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 Why Training Programs Fail However, very often it is seen that training and development does not yield the desired results. Employee productivity does not rise in proportion to the training investment. Too much training often leads to chaos and confusion. Managers are at their wits' end to make their training programs more effective. What causes training programs to fail? Here is a micro-analysis of training and development. In many cases, HR managers don't have a clearly laid out objective for their training programs. Training merely becomes the end in itself rather than being the means. Vague ideas of increased employee effectiveness will always give shoddy results. Departmental managers need to collaborate with HR heads to draw out specific objectives of the training program. There should be an explicit training program chalked out with details and their expected results. As the training program rolls into action, trainers need to make a detailed review at the end of each training session in order to keep in line with the plan. It is only when such a thought-out training program is executed, that desired results can emerge. Training can be of several types. In areas of technical knowledge, there can be technical training. In case of succession planning or management development programs, we have management training. In case of organizational restructuring or mergers and acquisitions, companies often have 'organization training'. In most of the service oriented companies, we have 'soft-skill training'. Outsourcing companies who cater to client servicing conduct 'telecom training' and 'voice based training' programs. The marketing and sales departments conduct 'sales training.' Each of these training programs differs in the methodology, tools, processes and style of delivery. Some organizations need to conduct more than one type of training programs for their diverse personnel team. The problem is when the training module is not function specific. In some cases, training modules are simply picked off the shelf from popular resources and used without any customization. Such carelessly created training programs are not just ineffective; they can totally diminish employee morale and productivity. Another commonly made mistake is the lack of any analysis of training needs. Organizations don't put concerted efforts in finding out the real training needs. Competency mapping, employee assessment, manpower planning are essential elements to identify training needs of organizations. Without a proper analysis, training programs can be reduced to a sham. Yet another reason why training fails is the failure of post training feedback. In most cases, post training feedback are vague discussions on the training results. Generic feedback is given to employees which lack meaning and relevance. Very often employees feel left out in the entire process by the lackadaisical attitude of trainers and HR executives. Without a proper feedback mechanism, even a good training program can fail. A good training program has its checks and balances in place. A well constructed training program assigns numerical values to their training program and tracks the increase in employee efficiency and productivity. A good training program also calculates the profit yield for the organization. Without a thorough analysis of the yield, training does not seem important. Training programs have to be fool proof with adequate contingency measures and finer details. A review of the training program on a continual basis will bring out its strengths and weaknesses. Organizations have to take serious note of the effects of their training programs as large amounts of money are pumped in to bring out the desired effectiveness. Employees on the other hand have to be made to realize that training programs are not a 'paid holiday' but a serious investment on the part of the organization to hone their competencies. Trainers have to take a closer look at their training modules to uncover snags and ensure that the training achieves the desired results. HR managers, on the whole have to be vigilant about the human resource imperatives, and find the key to successful personnel management. Search for articles related to Human Resource Management: Or, read these articles that are related to Training Programs: |
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