UK organisations could be wasting an estimated £9.5bn on
training each year, according to a new study from KnowledgePool, the managed
learning specialist, which finds that a quarter of all training fails to yield
a significant performance improvement.
In a three-year evaluation study, KnowledgePool has
analysed the 'learning outcomes' of over 10,000 learners by questioning them,
and their line managers, on the transfer of learning to the workplace and
performance improvement.
The results show that 69 percent of learners use what
they learn and experience significant performance improvement. A further six
percent of learners don't use what they learn, yet they experience performance
improvement anyway. However nine percent of learners use what they learn, but
their learning does not lead to significant performance improvement, and 16
percent don't use what they learn and don't experience performance improvement
either.
"By combining the nine percent and the 16 percent,
we get 25 percent, so we can conclude that a quarter of all training fails to
deliver a significant performance improvement," said Kevin Lovell,
Learning Strategy Director at KnowledgePool. "Figures from the Learning
and Skills Council* show that UK organisations spend around £38bn on training
annually, so that means they could be wasting £9.5bn of training investment
each year."
KnowledgePool's study highlights four reasons why
learners are unable to convert their learning into performance improvement:
lack of support from their line manager; they attend courses that are ill-
suited to their needs; they attend courses when they know they will not use
what they learn and 'bad timing' (either the work requirement came and went
before the training took place or they'd forgotten what they had learned before
they had the chance to apply it).
"Organisations should encourage line managers both
to work closely with Learning & Development teams, to ensure training is
properly targeted, and to help learners apply what they learn," said Kevin
Lovell. "When learners do receive line manager support, 94 percent go on
to apply what they learned. There's a positive correlation between the transfer
of learning to the workplace, line manager support and performance improvement.
Sadly, too many line managers assume that when the training finishes, that's
the end of the process."
Lovell also recommends that organisations should capture
and analyse post-training data.
"If you don't gather data on the impact of the
training back in the workplace, you won't know what's working or not
working," he said.
"The data can help you to spot trends in particular
courses, or specific areas of your business, and target areas of concern. By
taking action, British companies can enhance the performance of their learners
and gain 25 percent more value from their learning spend."
A free white paper on KnowledgePool's learning outcomes
evaluation study (called 'They think it's all over: why what happens after the
training is as important as the training itself') can be downloaded from
KnowledgePool's website:
http://www.knowledgepool.com.
For more information, please call KnowledgePool on 0870
320 9000 or e-mail info@knowledgepool.com.
Background notes:
* The £38bn figure, for the annual training spend, comes
from The National Employers Skills Survey (NESS), a study of over 79,000
employers which was published by the Learning and Skills Council on 7 May 2008.
The 2009 NESS study is currently in development.
http://researchtools.lsc.gov.uk
For further information about KnowledgePool, please call
Amanda Dawson (PR contact) on 020-8953 8863 or e-mail her at amanda@daws.com.
