MEASURING SUCCESSFUL TRAINING
by Emily Huling
Although the result of staff training isn't always tangible, there are ways to gauge its effects. Emily Huling tells you how to assess your return on employee training and, if necessary, make changes to make it more effective.
Since my business is people development, as well as productivity and profitability improvement, I continually ask myself, “How can I tell if training has worked?” With many variables affecting agency results — fluctuating premiums, carriers’ underwriting appetites, commission adjustments, employee turnover, technology upgrades — how can management determine if improvements come as a result of training or would have happened anyway?
Although it’s hard to pinpoint the effect of specific training programs, agencies whose cultures focus on learning enjoy consistently above-average results. For them, continuing education classes aren’t just a line item on a performance review. These agencies consider learning, knowledge retention, and skill application as integral elements of their agency culture and business plan.
Here’s a checklist of criteria that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your agency’s education initiatives:
- Productivity. Is the employee doing more work in less time? People always hate the idea of work measurement, but it's the only way to determine productivity improvement. Benchmark employees against two gauges. The first is against themselves; for example, does it take less time to enter an application in the system after training? The second measure must be against the agency expectation. If four CSRs are assigned the same task, what's the acceptable standard for the agency? Although the manager needs to take into account the superstar vs. the average worker, they can still determine a standard.
- Quality and Accuracy. Is someone doing frequent account audits to be sure that files are documented, computer activity and note screens are current, and exposures and coverages are reviewed with the policyholder? Managers should include periodic audits as part of their job responsibilities. With today's remote technology, off-site consulting firms can do file audits. There's no other way to check for accuracy and quality other than by individual file audits. Besides assessing training effectiveness, this will help your agency protect itself against errors and omissions.
- Applying New Competencies. How long does it take an employee to apply knowledge learned? Let's say that an employee attends a class to learn Power Point™ or an in-depth review of EPLI or D&O coverages. Too often, after instruction, they aren't able to apply or practice what they've learned. Within several days, assign the employee a project that applies the specific new skills. If they don't use this knowledge immediately, the training fades very quickly. The more frequently the employee uses these skills, the easier it is for them to recall what they've learned.
- Client Feedback. What are your clients telling you — and what are they not telling you? Many agency owners believe that a good retention rate proves that they're providing good service. But who's to say that this retention rate shouldn't be three or five points higher? Don't wait for red flags before assessing client satisfaction. Agencies should conduct formalized, ongoing client surveys, using a combination of approaches. The most common are mailing satisfaction surveys, e-mailing surveys, telephone surveys, and using mystery shoppers. If you're not using client feedback strategies now, try one or two of these and see what you learn.
CONCLUSION
Do you notice improvement in the employee’s confidence, communication, and knowledge as a result of their training? If an employee is negative about a class after taking it, investigate why. Some public seminar courses billed as skill building are actually student-paid advertisements for the books and tapes on sale at the back of the room. Pay attention to what you hear post-training to learn what works and what doesn’t.
Did the employee attend a class simply to get the state-mandated continuing education credit and leave with minimal new knowledge? Discuss the reasons an employee wants to attend a specific class to be sure that it’s a good choice.
Companies invest enormous amounts of time and money on education and training. Agency managers should assess their return and, if necessary, make changes to create effective training. It’s in everyone’s best interest — the employee, the agency and your customers — to be sure that this investment pays off.
Emily Huling, CIC, CMC, helps the insurance industry achieve excellence in customer service, sales, and leadership. Her new book, Selling from the Inside — Creating a Front Line that Adds to Your Bottom Line, is now available. You can contact Huling at Selling Strategies, Inc., P.O. Box 200 , Terrell, NC 28682 , (888) 309-8802 (toll free), fax (888) 309-7355, e-mail [email protected], or Web site www.sellingstrategies.com.