Effective corporate training: How cos can make a difference

Sanjeev Duggal
Centum Learning

An organisation’s greatest asset is its skilled human capital. Constant change in technology is making training an integral part of any business. But despite the huge jumps in corporate training, there are gaps in implementation. Tracking the training process, getting optimum feedback, and understanding whether the process has been successful in delivering real-time results is critical.

Effectiveness is gauged on two parameters: one, the degree to which the programme achieved the stated objective and second, the ratio of the cost of the training to the return. There are also different types of training.

While product, sales or technical training teach specific skills, workshops on leadership, team effectiveness, attitudes, ethics, integrity and diversity are focused on the intangibles. It is tough to gauge the benefits of the latter as results vary from individual to individual.

In such a backdrop, what can companies and trainers do to ensure effective corporate training?

New imperatives

There is a gradual shift from the general to the specific, from customised to open-house training courses. Certain basic processes such as understanding business drivers for training, knowing delivery and content, assigning subject experts, pre-training assessments, preparing trainees, delivering business-specific customised courses, post-training assessments and follow-up assistance are integral parts of the new requirements of corporate training.

There is also the need to increase the value and return on training investment by designing courses which are clearly aligned with corporate strategy. Precise and powerful training framework should be directed to achieve key business goals.

Smart companies are also realising that one-time induction training or annual process training programmes are inadequate.  

Offering different types of training modules at different stages in an employee’s career programmes can be best tracked if they are customised to suit the needs of individuals based on the specific problem at hand. Sometimes, the results are apparent if it is a one-time module designed to address a specific dilemma.

The key to effective training function is active participation by all stakeholders, including learning managers, HR managers and learners' managers. Senior leaders should be actively engaged at every stage, right from need identification, and conceptualising the training programmes to conducting sessions.

HR managers or the team that assesses training needs in an organisation and designs and manages such programmes must remember that while the main ingredients of a training module may remain constant, the methodology used needs to evolve continuously.

Keeping a constant track

What also sets successful companies apart is their ability to keep a tab on changing aspirations of their people and their ability to adapt their training modules to emerging needs. Companies such as Philips and PVR Cinemas have shown new ways to impart training. Philips' training is based on 70:20:10 approach, of which 70 percent is on-job training, 20 percent is focused on leadership-led training and 10 percent is classroom-based training.

PVR Cinemas has brought in training modules for their employees in different aspects of management thus reviving their multiplexes which were to shut down.

Another important aspect is to track the impact of a particular training procedure. Managers should ensure that the learning is well directed and yields effective results.

They must also quantify abstract data such as how are employees responding to the programme and how is it translating into everyday work. Hard data can be used to review if the training is working or requires improvement.

Thanks to the focus on building a sustained learning environment, employee training in India is big business and has grown into a Rs 5,000 crore business, with potential to grow further. But unless companies take steps to ensure effectiveness of training, they would be throwing away good money.

The author is the CEO and Director of Centum Learning Ltd.