20 Intangible Measurements of Training Success
There are multiple ways you can measure the success of a training course or an overall training strategy. Those measurements of success can be put into two categories: tangible measurements and intangible measurements of training success. In this blog, we are going to focus on intangible measurements of training success.
What is the difference between tangible and intangible measurements?
- Tangible measurements of training success are quantifiable. Often, they can be measured, and they are objective in nature. Examples include assessment results, cost-related measurements, ROI, and training metrics such as course completion speed and number of people trained.
- Intangible measurements of training success are more difficult to measure, but they are often just as important. For some training courses and in some situations, intangible measurements of training success are even more important. They are generally observed or experienced, so they are subjective.
We covered the most common tangible measurements of training success in a previous blog. In this blog, we will focus on intangible measurements, with 20 of the most common.
Intangible Measurements of Training Success
- Company culture – training courses can be an important part of crafting and nurturing a positive company culture. Therefore, building the company culture that you want to achieve is a good measurement of training success.
2. Learning culture – many modern companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia understand the benefits of having a learning culture in the organisation. Building one is not easy though, but if it is your objective, achieving it demonstrates a successful training strategy.
3. Camaraderie and team spirit – it is beneficial for companies in all industries to build a good team atmosphere where everyone is pulling in the same direction in a supportive environment. You can’t achieve this goal through training alone, but the right training courses can help.
4. Morale – in companies where there is a morale issue, training courses on specific topics can start to improve the situation. Training topics examples include conflict resolution and teamwork. Any noticeable improvements in morale are an indication the training is working.
5. Employee confidence – companies are often held back because of a lack of employee confidence. An example is confidence in using modern technologies. While confidence is hard to measure objectively, it can be improved through training.
6. Overall employee satisfaction – staff retention is a tangible measure of training success, but good rates of staff retention are usually only possible when employees feel satisfied with their roles, responsibilities, and contribution to the organisation.
7. Connectedness – one specific measure of employee satisfaction that can be an indication of training success is whether employees feel connected to the organisation and their colleagues.
8. Value alignment – do your employees feel the company is aligned with their personal values? Effective training can help bring those values into alignment.
9. Teamwork – teamwork has already been mentioned in this blog, but it is worth highlighting on its own as a measurement of training success. It is difficult to attribute a value to teamwork, but it is definitely noticeable when it is there – and when it is not.
10. Collaboration – following on from the above point, improved levels of collaboration can be an indication that your training strategy is working.
11. Less conflict – targeted training courses can help employees deal with conflict situations in a more constructive way.
12. Harmony – do you have a more harmonious workplace as a result of training courses and the delivery of your training strategy? Training courses would need to be combined with other initiatives to make your workplace more harmonious, but training can play an important role.
13. Reputation – there are tangible metrics that you can use to assess the external perception of your company. The number of customer complaints received as well as customer satisfaction scores are two examples. Another measurement that you can use is company reputation. It is more subjective, but it’s still important.
14. Motivation – as a result of your training initiatives, do employees feel more motivated? After sales training, for example, are salespeople more motivated to hit their targets?
15. Leadership skills – there are many leadership improvements that training can deliver that are observable without necessarily being measurable.
16. Innovation – has your training strategy improved the ability of employees to generate new ideas or solutions?
17. Resilience and adaptability – resilience and adaptability have never been more important, not least because of the rapid pace of technological change running through organisations in all industries. Therefore, developing resilience and adaptability skills is essential.
18. Changes in attitude – there are times when a change of attitude is a key measure of training success. A good example is compliance training. Many topics that come under the compliance heading aim to change behaviours, but changing attitudes is also often important.
19. Leadership perception – how do employees in your organisation perceive those who lead them? This is a question that training can seek to improve.
20. Brand image – the image of your brand is another intangible measurement of training success. For example, training customer-facing staff on topics such as brand values can help those staff present those values to customers in what they say and do.
Don’t Neglect the Importance of Intangible Measurements of Training Success
It is common for organisations to focus almost exclusively on tangible measurements of training success, i.e., measurements that you can, for example, apply a number or percentage to. As a result, intangible measurements are often neglected.
The list of intangible measurements of training success presented above demonstrates the importance of subjective, observable assessments. Therefore, intangible measurements should be included when you analyse your training courses and overall strategy.
