Four Decisions That Can Make or Break Training Programs

This post is from my article of the same name in The Public Manager.

Those who are responsible for investing large amounts of an agency’s precious resources must know the need, include customers at every step, make good choices when sourcing solutions, and know how to measure success.

Vital training programs often die on the vine due to lack of money. Today’s climate of sequestration and austerity could make failed training programs even more common. The good news is that by making careful choices during planning, design, and program execution, program managers, human resources personnel, and learning professionals can make their training budgets go farther and still get great results.

If money were no object, agencies would offer many training options for every requirement, use only custom-designed training, hire professional instructors, and use only the finest quality training materials. Even if it made business sense, the money-is-no-object approach leads to a price tag that most agencies cannot afford. Going to the other extreme will result in “ junk training” that does not deliver the skills and competencies employees need to perform effectively, damages the organization’s reputation and credibility, and undermines the ability to deliver effective training in the future.