriately; ask for clarification on assignments as necessary; understands where a specific task fits into the larger client deliverable	Delegates task appropriately; explains purpose and goal of each task to staff; Manages staff and customer expectations. Assumes project management responsibility	Develops the management and supervisory skills of the team; Ensures overall quality of work product, including efficient allocation of billable time and resources
LEADERSHIP ABILITY	Seeks learning opportunity; Assumes responsibility for task that challenge current level of skill and ability; Takes calculated risks	Determines personal career path; Provides effective coaching and timely feedback to develop staff. Recognizes talents and weaknesses of staff and intervenes with constructive feedback and action plans as appropriate	Serves as a role model for leading a successful team; Monitors formal and informal performance feedback processes to ensure effective staff development

Dr. Angela D. Massey