Management attitudes and organisational cultures have more impact on training quality than company size and budget, according to the Broadcast Training and Skills Regulator (BTSR).
Commenting on its 2007 annual assessment of training provision and skills development in broadcasting, BTSR chairman Stephen Whittle said: “One of the clear messages coming through is the important role that management and leadership play. Those companies that score highly across the board are those where there is interest in, recognition of and input to the learning and development of staff at the very highest organisational levels.”
The BTSR assessment was based on work carried out by management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It assessed information submitted by 77 broadcasters in self-evaluation forms and complemented by evidence gathered on visits to 32 of them.
It found 78% of those assessed had a training budget while the rest had ad hoc arrangements. But validation visits found broadcasters struggled with evaluation of training and aligning it to business performance.
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BTSR said those who did achieve higher levels of provision demonstrated asystematic approach to the evaluation of training and development activity, including:
- Use of performance appraisal systems to document feedback and business impact
- Formal/informal discussions with staff following training or within three months
- Organisational level evaluation of courses
The BTSR and broadcasting sector skills council Skillset plan to develop an awards event to recognise training excellence in the sector.
