Making training work

摘要

Ask any manager their opinion of training and for the most part their responses are predictable. Training adds value, they tend to say. Training develops the potential and confidence of staff and therefore improves company performance. What they are saying is no doubt true, particularly so if training has been linked to a specific business objective. But often, however true these responses might be in theory, they begin to sound somehow rehearsed. Too many managers invest both money and man hours in sending employees away on training days without being fully confident about how what is learned will be brought back and applied in the office. They merely take for granted that training is by nature a good thing, without having the means to measure its effects on the bottom line. At worst, there are leaders who feel that training is the territory of HR and development teams, and little communication occurs between the two. The result: wasted money, frustrated staff and more pressure on everyone.