The Business of Training

Back in 1999 The Jack Philips Center for Research coined the term "The ROI Process" (TM) .  It was, and still is, a comprehensive methodology for capturing ROI as well as the measurement of all aspects of the benefits of training (learning or performance) interventions.  See The Four Evaluation Levels for Training Programs for additional insight. In The ROI Process there are five levels presented.  ROI being a separate level from the traditional levels presented by Dr. Donald L. Kirkpatrick.  Dr. Kirkpatrick included ROI in level four known as Results , because ROI is one of the measures of the final business results such as increased sales, reduced costs, etc.  In my opinion, ROI is really a nice 'business' way to summarize your investment in the training intervention. However, common sense must be enlisted when, and if, you decide to establish the ROI of a learning event.  The cost of determination can exceed the benefit! The organizatio...

What should I report? Reports related to your organizations progress, financials, quality, goals, etc. is key to your success.  You need to know if you are on track with meeting your objectives and if you are achieving the company's objectives.  Both your team and your manager need to know if you are on track.  The single most important thing in operating a training business is - Financial Performance.  Are we contributing and how much?  Training Services needs to be viewed as a source of improved performance and profit.  In that way your organization is on equal ground with other profit centers for resources and investment by the company. First of all you must ensure that your organization has P&L responsibility for its destiny otherwise you are using someone else's money for everything.  You must speak the language of a business manager.  You must align your deliveries with corporate objectives.  Then you need to establish business r...

Areas Affecting Perceived Value of Training Experience There are are six main areas that affect a customer's perceived value of a classroom training event.  Keep in mind that most of these apply to any learning event in any situation.  By the way, it does not matter whether the customer is an internal employee or an external client they perceive your training the same way.  If you focus on these areas you will create delighted customers who will return for additional training.  I use the term 'customer' to refer to either an employee of your company or an external client who is buying your training services.  Remember - Training is a Business. In other posts we will look at these items in more detail - for now here is a short summary: Professional Presentation : Every classroom presentation must be delivered in a professional manner that engages the learners. You or your trainer is there to ensure learning takes place, not to enter...

Training is a flighty business.  Technical and educational training groups from one person to corporate universities are often pressed to justify their existence by management teams.  These same management teams are often demanding more training for sales, technical, executives, IT personnel, etc.  This blog will attempt to address this issue and many others over time.  Stay tuned for relevant and practical information on subjects from how to run The Business of Training  to how to justify training programs and all the tools needed.  There will be quality links to information sources and must have support groups.  Whether you are a one person group or a corporate university you will find information to help you run your training business.