HRD’s Contribution to Management – Developing Training Metrics

Organizations invest money, time, effort and manpower resources on training and
development programs. Training has been viewed as a process of enhancing the
knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices of organizational members to contribute to
the productivity, quality and profitability of organizations.

Companies have been operating under the assumption that they are gaining positive
results from training activities. However, In view of changes in the economy, some
have started rethinking about their investments in training. There has to be
Substantial justification to support decisions on training expenses.

At present, evaluation of training programs is one of the neglected functions in

human resource development. Organizations should measure the benefits and relate
these to the cost of training to show the rate of return on investments (ROI). There
is a need to develop training metrics?

There are certainly problems with measuring the impact of training on productivity.
Ideas, abilities, insights, motivations and aspirations are intangibles and difficult to
quantify. Further, training results may be difficult to identify and Segregate from
other aspects of management. The improvement of supervisory techniques, entry of
an effective supervisor, Introduction of new equipment, change of physical layout,
and revision of salary scale and additional compensation packages May altogether
generate higher productivity and changed attitudes. These improvements in the
human resource may be wrongly attributed to training unless the change factor is
identified.

To some institutions, measures of customer satisfaction, improved attendance, and

work climate may be sufficient to justify Training expenses. A popular method of
determining the effect of training is cost benefit analysis which can reveal the Extent
to which training activities result in observable and measurable behaviors.

There are a number of ways of comparing returns on investments and studies which
show the positive results of training Programs. The nature of returns may vary
among institutions. As one writer puts it, we should be reminded that salaries and
Productivity is not the only variables that guide an organization’s investments in
training.

Dr. Shailesh Thaker renowned management guru, human potentialist, philosopher,

author and motivator in India, offers HR/HRD Training, Leadership Workshops,
Management Training, CEO Training and business consulting services through
Knowledge Inc

By: Dr. Shailesh Thaker

Knowledge Inc.