Hello, curlytop-ga!
I have been researching your question over the course of the past
month and have to admit, up front, it has been especially hard to find
evaluations of workplace programs that fall into the service
organization category or have any measured results. There is a wealth
of information about "implementing" employee training programs in the
NHS, but virtually zero concerning evaluation of the programs. There
are also an overflow of articles that correlate workplace benefits
with employee training programs by stating, "the research shows..." -
with no citation of studies. There are also many articles highlighing
the Return on Investment - but not of the type that you are seeking in
your question.
I have found a few workforce training evaluations that might help
you. Some have actual research statistics tied to them - the rest
simply have reviews of the outcomes. I sincerely hope they are
helpful.
===
"Turning Skills into Profit: Economic Benefits of Workplace Education
Programs," by Michael R. Bloom and Brenda Lafleur. The Conference
Board, Inc. Research Report 1247-99-RR.
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/education/reports/pdfs/Skills_Profits.pdf
The following evaluation of employee training programs was determined
based on "more than 100 interviews..conducted with employers,
employees and union representatives from over 40 private and
public-sector workplaces representing a cross-section of economic
sectors through the United States."
The percentage of employees reporting skill gains among employees as a
result of workplace training programs were evaluated. A variety of
skills were acquired as a result of traing, including:
80% noting an improvement of employees ability to "build and work in teams."
73% noting "improved capacity to think critically and logically to evaluate
situation, solve problems, and make decision."
65% noting "heightened understanding and willingness to work within
the group's culture."
(See chart - Skills Gained by Employees Through WEPs)
=
Improvements to the organization were also noted, with pecentage of
employees noting:
87% - improved employee morale/self esteem
82% - Increased quality of work
82% - Improved capacity to solve problems
82% - Better team performance
75% - Improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace
69% - Improved effectiveness of supervisors
65% - Improved output of products and services
56% - Improved profitability
56% - Reduced time per task
51% - Better health and safety record
42% - Increased customer retention
40% - Increased employee retention
33% - Reduced absenteeism
(See chart - Organizational Benefits Gained Through WEP's)
Read report for futher explanation of benefits reaped from WEP's and a
list of organizations participating in the evaluation.....
==
From "Interim Evaluation of Success Nova Scotia 2000 - Final Report - February 1999
http://www11.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/sp/hrsdc/edd/reports/1999-000415/page07.shtml
A survey of employers within various types of companies in Nova Scotia
which instituted employee learning programs responded concerning the
success of their programs:
"At least nine out of ten employers surveyed, professed to be familiar
with lifelong learning as a concept (only 11% claimed not to
understand it), and almost all of them have an opinion on its impact
in the workplace.
* The most cited visible effects of lifelong learning were improved
worker performance (cited by 51% of respondents) and worker motivation
(44%)."
==
The following report concerning the evaluation of employee training
programs in Canada sums up the benefits:
From "Employer and Employee Perspectives on Human Resource Practices:
The Evolving Workplace Series - September 2001." HRSCDC (Last
modified: 2004-11-17)
http://www11.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/sp/hrsdc/arb/publications/research/2002-000149/page04.shtml
The benefits of workplace training:
"The quintessential question when looking at the relation between
workplace practices, productivity and job satisfaction is "Which is
the cause and which is the effect?" Does training improve productivity
or is it that productive firms can afford to pay for training?
Research to date shows an association between training and
productivity but cannot establish a cause-effect relationship (Bartel
1995; and Black and Lynch 1997). A definitive answer is elusive for
these researchers because their data were cross-sectional. Thus,
researchers could not determine which came first - the practice or the
growth in productivity and job satisfaction. WES's longitudinal data
will help deal with this causality issue. However, because the current
report is based on data from WES's first year, it shares the same
problem as earlier research and it also cannot answer these
questions."
"We have provided data on productivity and job satisfaction in this
section primarily to make users aware of the data; we caution readers
that these data cannot be construed as direct evidence of the impact
training has on productivity and job satisfaction. Moreover, our
analysis is strictly descriptive and does not control for the
influence of such worker characteristics as wages, benefits and
working conditions, nor for such workplace attributes as technological
change and business strategies. Keeping this in mind, readers are
invited to review the highlights on job satisfaction and training
reported by employees (Table 2.5) and employers (Table 2.6)."
From the employees' reports on job satisfaction and training, we found that:
* the percentage of employees who were very satisfied in their jobs was
greater among those who participated in employer-sponsored workplace
training than those who did not;
* employees who reported that the training they received was about right for
the demands of their job were more likely to be very satisfied than those
who said the training was too little or too much for the demands of their
jobs; and
* employees in establishments where the amount of training made available to
them (as reported by employers) had increased over the last year were more
likely to be very satisfied than those in establishments where training had
decreased or remained stable."
==
From "Worker Education, Training and Assistance (WETA). 2001
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/wai/weta.html
"The Worker Education, Training and Assistance (WETA) program was a
three-year demonstration project designed to improve job satisfaction
and worker retention in participating assisted living and home health
care agencies. The WETA program was designed to provide participants
with education and training, financial benefits, access to emergency
assistance with childcare, recognition and opportunities for
advancement."
"During the project, 84 educational program sessions were implemented
for 221 direct care workers and supervisors employed by participating
agencies. (An additional 114 employees of one organization that
subsequently withdrew from the project also participated in some
training sessions.) The sessions were ranked highly by participants
and evaluated positively by employers. Employers reported that WETA
had resulted in better teamwork, improved interpersonal relations
among staff and better staff job performance."
"A consistent theme repeated at graduation ceremonies and in the
educational sessions was that it was beneficial for direct care
workers and supervisors to be brought together to learn from each
other and to interact with persons from different organizations. The
opportunity to compare, contrast, and understand the problems
encountered by others in the workplace was a positive aspect of the
sessions. Many of the workers gained life skills that made them more
assertive and (in some instances) more likely to leave their jobs for
additional training. Increased worker assertiveness was a benefit of
WETA that was consistently noted and valued by employers."
Link to Full Report
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/wai/wetareport.html
==
The following report highlights the fact that evaluating the outcomes
of employee training involves extensive research. However, it does
give a cursory mention (***) to the fact that employee training
provides a boost in confidence and behavior which provides strong
leadership.
From an evaluation of staff training programs in Queensland libraries
- "ITN 265 Management of Information Programs/ Briefing Report: 'A
Critical Evaluation of Staff Training for the Contemporary Library',
by Jeremy Dowe. April 2004 http://jeronimo.net.au/write/ITN265_a.htm
"EVALUATION SUMMARY - "To critically evaluate an objective requires
the strength of extensive research. Although the scope of this report
doesn't extend deep enough to supply data, which can be practically
put to use, the evaluated areas arouse some issues relating to the
effectiveness of staff training. The benefits are evidence, the time
it takes to conduct training is minimal (Staff Development, Macquarie
University Library, 1987, Source R.Sanders, 2000,pg 162)"
REPORT CONCLUSIONS - "In conclusion, management approach to staff
training should be positive. The environment changes rapidly in
information services and the requirement for staff to keep up in the
global economy is awfully important. Education in the employment place
has been and will be an issue for management. Management needs to
provide access to new employment opportunities for staff through the
provision of training and staff development programmes.
**
Progressive staff development not only improves skills and knowledge,
but also boosts confidence and behaviour levels which lead to the
creation of strong leaders and tomorrows workforce.
**
===
Below is a brief synopsis of successful employee training at Oakwood
Eyecare Centers. While translation of employee successes into the
workplace are mentioned in the article, I imagine you would have to
talk directly with the owners to obtain information on how they
measured their successes.
From "Oakwood Eyecare Centre." Case Studies. UK Skills
http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/celebrate/viewcs.asp?id=1267
"An opticians which focused on training as "a matter of survival" is
being recommended for the National Training Awards 2003. Oakwood
Eyecare Centre in Oakwood, Derby, was a practice growing in reputation
in a fiercely competitive market, with a loyal and growing patient
base. But owners Liz and Tom Jackson felt they had lost their
direction and were spending too much time on personnel issues.
External customer service had become well developed but the internal
customer service was causing increasing problems.
"A negative working environment was undermining development. "It had
become a matter of survival - not just against the competitors, but
against the internal enemy of negativity and poor teamwork, she said.
Training was designed to improve teamwork, remove the blame culture,
lift morale and improve productivity.
"Liz attended a certificated course in performance coaching and
personality profiling. A life skills coach was brought in to
facilitate team meetings twice a month, and all 10 staff, including
the partners, underwent a team audit, life skills coaching, their
third successful Investors in People assessment, a worklife balance
assessment and negotiation skills training."
This training concentrated on group activities, while different
members of the team underwent courses in business coaching,
self-esteem, communication and dealing with conflict, confrontation
and dispute.
** "The results have been impressive. Staff satisfaction scores,
regularly assessed, have risen dramatically for unity, happiness,
sense of achievement, problem solving, efficiency and many other
factors."
==
The UK Skills site provides brief "case study" overviews "by year" of
successful training programs. Several of the employer training
programs highlight improvement in employee skills, but there are no
research briefs.
Example of case studies:
http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/celebrate/yearscs_a.asp?year=2003
Browse through case studies by year:
http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/celebrate/yearscs.asp
==
Oher short case studies which highlight employee training success:
"Lyreco UK Ltd - Commitment to Training."
http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/celebrate/viewcs.asp?id=1201
"University of Sheffield - University Department Clean Up Their Act."
http://www.nationaltrainingawards.com/celebrate/viewcs.asp?id=1172
"The department responded by investing in staff training to increase
their skills levels and the quality of work carried out whilst at the
same time creating a more motivated and efficient workforce in order
to cut costs. All levels of staff including management and supervisors
engaged in a variety of courses including BICS training and City and
Guilds and were able to use the expertise they gained to train the
other cleaning staff. This training culture was embraced by all the
staff with 72 of the 300 staff completing NVQs and others embarking on
the training which also contributed enormously to their self esteem
and pride in their work....Pat McGrath, Head of Corporate Services,
commented: "Cleaning staff are not traditionally the beneficiaries of
training but the benefits to our organisation of investing in our
workforce have been enormous. The staff have gained a real sense of
pride in their work and the results have been clear to see. Winning a
National Training Award has given us a further boost to that sense of
achievement."
==
Research on training programs for multiskilling in the NHS:
From "Service Intetration and Multiskilling in Factilities Management
within the UK National Health Service," by Fari Akhlaghi and Liz
Mahony.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/urs/fmgc/research/papers/vol15no31997ms.pdf
"The success factor of learning different skills applies equally well
in health care as it does in other industries. This, together with the
integration of responsibilities such as total control of the food
chain up to the presentation of the meal to the patient, lead to the
following benefits: improved quality of service to patients; improved
continuity of service to patients because they are seen by fewer
staffeach with wider responsibilities; quicker support services
arising from removal of demarcation; a more marketable workforce with
greater opportunities for promotion; job enrichment with some staff
making significant contributions to the work of the trust; greater job
satisfaction, reduced absence rates with less need for temporary
relief staff."
==
Effect of computer training on NHS employee skills and satisfaction:
From "YOU SAY YOU CAN USE A COMPUTER - PROVEIT!" Inside Learning Technologies
http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/magazine/article_full.cfm?articleid=89&issueid=10§ion=1
"Recently the NHS recognised the increasing role that computing skills
had to play within their sector. They especially recognise the
importance of the vast IT upgrade and investment programme, undertaken
to computerise all patient files, and the importance of having
comprehensive and measurable standards of computing. A substantial
employee training programme has now been embarked upon and the NHS
turned to The British Computer Society (BCS) to provide the solution."
"The aim of the project was clear, to get as many staff as possible to
pass all seven exams of ECDL. To this end it was successful; with 93%
passing the course and 91% involved did this 15 weeks into the course.
The 9% drop out rate, was attributed to those who were already
embracing some other type of study."
"As for return on investment, the Trust has calculated that each
person who has the ECDL qualification saves an average of 38 minutes
per day, through operating their computer to its optimum performance."
"Pete Bayley, adds, 'Within the healthcare, professional service
quality standards have been demonstrated to increase, as increasing
numbers of qualified personnel are now operating the NHS's IT systems
with greater efficiency.
**
"Those achieving success in the ECDL qualification, are also gaining
confidence and enthusiasm across all of their responsibilities.'
**
==
Some general overviews of company benefits from employee training programs:
From "TRAINING: The Case for Increased Investment," by Terri Bergman.
Originally published in Employment Relations Today, Winter 1994/95,
pp. 381-391. http://www.ed.psu.edu/nwac/document/train/invest.html
"One study of small firms found that investments in workplace
education programs result in:
* Skill gains: gains in workers' reading, writing, mathematics, and other
academic skills,
* Attitudinal and behavioral improvements: improvements in workers'
motivation, self-esteem, willingness to take responsibility, teamwork, and
communication and problem solving abilities, and
* Bottom line benefits: improvements in product quality and greater firm
productivity.
==
From "Return on Investment in Training - Myths and Realities no. 16,"
by Bettina Lankard Brown. Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and
Vocational Education. 2001
http://www.cete.org/acve/docgen.asp?tbl=mr&ID=106
"Although companies may be leery of providing general training because
it improves the worker?s potential for securing employment elsewhere,
it has proven to have a greater effect on worker productivity than
does specific training. Barrett and O?Connell (2001) used data from
surveys of enterprises in Ireland to estimate the productivity effects
of general training, specific training, and all types of training
combined. They found that, although statistically significant positive
outcomes were realized for general and all types of training, this was
not true for specific training. Survey data from Scottish workers
participating in lifelong learning programs showed that investment in
these programs likewise results in positive benefits from general
training (Pate et al. 2000). Reported results include increases in an
employee?s psychological commitment to the organization, job
satisfaction, and knowledge transfer."
"Possibly, the underlying factor influencing the returns on investment
for all types of training is that each type has a different effect on
productivity. The Institute of Personnel and Development ("What Makes
Training Pay?" 1997) separates training into two camps: "pay back" and
"pay forward." "Pay back" requires a measurable financial return. "Pay
forward" looks at benefits that will occur down the line, e.g., better
team or individual behavior, better staff identification with company
objectives. Whatever the method of calculating return on investment
for the various types of training, one caveat is supported by the
literature: The impact of training tends to vary positively with the
level of capital investment when the training is conducted properly
and related to identified needs."
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
====================
"Learning & Development in Health Care: The Challenges of a Corporate
University in a Hospital Setting," by Marcia Dresner. Corporate
University Journal, Spring 2005
http://www.corpu.com/newsletter/ld.html
"Time for a ?work-learn? balance, says new TUC survey." TUC. 2 June 2005
http://www.tuc.org.uk/skills/tuc-9976-f0.cfm
"An Evaluation of the UK Union Learning Fund - its Impact on Unions
and Employers -summary report." June 2005. Hannah Wood and Sian Moore.
Working Lives Research Institute. London Metropolitan University
http://www.tuc.org.uk/skills/tuc-10180-f0.cfm
==
Again, I truly hope that the above references provide some statistics
or useful feedback for your research.
Sincerely,
umiat
Search Strategy
NHS employee training programs
site:uk successful NHS employee training OR education success
outcomes of employee education training programs in health organizations
research shows employee training improves job performance
+research AND effectiveness of continued education service professionals
evaluating employee learning in the workplace
evaluation of NHS employee training upgrade skills
research shows employee training improves job performance
employee training AND ROI
benefits from employee workforce training OR continuing education
training employees AND increased confidence and team leadership |
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