How to increase productivity through training

Reducing skill gaps in organisations has long been regarded a major and ongoing challenge for people
working in human resources and talent management. Showing training delivers a positive, tangible
effect on staff performance is increasingly required. This is particularly true among operations and
finance teams who want to see improvements and efficiencies so that productivity can be increased.
In fact, current contribution per staff member within the hospitality, tourism and sports sectors is
just 19,750, compared to 56,560 in the finance sector and 90,770 in the communications
industry.1
Most organisations see training as a fundamental part of staff development and a contributing factor
to achieving overarching business goals, including increasing productivity. The tourism and visitor
economy invests 7.4 billion in training annually,2 yet 65% of this is at entry level. Of those
employers who do train existing staff, 34% dont see improvements in staff performance after
training and so are not seeing the expected return on investment.3
Yet this does not mean that training existing staff members is redundant. In fact, it is felt that it is the
lack of a systematic approach to training for ongoing skill gaps.
What do we mean by systematic approach to training? Its a concept that anyone can implement and
can be outlined in three simple words.
1. Plan
2. Do
3. Review
Failing to include any one of these steps in your training programme could mean that valuable
information and outputs are missed. As return on investment (ROI) is often difficult to identify,
adopting a strategic approach makes it easier to track and report on any return gained.

Plan
Planning is the most vital component of any project. While some may disagree and say that the most
important aspect is delivery, this could not be further from the truth. Can you imagine getting to
training day and discovering there is a key component of your session missing? Planning should allow
you to meet both the business expectations and the expectations of those measuring your
performance and that of the people being trained.
When planning training, you need to consider:

The assessment of needs of all staff

People 1st analysis of the Annual Business Survey, 2011, Office for National Statistics.
People 1st analysis of the Labour Force Survey, 2011, Office for National Statistics.
3 People 1st analysis of the Employer Skills Survey, 2013, UKCES.
1
2

The business needs, objectives and measures the training will address
Whether to develop or adopt a training method for your organisation
Whether there is demand for the training

How do you gain insight into the needs of all staff? One solution is to develop a training needs
assessment that will collate feedback from all or some parts of the business. This will allow you to
thoroughly understand skills gaps employees have.
Do your expected outcomes help to deliver the business strategy? Do they align with outcomes that
are expected across the business? These are vital questions to ask during the planning stage. To
ensure these criteria are met, it is imperative to have both sales and operational buy-in for the
training plan and to ensure representatives from these teams is given the opportunity to provide
input into the planning process. Without the buy-in from the wider business, the outcomes of any
training may be limited.
The expression one size fits all is the least likely phrase to be said by any HR professional ever.
When developing the delivery element of your plan review previous training, measure its
effectiveness and decide whether it is the right approach for the organisation. Finding the right
delivery method for the employees being trained should be high on your planning agenda, although it
is not always the first step organisations take.4 But it should also be remembered that there is no
need to change delivery methods for the sake of it.

Do
How do we increase the outputs and, more importantly, the productivity of employees through
training?
By aligning training with business objectives! Training should not be a standalone output. In fact, it
should always relate to the objectives of the wider business. Regardless of whether it is induction
training, ongoing training for the longest serving staff members, or keeping the CEO up to date on
the latest social media channels, it all should align to the business objectives.
The organisations culture and the buy-in of key people within the business should also be
considered. Finally, businesses should not stop at one session; they need to review the progress of
people who have undertaken training and follow up with additional training if necessary. Businesses
should consider following a robust partnership model, where both managers and employees have a
strong influence on both the content and outcomes of any training provided. The image in the next
page shows such a model.
According to the CIPD in 2008, The most common form of training received by respondents to this survey was
training held in a meeting room/classroom or on-the-job training. However, this did not accord with the preferences
reported by learners. http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E958A441-7085-4BA7-85BD
4753D4C0D47F/0/supporting_accelerating_directing_learning.pdf Accessed 4/08/14.
4

Sloman, et al (2012) "Time for a change: highlighting the Partnership Model"5

Choosing the best type of training for your organisation will have a marked and positive impact on
the outcomes of any that is actually delivered.
Using a combination of training types may be the most effective way to increase employees
productivity, especially as it depends on their skill, the quality of technology available, and effective
management. In practical terms, productivity can be raised through training, investing in new or
more advanced equipment, and better staff management.

Review
This is the section of your plan that all other elements build up to. Without evaluation, lessons
cannot be learned, praise can not be awarded and hard work is quickly forgotten.
When reviewing training, it is essential that all findings are reported back to those involved in the
development and delivery of the sessions. People need to understand both what they did well and
what could have been done better. Reviewing also offers the chance to highlight the positive impact
the training had on the organisation. Measuring success is also part of the plan and this section will
identify whether the objectives set in the planning stage were actually achieved.

Time for a change: highlighting the Partnership Model, Russell Wordsworth, Sanna Malinen, Martyn Sloman, (2012)
"Time for a change: highlighting the Partnership Model", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 26 Iss: 5,
pp.14-17.

What to review?
It is important to remember to keep it simple, so the below offers a breakdown of the outputs
needed:

Where the training objectives met? How so?

Were all staff needs met?
Was the approach taken and delivery right for those involved?
What was the ROI from the training?
What impact has this training had on the business? Has productivity improved?

Quite naturally some questions will be easier to answer than others and it is worth noting that not
all results will be immediate. It does take time for sales results to improve and the sales cycle
timeframe should be taken into account when undertaking a review. One area that is traditionally
hard to measure is ROI.
To measure ROI, there are a number of factors that should be in place including:

A clear understanding of the purpose of the training

Agreed measurements that are in place to capture impact
Operational team buy-in for the training, especially the manager of the team
Staff being clear about the reasons they are on the training
Staff being empowered to change practises following training.

By following these simple rules, businesses will be able to develop ROI reporting, which is more
crucial than ever for many businesses. In fact, future funding for training may even rest on the ability
to prove a return on investment.
Other activities to undertake when reviewing training
There are a whole range of activities that could be undertaken when reviewing training, however the
two listed below offer some additional guidance for businesses about to take the important step to
increase productivity.

Employee engagement survey engage with staff directly and gain an understanding as
to whether they feel they have benefited from the training. It might be worth also creating a
management version so to collate feedback from team managers.
Sales outputs review sales conversions on a weekly and monthly basis and compare
them to prior months during at least the last two years. Create a spreadsheet that will
incorporate sales pre and post training along with other measures you have outlined in your
objectives.

While training and investment cost money in the short term, such an approach can raise long-term
productivity. While desirable within any business, this can have a far broader impact than just
increasing productivity within a particular business. Instead, such an approach across a range of
businesses working in a sector can benefit not just industry, but the economy as a whole.6

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/production/breakevenanalysisrev1.shtml Accessed 14/-8/14.

To find out more about training needs assessments, employee engagement surveys and training
evaluation please visit http://www.people1st.co.uk/Talent-management
We also produce research reports on a variety of industry areas and issues. Our most recent insight
reports to help you plan your recruitment, training and talent management can be found at
http://www.people1st.co.uk/Research-policy/Research-reports/Monthly-insights-reports

ABOUT PEOPLE 1ST

People 1st identifies industry needs across the hospitality, tourism, leisure, travel, passenger
transport and retail industries and, working in partnership with employers, develops solutions that
increase performance through people.

0203 074 1222 | info@people1st.co.uk | @P1stGroup