I read a lot of blogs, papers, and participate in a lot of on-line groups that focus on Instructional Design, Training, and eLearning. A while back, someone posted a question that has rolled around in every training and education professional’s head at one point or another.

Management Concern: “What if we train them and they leave?”

ID Question: “What if we don’t and they stay?”

It’s a question that needs to be addressed at every level. There appears to be a wealth of research to back up the connection between happy and productive employees and high levels of training within an oganization. Sandra Yates and Snowden McFall both highlight the importance of well planned training for employees while the Leadership Advantage site refers to a 1999 Gallup poll which stresses that investment in training can be a useful tool in retaining talented employees.

Opposite side of the coin
I have found that in a corporate environment, the concept of training is frequently thrown out as the “be all and end all” to solve any production or performance issues. Quite often, the problem to be solved has never really been analized and no one has stood back to ask what they believe training will resolve. It’s been my experience of late that so many people aren’t taking the necessary time to investigate why the issue (whatever it is) is occuring in the first place. Sure, in a perfect world (or even an academic environment), everyone is completing a basic training needs analysis before starting down that road…but many of us who work in a corporate training environment have realized that those making the decision to employ training as the “answer” are from departments outside of training and often hold the purse strings.

If you do a google search for the phrase “what if we train them and they leave” you’ll find a wealth of articles containing this phrase. The other thing you’ll notice is that many of these articles center on ways to get better bang for your buck when it comes to training. Suggestions include eLearning, mentoring, on-the-job (OJT) training, just-in-time (JIT) training, on-line knowledgebases, and apprenticeships. Not that I’m saying that there’s anything wrong with any of these suggestions, but in many of the articles, there’s an underlying assumption that someone somewhere has thoroughly reviewed the performance data, current situation, and determined that training is the only solution that fits.

I’m finding more and more in the projects I’m asked to work on that this just isn’t the case. Training isn’t a magic wand that can resolve all performance issues. For example, training won’t improve performance of your employees if you have a high attrition rate due to a tyranical supervisor. It won’t change production numbers if the equipment is antiquated, continually broken, or the timelines assigned to a task are significantly underestimated. Spending money on training front line employees to resolve either of the above two issues could result in a complete waste of time, money and resources. When the problem continues, as often occurs in these situations, it can directly affect the perception and reputation of the members of the training department in a negative fashion.

Despite this many managers are eager to jump into the training cycle without spending anytime in preliminary analysis. While business are often dynamic and the pace of change is ever increasing, sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back and let those whose skills lie in training analysis, such as your trust Instructional Designer or Performance Consultant, have the time to dig to the root of the issue and make a determination whether or not training is really necessary.

Let’s not get me started on the issue of sacrificing good design for quick turn around and dollars saved. Badly designed training is equally responsible for decreasing the reputation of training professionals and not producing advertised results! That’s a rant for a completely different day…

Technorati Tags: training, needs analysis, instructional design, ROI

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