Such a state of affairs is painful to say the least. Any line personnel get up and question the contribution of training. The training department does not have any response other than the statement that this person is managerially immature. In such situations, exhibiting a holier than thou attitude is no solution.
For training to be effective, the trainer has to prove that it is so.
Let’s examine some cases that highlight,”Effective Training”.
Case 1: Simntronics Ltd.
The training department in Simntronics wanted to go beyond program feedback as a system of assessing Training effectiveness. So, it deployed the system of pre and post test. Based on the learning objectives of the program a pre/post test was designed. It was implemented for a program on,”Innovation and creativity”.
For each learning objective, there were 3 questions. The questions were of multiple choice type. There was one scoring sheet with columns for assimilating the responses in the pre and post test.
When the pre-test was deployed, there was some resistance because the participants had no earlier exposure to the competence of innovation and the associated tools. So, the participants stated,”How are we supposed to answer these questions”. At this point a briefing was given to them regarding the purpose of deploying the pre and post test.
“The purpose of deploying the pre and post test is not to evaluate the participants as in an exam. The purpose is to determine the current level of learning of the participants regarding the training area , so that the training process and the training contents can be suitably adjusted to align to the learning requirements of the participants. This would make the training process re potent and it would unnecessary wastage of training time in terms of going over learning that the participants are already aware of. The data from the pre test gives an idea to the trainer as to what he/she needs to focus on and to what extent.
Just taking the expectations from the participants is insufficient information for the trainer. “Questions about expectations from the program” and the “Pre-test” yield different sets of data. Both have a direct bearing on the training program design and training effectiveness.
Another advantage of the pre-test is that the learner becomes open to learning regarding the questions he/she could not answer. Thus, the pre-test also serves the purpose of preparing the learner for the learning experience.”
The impact of the briefing was that the resistance to the pre-test disappeared.
After the training program the post test was deployed. When the participants compared the result of their post test responses to the result of the pre-test, the level of learning achieved got quantified .This quantitative figure was used to give small tokens of achievement to the participant who scored the maximum in the post test and to the participant who learnt the maximum in the program indicated by the difference in the post test and the pre-test score.
The quantitative figure acts like a mental anchor for the participants as well as the trainer thereby quantifying the return on investment at least in knowledge terms.
This quantitative data is critical for proving the effectiveness of the training program. In fact, it is much better than program feedback. The program feedback system results, in the trainer trying his best to make the participants enjoy the program. Thus,”having a good time” takes precedence over,” learning”.
Astrotel wanted to make Training more effective. So, it conducted an,” Employee Assessment Centre”. During this program different systems were used to assess the competencies of personnel.
Specific organization wide competency gaps were identified. Positive and negative competency indicators were identified. These were used as the basis of designing development programs.
The data that emerged from the assessment centers was different from the data that emerged from the performance appraisal forms and the training needs identification forms. One key attribute of this data was that it not only identified the competency needed, it also defined the behaviors associated with the behavioral competency.
For example, one of the organizational competencies which got identified as a development area was,”organizing and planning”. The positive and negative behavioral indicators associated with the competency were also identified.
“This data was of enormous help in the process of designing the training program. The resultant design was potent and focused.”
The competence development process involved application of competencies as an integral part of the workshop process. The application of the competencies in the live work environment of the organization resulted in visible impact. During the application of the competencies the participants took “before” and “after” pictures from their cell phones. These pictures gave a sense of achievement to the participants and proved beyond doubt the effectiveness of the training program.
Case 3: Nato Electric
Nato Electric identified,” Competency Mapping” as a paradigm shift in HRD. It decided to design a training program on,” Competency Mapping.
The objective of the training program was to not only to educate the participants on competency mapping; it was also to enable them to take back some solutions. Therefore, the time division in the workshop was 50% perception expansion and 50% application. The key for making the program effective was repeated application. After the participants were exposed to competency mapping, they were asked to design competency maps for the positions that they aspired for. Then a group of volunteers were interviewed on the basis of the competency maps for selection to the aspired for positions. This live experience catalyzed learning regarding the utility of competency mapping
As a second application of competency mapping, the participants designed competency maps for their functional areas. They not only identified the competencies required by a person to perform in identified positions, they also clustered the competencies into technical and behavioral competencies. This they did for all the executive positions in their departments.
This repeated application resulted in the development of their belief in competency mapping on the basis of their own experience. Additionally, the participants went back with competency maps for their functional areas. Thus, the participants went back with new tools and new capabilities with immediate application utility that they did not have earlier.
The impact of training was visible and hence the training was effective. From this experience we learn that,”Without specific and varied application sessions, there is no possibility of the training being effective.”
Nomurae Finance had a challenge of developing the Leadership Competence of 5 of its directors. It had a problem because the directors had been put through numerous Leadership Training programs with no visible impact. Moreover, there existed dysfunctional dynamics among them.
Nomurae Finance adopted an innovative methodology for training its leaders. It deployed a blended learning experience for the directors consisting of coaching as well as e-learning.
The agenda of the coaching program was beyond a typical training program. It was designed for 12 months. One coaching session was planned every month with each learner on a one to one basis. These sessions were focused on discussing and resolving the live issues being faced by each leader and on evolution of a leadership strategy.
The competence development part was taken care of, through e-learning modules followed by assessment exercises.
The competencies to be focused on and the leadership issues to be addressed were decided by the trainer on the basis of 360 degree assessment of the leadership competencies of the learner.
When this agenda was implemented, the change was visible in the day to day actions of the leaders. This also came as a welcome surprise to the trainer who had become used to doing a training program without knowing as to what is going to be the final level of implementation.
The trainer realized that the one to one coaching sessions became powerful learning media because they were totally customized to the requirements of the learner. Actual issues being faced by the learner were diagnosed and action plans formulated. The result of the action was discussed in the next one to one session. The resultant learning experience was intense. Hence, change happened right in front of the eyes of the trainer.
The combination of discussion of,” Actual work place issues” ,”Action Planning” and “analysis of the success/failure pattern of execution” served as a potent system of triggering change in the leadership competence of the participants.
The resolution of actual work place issues and the complete customization of the program to individual needs, resulted in the program to be categorized as effective.
Case 5: Nostra Financials.
The directors of a key department of Nostra Financials were always at logger heads with ach other. There was back biting and a dysfunctional competitive atmosphere in the department.
Nostra Financials decided to deploy a,” Team Building Intervention” to bring about a change in team effectiveness. The TBI was focused on affecting team dynamics as well as team performance. There were a few off-line team building exercises for evolving a shared understanding of competencies that need to be practiced by all team members in order to smoothen interaction and flow of information among team members. However, most of the exercises were on-line in character. They were deployed to trigger the flow of undelivered communication and expectations among team members.
The impact of the on-line activities was perceptible on team dynamics from that moment onwards. The resultant communication links among the team members became the basis of continual alignment among the team members.
Thus, the training program was considered to be effective and a worthwhile investment.
The pattern underlying training effectiveness:
The pattern that underlies these cases of training effectiveness is configured below:
About the author:
Sanjiv Narang is a management consultant based in Gurgaon. He conducts workshops, e-learning programs and interventions in the areas of innovation, organization development and leadership development. His web address isInnovation Systems Consulting His
e-mail address issanjiv@innovativetraining4u.com.