2 Clues that Your Training Measurement Approach is Going Overboard

Training measurement is important, no question. How else are you going to know if people are using the new skills and the impact those new skills are having on individual, team and business performance?  But, as with most things, there is a point of diminishing returns.

Training measurement can be overdone when it becomes an end in itself. Here are two clues that you are focusing too much effort on gathering data and not enough on the decisions and actions that the data should lead you to. Reassess your learning and development metrics plan if:

• There is no connection between what you are measuring and the actions that you are committed to taking and that will have an impact on real business results. Data has little value if collected merely out of curiosity. Data should provide the context that helps you make and drive wise decisions.  Done right, smart training metrics can measure and change behavior.  Done wrong, they can send incorrect or conflicting messages about what is important.
  
•  There is so much data collected that you can’t see the forest for the trees. Too much data can create unwanted ambiguity, decrease trust in the measurement system and can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Focus on only the metrics that align with key business priorities related to the corporate strategy, the organizational culture and your workforce plans. 

When it comes to training measurement, focus on what matters most and remember that less is more.  Try to balance leading (predictive) and lagging (outcomes) metrics so that the importance of the process and the value of the results balances short-term performance and long-term health.

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