Training and Accountability

 Each year, American companies invest $50 to $60 billion a year on workplace training. Yet, “based on what I’ve seen over the years in my consulting practice, I’d say that as much as 50 percent or more of that investment is wasted,” says Diane Valenti, an expert in performance consulting. “The rubber meets the road on the job -- not in the classroom.”

Training departments can take proactive steps to avoid being left holding the bag:
 
>> Focus on ROI: how the training will increase sales, decrease costs, improve productivity, or enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
>> Determine which metrics to use to measure a change in business results.
>> Identify risks and work with management to develop contingency plans to remove them.
>> Create a steering committee composed of people who have something to gain if the training succeeds.
>> Set up a process to measure whether employees are using what they learned, then report the results to the steering committee.

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