How to Measure Training Value and Training Costs

All too often training is too narrowly evaluated in simple terms of how much it costs. Not only is this a top 10 warning sign of an immature corporate training function, but it is not an effective approach to evaluating training effectiveness.

What really matters is how much value it brings to the participants, their bosses and the business compared to other business priorities. Overall, effective training measurement should be able to answer the following four questions:

1. Adoption: Are the participants using the targeted skills, behaviors and knowledge back on the job?
2. Impact: What was the impact on job performance and business performance?
3. Performance Coaching: What should each participant do differently if they want to improve
4. Investment: What was the full investment in the learning solution?

From an investment perspective, make sure that you include the following training costs associated with an effective learning solution:

• Instructional Design and Development Costs including interviews, focus groups, assessments customization, pre-work, simulations, job-aids, facilitation, content creation and curation, materials, videos, reinforcement, follow-up, coaching and measurement.
• Learning Management Costs including marketing, registration, tracking, reporting, testing, and reinforcement.
• Facility Costs including conference rooms, supplies, food and equipment.
• Participant Costs including travel, lodging and meals.
• Opportunity Costs including payroll, lost or delayed work output and any costs associated with their time away from their “real job.”

Needless to say, for any training initiative to make sense, four things must be true:

1. The outcomes must be aligned with your business strategy, corporate culture and workforce plan.
2. The relevancy must be high enough for the participants, their bosses and the business.
3. The total value derived from the program must be greater than the sum of the costs.
4. The value of the training must make sense compared to other potential investments.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/training-measurement/