We have, from time to time, made the decision to close our office for a “training” day, and have our team attend training seminars, webinars and events. The events themselves are always a huge success however determining what the return on investment (ROI) was can be more difficult!
With a product or service, the ROI is easy to calculate. You spent X number of dollars on a product, which resulted in increased sales or productivity. Comparing the sales numbers or productivity before and after the purchase of the product will give you your ROI and all of your number crunchers are happy. With staff training, it is much more difficult to calculate the true ROI.
- How do you know if your investment paid off?
- How long do you wait before you determine the ROI?
- How do you measure the takeaways from staff trainings?
We have never found easy answers or any mathematical equations to satisfy the needs of our numerically inclined management team, but we do have a few ways to measure the success of our investment into staff training & development.
Staff Feedback/Satisfaction
We always ASK our team what they 'got' out of the training session. It seems simple, but asking will get you some valuable feedback. We used to attend a large event that had numerous speakers with a variety of topics. After the 2nd time around, the feedback from the staff told us that it was not a good investment of time! On the other hand, we attend a 1/2 day event each year and the feedback has been amazing! The team takes things away that benefit them personally and professionally- a GOOD investment of time and resources. Not precisely measurable but the satisfaction of the team makes it worth the costs involved.
Participation
This may seem like a No Brainer- but if your team is actively participating in the training & development sessions you select, it is a good guess that they are a worthy investment! Our teams need various forms of activities to stimulate their brains. Physical activities challenge our teams to be all that they can be. Mentally stimulating training sessions increase thought processes and creativity. Team events encourage and increase team comradery and individual options help to draw out each person's personal strengths and abilities. While the ROI may be tough to measure, a staff that is not challenged and participating can become dull and stagnant.
Your Culture
The best way to determine whether training and group activities are having a great ROI is to take a look at your company culture.
- How does it FEEL in your work space?
- Are things moving in the right direction?
- Is your staff engaged and active?
- Are you reaching your company goals?
- Do your clients, members and patients continually provide you with positive feedback?
Some things are difficult to measure and calculating the ROI on the investment we make into our staff training & development programs may not be easy, but there are definitely ways to KNOW that your activities are paying off! A happy well trained staff will out produce a disengaged staff every day of the week! Invest wisely!
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