The public sector is failing to properly evaluate its training despite the
huge costs involved – and as a result, has little evidence of its effectiveness
or return on investment.
New research finds only 36 per cent of HR departments in the public sector
bother to map training effectiveness against job performance.
A further 83 per cent of the 101 HR directors questioned admitted to using a
simple tick-box approach to measure the value of training, which 63per cent
felt made it hard toevaluate the investment.
This inability to accurately appraise the value and quality of training is
leading to serious funding problems, with a third of respondents complaining of
a shortfall of 33 per cent in training budgets.
The focus of training has also been called into question, with one in three
HR professionals imposing courses on staff based on the perceived, rather than
the actual needs of the workforce.
The findings, taken from a survey by consultant LogicaCMG, also highlight
HR’s difficulty in gaining senior management buy-in for training budgets.
Keith Scott, director of training at LogicaCMG, said initiatives such as
joined-up government were being jeopardised through unstructured training
programmes.
"Accounting for the return on training investment is paramount in the
public sector – especially given the size of annual budgets and perceived
shortfalls.
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"There is a definite and immediate need for change in the way training
is defined, deployed and evaluated," he said.
By Ross Wigham
