It’s not always easy and straightforward to prove ROI for training. Many senior managers will still believe that training is a waste of time and experiential learning is no exception.
As regular training requires employees to take time out of their scheduled work to undertake the training, ROI must be proven. Regardless of the delivery system, it certainly needs to be carefully thought through in order to justify the benefit of this training.
Is training a waste of money?
To put it simply - no. Training, when done right, is very effective and can deliver tremendous ROI for the company. However, training can become a waste of money where key considerations are not put into place. Where a training provider has not worked closely with the managers and employees of the company to create content, they will not be able to create bespoke training materials.
Key considerations should include; the objective of the training - what is the company looking to achieve and the overarching business goals. The training course creators should also build an understanding of the participants by examining their; background, education level, prefered methods of learning, job roles and key tasks and feedback from the staff on previous training.
Feedback allows your training provider to get a gauge of how effective your previous training efforts were alongside gathering employee attitudes towards learning. These can be helpful in building an experiential learning system that will be engaging for your employees and have the optimum outcome and ROI.
Lastly, senior management needs to be engaged in the creation of the training material. They need to ensure that the outcomes are aligned with the wider business objectives and ensure that they support the system. Without the support of the senior management, employees are likely to be less engaged from the offset and can result in the training programme failing due to lack of motivation.
Impact of experiential training
Experiential training is recognised as having a significantly high impact and is used to teach employees a number of skills, including; conflict resolution, reflect on current skills, identify areas for improvement and build new skill sets.
Recalling and remembering experiences is considered overall much more effective than classroom learning as it allows employees to actually build memory and reflect on their actions. Reflection is one of the key ways that experiential learning is so effective, as it offers employees the chance to review their actions, say what they may have done differently and received peer reviews of their behaviours. Through this, they can identify areas of improvement and develop a better way of managing similar situations in the future.
Moreover, experiential learning is one of the optimum methods for establishing ‘soft skills’ with the workforce. This applied to the likes of team building, leadership, adaptability, creativity and deeper still, self-awareness, a key skills for being an effective leader.
Undertaking experiential learning requires a professional and highly skilled training professional, to ensure that the company objectives are met and that ROI is achieved. Through careful consideration and the ability to understand the skills which will allow that company to get ahead, build working relationships and allows individuals to thrive, often naturally progressing into leadership roles, an experiential learning programme that is highly effective can be created and implemented.