By Malcom Kinns, General Manager, Cengage Education
No, this article isn’t going to provide the Holy Grail of the training ROI calculator. Despite the formula-intensive business management environment we operate in today, it is still impossible to take a meaningful generic approach to calculating the dollar-return on any training investment. Anyone who claims to have such a grail is just short-changing you.
The key problem is that, after training, it’s largely up to the individual trainee and their manager to convert training to productivity for their business, and of course it is up to a business to retain the employees it has paid to train. Complicating the issue further, most training focuses on hard skills. Yet, in the real world, the true value of a hard skill is in the soft skills with which it is combined. Technical mastery of a software package is most valuable to an organisation if the employee also has team development or problem-solving skills with which to help apply such knowledge.
So why should you, as business executives, train your employees at all? Of course, your business might have to comply with training-dependent regulations, so resistance to training would be self-defeating. But there are also more strategic reasons to invest as much as possible in training.
It stands to reason that business productivity depends on having the right skills embedded in the right people. This need is intensifying with the trend towards flatter organisational structures and open offices, which mean that more staff are multi-tasking and have multiple contact points within the organisation. As a result, they need broader skills – soft skills to enhance the hard, specialist skills for which they were probably first recruited – in order to perform not only their individual roles but as part of a team. Not least, training is a well-accepted staff-attraction and retention tactic.
So, if you’ve accepted that training is a business necessity, how can you convert the cost into a true business investment? Consider the five Ps of successful training.
Prepare
As any boy scout could tell you, preparation is critical. Appoint a ‘champion’ internally, who is responsible for skill-set management. Appoint a multi-level team to determine clear business objectives for any training project. Then determine specific training objectives that would support these business objectives – both tangible and intangible. Combined, these should describe why you are doing the training, and what the benefit will be to both business and trainee.
Partner
Don’t feel you have to do it alone. To help you face up to the real questions, invest in a specialist training provider who can help you focus beyond technical skill training and on professional development that will deliver value to the bottom line.
Plan
Such a partner can help you take the preparatory assessment to the next level, and identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that would help you assess success of training – and therefore the ROI.
They can also help you take an objective look at your goals and compare them with the skill sets of all employees relevant to a business or training project, to conduct a gap analysis. As part of the process, they should also provide a business SWOT analysis and assess the business culture. Ensure your provider has the capability to provide tailored assessments: generic planning tools will limit your productivity here.
With all this preparatory information, you are then in a position to determine the best delivery method for the required training. Increasingly, with so many other demands on their time and geographical dispersion, organisations are turning to self-paced, online training as a key solution. This enables trainees to cost-effectively log into a ‘classroom’ at a time that suits their individual schedule, still enabling them to balance other life responsibilities, thus reducing the stress traditionally associated with training. With such a solution, it is both possible and essential to tailor the content to the needs of both the business and the trainee.
Ensure you take a holistic approach to training content: combining soft and hard skills within the context of how your business functions – operationally and culturally. Ensure you also tie content back into your outcome goals. If you’re serious about linking training to business performance, you should also consider the fact that if your employees are to be accountable, then they must be certified. An industry standard qualification ensures that they adhere to professional standards as well as contribute effectively and consistently to operational efficiency.
Cengage is one of the first training organisations in Australia to map its IT vendor certification courses on to the Australian Qualification Framework, which provides career-enhancing incentives to employees and enriches the employer’s workforce with industry-best standards and structure.
Importantly, ensure you also make the course relevant to the employee’s current working experience and skill level. This can make the difference between a motivated and reluctant employee. A strong training provider will be able to provide tailored, outcome-driven material rather than a vanilla solution.
Provide and Plot
Conduct training, but plot the progress of trainees throughout the course, rather than simply assessing performance at the end. A strong training provider will be able to deliver valuable services beyond the content – such as student mentoring and support during and post training, to optimise training investment. Employ measurement tools. Measure KPIs (tangible and intangible) post-training to achieve ROI rating.
Last, but not least, invest in ongoing training. Consider training like building blocks: the more you invest, the more substantial your return – as long as the five Ps above have been adhered to.
To optimise training investment, it is important that the focus doesn’t stop with the certificate. Encourage multiple touch points for employees to experiment with their newly acquired skills in practical and productive ways that will benefit your business. Consider opportunities for them to network with industry peers, attend related seminars, obtain a mentor or invest in reading materials. To this end, Thomson Education has invested in a network of its own, with organisations that can enhance the learning experience of its trainees.
For example, it has recently committed to fast-tracking the careers of its ICT students by funding their membership with CompTIA’s IT Pro, the fastest growing community association for Australian IT professionals. Membership of IT Pro provides trainees with access to mentoring services, forums and comprehensive, career-boosting benefits and discounts.
It has also negotiated an alliance with Charles Sturt University. Provided that trainees pass the associated IT industry certification exams, Cengage Education courses such as the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) will qualify students for up to 50 per cent credit towards a masters degree with Charles Sturt University.
Cengage Education is also working with other industry peak bodies to understand the real-world needs of professionals so that, together, both institutions will be able to bring value to the employers and the end user.
So while it’s still neither a science nor a grail, with these simple, practical steps and the right partner, training can be delivered and measured in such a way that the cost not only becomes bearable but a measurable benefit to the bottom line.
Checklist
- Prepare. Appoint a champion, assess your needs
- Partner with a training provider that has tailored solutions, is outcome driven and connected to the real world
- Plan. Determine KPIs. Conduct gap, culture and SWOT analyses. Determine content and delivery
- Provide. Make sure content is relevant to trainees, in the context of their jobs. Combine hard and soft skills
- Plot progress. The full value of training isn't just in the end certificate. Give employoees outreach opportunities for their new-found skills, such as networking, additional seminars, reading or mentoring.
About Cengage Education
Cengage Education is a division of the international group Cengage Learning. Cengage Education is a world leader in the field of distance education.
Operating in Australia since 1921, Cengage Education is Australia’s largest and most respected distance learning institution. It currently has over 35,000 students with 26,500 enrolments in 2006. Cengage Education has recently also been listed as a higher education provider making it a dual sector operator.
Cengage Education training is offered via flexible, self-paced learning, which allows the student to study when and where it is most suitable. Cengage Education offers mentoring programmes, an online student community, incorporating an extensive resource library, student forum and corporate services.
The combination of industry affiliations, high-quality materials and expertise in the field of distance education, enables Cengage Education to assist in career advancement of its students helping address skill shortages nationally.
Contact Cengage Education about a training program for your organisation
As an established educational institution, boasting over 20,000 new students each year, we have become a vital link in bridging the gap between education and employment. Cengage Education is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), which allows the benefit of nationally recognised training opportunities to be passed onto our students.
The combination of industry affiliations, high quality materials and resources, and our experience in the field of distance education, enable us to match people with courses that build on their knowledge and skills. Our aim is to build a mutually beneficial relationship – together we can help shape people’s future.
If you are interested in a training program for your organisation, please complete the form below.