Align Training with Business Goals
July 19, 2010 • By Bob Pike CSP, CPAE
It might be common sense to figure out your company's goals and then tie training to that-but we all know common sense isn't so common.
As a training director in your company, your first item of business needs to be identifying the true business/productivity goals of your company. Then do some analysis on how well employees are meeting that goal.
Frequently tying training to company goals as well as implementation is not a seamless process. Even more frequently, many don't even know what the company is ultimately trying to achieve in order to tie training to the goals.
Like so many things in life, the most effective and efficient tools take planning and implementation-things that are difficult to find time to do well when you're already doing the work of two or three people.
I suggest this quick timeline:
Figure out what the company's goals really are--create your own list and then double-check that with someone higher up. If you work at a small company, check with the owner. Make sure you are on the same page. You may be surprised at what actual goals versus perceived goals are.
Take your current training programs as well as programs that have been requested. Compare these to the company's goals. Are the programs bringing you closer to goal achievement? In this instance, I would say "neutral" programs-programs that don't hurt goals, but don't carry you forward-are actually "negative" programs in that they take away from how effective the training department is perceived, the bottom line, and time that could be tied to "positive," goal-tied training.
When you get to your office in the morning, close your door (if you have one) and spend 10 minutes each morning working on planning and implementation. Do this before even checking your inbox or voicemails or it may not get done. With 10 minutes, you can accomplish at least one full task or figure one additional way to implement without being interrupted or having to refresh your memory next time. And, by the end of the week, you've spent nearly one hour helping the training department become more relevant, more effective and more efficient.
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