Saturday, April 23, 2011

Gauging Efficiency through Top Training Metrics

Gauging Efficiency through Top Training Metrics: "

Taking cue from the top training metrics in the industry can certainly help any organization alleviate the performance of their training program. Here are some of the commonly used ones.


We all know how important training is when it comes to ensuring corporate success. This is because there will always be changes in terms of software development and whatnot. And for employees to learn the new skills needed to operate and manipulate the latest piece of software or gadget, then training is definitely a must. With that established comes the more pressing matter of how to ensure efficiency in training. Just how can a company make sure that the training program that it has implemented is as efficient as it should be? Here lies the importance of setting training metrics. If you are one of the companies who have yet to establish such metrics, then you might want to get your hands on the top training metrics in the arena.


Increased retention


The rate of retention is an important aspect to measure because higher retention would simply mean an efficient training program is at play. For the most part, it is the frontline jobs that would get the most attention here. Usually, newly trained employees who do not find themselves sufficiently equipped for the job at hand in terms of skills would most likely leave the company within the first 90 days after training. This is then an important metric to include in measuring training efficiency.


Increased sales


This is an important aspect to include if the training program itself is allocated towards improving sales performance or customer service. Product knowledge training can also be included here because employees who do not possess that much product knowledge would inevitably find it difficult to make significant sales figures.


Increased operational efficiency


When it comes to businesses that are production-oriented in nature, it is important for managers to look at the bottom line of operations – to check if there is a significant increase when training commences. For instance, if your training program is all about the development of new skills, then you should look at efficiency metrics before and after training as your baseline. This gives you direction when you are gauging the content of your training course.


Customer service results


Customer service is indeed one of the easiest points to start with when it comes to measuring training. Measurement can be put into place via company surveys. These surveys can gather a lot of customer-related issues that are actually related to training efficiency. By cross-checking your survey results via your metrics, you can then see if the training program does have an impact on the related survey items. This can then be correlated to an increase in customer satisfaction.


Cost of training


This is actually an internal training department measure. With organizations experiencing high turnovers, there is a definite need to lower cost per hire. But there has to be balance here. If you spend less on training your new-hires, this might also translate to poor performance on the floor. There should still be balance put into play here and you should work with both your HR department and your stakeholders in determining training costs as well as how you want these numbers at.


These are just some of the top training metrics you might want to consider taking on. By focusing on them, you can very well establish a nice set for your own training program.

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