As I have previously noted, one of the most important trends affecting corporate training departments is the realignment of training to meet business goals. For training managers, that means biting the bullet and running the training organization like a business, not a university.
It’s a big transition for any training department, one that calls for a detailed plan of attack. Step One is a full evaluation of the training function to determine exactly how it stacks up among key measurements. How much is actually spent to train employees, customers and channel partners? What are the business drivers behind each training activity? How is the training function integrated into the company’s talent management effort? What is the total cost-per-hour of training delivery? How many learning management systems are utilized across the enterprise? The list goes on.
Only by answering these questions can managers accurately determine where their training function stands, and confidently chart its future. My friend Sam Herring, executive vice president of client development at Intrepid Learning Solutions, puts it this way: “Organization assessments are important because they help you measure the health of your learning function, understand how it relates to the market’s best practices, and help you model those best practices and make them relevant to your business.”
Intrepid is among a number of training consultants and outsourcing firms that help clients assess their training function. While the techniques vary, all rely on proven methods to benchmark an organization’s learning processes against similar companies. Intrepid’s Enterprise Learning Performance Assessment™ (ELPA) process analyzes a full range of learning related activities to obtain a detailed view of the training function’s effectiveness. Answers to its many questions become actionable recommendations for improvement.
And this is where the real value lies. Best recommendations come from talented professionals with years of experience in managing and designing learning organizations. To learn more about Intrepid’s ELPA process, you can view my full interview with Sam Herring or you can go to www.Intrepidls.com/ELPA.
But here is the catch. Be careful of companies that promise to do an objective assessment of your organization with the underlying goal of selling their services to you later. There is great value in using a company that is objective as opposed to doing the assessment yourself.
Doing it yourself is risky because you may be emotional about certain aspects of the business. I always like to use the saying, "Sometimes a mother doesn’t know her baby is ugly!" Managers sometimes believe their organization is better than it is because they have strong relationships with the people there. They lose site of how others outside their organization may view their team. Using a third party can be helpful in showing the mother how her baby really looks! And that her baby may never win that beauty contest.
The bottom line: seek advice. Get good, unbiased views of how your organization stacks up against the market. It will help in truly building a world class learning organization.
And if you have an opinion about this commentary, feel free to visit my blog and tell us what you think.
Written for TrainingIndustry.com
