The third phase of business alignment is through the evaluation process. The most critical step in ensuring alignment occurred between the program and the business measures claimed to have improved is the step to isolate the effects of the program. This article describes this step in the evaluation process, presenting three specific techniques that will help readers take this important step.
The Situation
A group of senior executives, human resource managers, and learning and development staff for a large data security firm gather to review the results of a recently completed retention program. The training was conducted to help keep their talented middle managers from migrating to global competitors. All have had substantial input in the program’s development and the consensus, at least anecdotally, is that the program has been successful.
Fortunately, the quantitative results show a healthy increase in the key business outcomes— retentions and promotions; plus, a Return on Investment (ROI) of 139 percent. However, the CEO posed some challenging questions regarding the course, such as, “How much of the reported business impact was due to the training program?” and “How much was due to variables, such as direct manager coaching, the opening of new markets in Europe, or the revised incentive package?”
If these questions cannot be answered with certainty, the measurable results may be considered of little value or undependable. The credibility and validity of the measurement process is then questioned. How can this situation be avoided?