4 Strategies to Make Your Training Organization Performance Based

Training organizations are striving to become more performance-based in order to better serve internal clients and increase the value of the department to the organization. To do this, the training department needs to be aligned with the business goals and strategies of the organization and deliver measurable results in business terms. As [your] budget and planning season begins, it’s appropriate to consider what strategies need to be put into place and budgeted for so that the training organization can deliver the right programs and offer the right services. There are four strategies that, when properly implemented, will help your department move from where you are today to a full business partner that is integral to accomplishing critical organizational initiatives.

1. Assess Your Organization and Develop a Road Map for Becoming Performance-Based

As a first step, we recommend that you assess your current organization against best practices, keeping in mind your organization’s planned growth strategies. The objective of the assessment is to measure where the organization is today against best practices, identify all the gaps, and develop an action plan or road map for closing the gaps.

The assessment should consider whether the current structure is appropriate for meeting business needs. Beyond structure, what are the team member roles and responsibilities that will be required to meet organizational goals?

In addition to evaluating the structure and roles, consistent best practice standards must be in place. These standards serve as the foundation for measuring individual performance. Establishing precise performance standards will be a key action step if your organization does not currently have these.

Organizations may ask an outside party to assist them with the organizational assessment because they find that recommendations and action step road maps have increased value to executives when they come from an objective, third party expert source with no inherent bias. In addition, there is significant value in getting ideas and perspectives from many other companies, including companies outside your own core industry.

2. Upgrade Staff Skills

Once you have identified the positions, roles, and responsibilities you will need to become performance-based, you can shore up your team’s current skills. In virtually all cases, new skills will be required if you are moving from an activity-based environment to a performance environment. These skills are needed at all levels, from managers and directors, to designer/developers, to instructors.

It is wise to train the team members together in one methodology so that there is a common language, common standards, and a unified approach to processes and service offerings.

3. Monitor Performance and Provide Coaching and Quality Review

Skill alone is not enough to ensure a successful transition to a performance-based environment. It’s far too easy for team members to slip back—whether knowingly or not—to the old and familiar ways. [It is important to] reinforce the right behaviors, provide individual feedback and advice, and make sure team members stay on track.

4. Provide Expert Modeling on Pilot Initiatives

Once the team is skilled, you are ready to support your business partners in accomplishing their goals and objectives. We recommend that you “start small” and select just a few projects with supportive business partners where you can demonstrate measurable results. Identify an under-performing operational unit, department, or business function that you can remedy through training and performance improvement. Document the results in measurable financial terms so that your contribution to the bottom line is clear.

Reprinted with permission of CEP, The Center for Effective Performance. For more information, contact Paula Alsher at 770.458.4080 or palsher@cepworldwide.com.