Using data to make training programs more effective

“The aftereffects of the training are equally as important as the training itself; measuring outcomes, versus just providing the education is vital in order to ensure that our training and development and L&D dollars are going to the right place,” says Julie Develin, senior partner, HCM advisory at UKG.

Develin will be speaking at the HRD Learning and Development Summit, which will be held on April 10 in Toronto. Develin’s session is titled ‘integrating data-driven L&D to respond to changing business needs.”

During the session, she will highlight how accurate data collection can make L&D initiatives and training programs more effective for organizations.

Using data for L&D initiatives

One of the key things for organizations to understand is that having a reliable system that allows HR to use accurate data to aid business outcomes. It is also essential for employers to know their data is accurate and trustworthy to further understand what employee skillsets are at the organization’s disposal and how this contributes to business goals, Develin says.

“When we talk about data for learning and development, I see it being organizations’ understand of what skills their employees have to be able to maximize those skills for success in the future, both for the employee and for the company,” she says about her session at the Summit.

Develin emphasizes the need for organizations to understand where their data is housed and how that data is obtained. Having an automated HR system can help reduce the probability of human error within data sets, which helps employers accurately analyse employee skillsets to develop these employees.

“When we look at employees, what they want in terms of career pathways and how they want organizations to help them to move forward in their careers, I think that's one of the expectations of employees today. Accurately managing employee data is going to help with retention and also recruitment, as they spread the word that there are learning and development opportunities and a career path at your organization for them,” Develin says.

Increasing training effectiveness

According to Develin, data can also be used to understand the effectiveness of training programs, not only immediately after training, but months down the line as well.

“Understanding via data that we can gather on how effective a training program truly was, from a productivity perspective, can really help to make sure organizations can figure out if the investment in the training, both in time and in dollars, was worth it,” she says.

Sometimes, organizations are so focused on the delivery of the training itself that the outcomes of the training get lost, so it is essential for them to understand whether the training was effective or not to determine if anything can be done to improve the program, she says.

“The key takeaway from the session is for HR professionals to understand that there's more to learning and development and more to training than just the actual training itself. Knowing what cost is there and that there are ways to ensure we’re getting an ROI from the money intime we invest through data utilization is so important,” Develin says.