According to recent Gartner Research, each hour of information technology training increases an employee’s performance by 5.75 hours. It also states that:
- It takes an untrained employee twice as long to do it by themselves through experimentation.
- Every hour of training reduces help desk support time by a quarter of an hour.
- Every hour of training reduces review and fixing errors by one hour.
From “The ROI on Learning” by Gary Boomer, CEO of Boomer Consulting, statistics show a direct relationship between training and performance. Similarly, for an organization to consistently perform at high levels of business performance, it has to understand and manage performance drivers.
Measurable indicators provide feedback about the business performance, but results are delivered by the key drivers. Executives and managers often focus too much attention on dashboard metrics and too little attention on the drivers that produce performance. The key performance drivers to be impacted to produce breakthrough results are the company’s culture, its business strategy, processes, its business structure and its people.
To build an organization that attracts and retains talent, a learning culture has to be created. Firms need to change if they want to benefit from new opportunities and leverage technology to increase productivity. Some people may say, that firms have been doing this for the past 25 years, but the rate of change is now faster. Today’s workforce requires continuous training and learning, which can average 150 hours on an annual basis. The ability of a company to compete in the marketplace is determined by the effectiveness of its business system, and not just by what it sells. An excellent company will always produce excellent results, but excellent results will not necessarily create an excellent company.
Here’s a way to do a quick check to see how well your company is doing on the culture front. Think about and answer the following questions:
- Are the benefits of learning being given constant emphasis by your company’s leadership? Do they lead by example by investing in their own personal development?
- Do the employees create their career development plans as a formal process?
- Are the employees awarded for process improvement suggestions like “innovative ideas” or best cost-cutting ideas?
- Are there any internal discussions conducted to analyze the impact of training interventions (Cost – Benefit Analysis)?
- Are internal job postings encouraged?
- Is there a Learning Management System for employees to monitor their formal training programs and learn through eLearning courses?
- Are the learners polled to understand whether or not the training content was beneficial?
Learning Culture needs to be the rule, not an exception, for any organization. It is important to empower employees by making them in charge of their own learning. A strong learning culture would help an organization survive and thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
