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world of their experience, there is no evidence that they are generally able
to extrapolate to other equally relevant situations without some form of
post-training support.

n Can our training people, internal or external, demonstrate
convincingly that the methods that they use deliver the optimum
level of application of learning in the workplace?

– What were the training objectives?

– What must we measure to get the true picture?
Productivity?
Time saved?
Pound/dollar value to the business of problems solved?
Employee morale?
Cost savings?
Sales revenues increased?
Customer satisfaction?
Customer retention?
Profitability?

n If they cannot measure results, is it not time that they were made
to?

Xerox

Regardless of methodology, on average 87 per cent of the learning that is
transferred to the workplace is lost within twelve weeks if learning is
unsupported. (Let me be clear about this, combining Joyce’s findings with
those of Xerox there is compelling evidence that the “bog standard” every-
day training course in which you invest delivers to the workplace, within
three months of leaving the conference room, 13 per cent of 13 per cent
(1.69 per cent) return on your training investment. Even that low figure is
only true if you believe that the whole programme was relevant and worth
the overall cost. If some part of the programme was amusing though not
particularly useful it is within the bounds of possibility that some of what
is remembered and transferred serves very little purpose. I have investi-
gated cases where a heavy reliance on training films that emphasize what
not to do more amusingly than they demonstrate the desired behaviour
have led to some people, a minority it must be admitted, taking the come-
dian’s antics as a role model for future behaviour.) You might like to ask
yourself and then your training people where else that level of return is
considered to be acceptable in a business?

n Should we, as an absolute minimum, test how much is learned on
all training courses, how much is used at the workplace and how
much that which is used contributes to achieving a strategic or
tactical goal?

200 Key management questions