While the evidence shows clearly that firms that consistently invest in training outperform their competitors in both good and bad times, convincing senior executives that individual programs are having an impact can be difficult to prove.

In the past, the only way to demonstrate the return on investment for training was to conduct extensive, multi-year impact studies. Though rich in information, impact studies are not always feasible for smaller scale projects. As HR, organizational development, and training professionals are well aware, the requirements for conducting an extensive impact study include a significant level of senior management support over two or three years, access to proprietary data, and a significant amount of money to conduct the research. But is that the only way to measure the impact of training?

Recently some clients of The Ken Blanchard Companies® have been working with a new technique that has helped to measure the impact of training at a fraction of the cost of a traditional impact study.

Developed by Dennis Dressler and Robert Brinkerhoff of The Learning Alliance, this new process is called The Success Case Method*. While this method of measuring the impact of training is not as extensive as the information that is gathered from a typical impact study, it can still produce the type of evidence that most senior executives are looking for when trying to decide whether to continue funding a training initiative.

"Our research tells us that what executives want from training department leaders is not ROI studies with shaky numbers but hard evidence that learning participants are using skills taught on the job that are making a positive contribution to the business." --Dennis Dressler, The Learning Alliance

While The Success Case Method may not be able to produce the same type of complete results as an expensive, multi-year impact study, it can produce the type of substantiation that decision-makers need to make sure that the money spent on training is money well spent. For example, The Success Case Method can produce figures such as:

--"60% of all trainees used their learning in a way that contributed to significant business results, such as reduction in errors in processing customer orders, increased revenues from sales, increased customer satisfaction, reduced cycle time in order fulfillment, and so forth."

As well as ROI-related evaluations such as:

--"20% of participants used their learning to help achieve business results worth more than $45,000 each. Compared to a cost of $5,000 per trainee to provide and support the training this represents an ROI of 900%."

The Success Case Method differs from typical, more quantitative, methods in that it does not seek to average the impact of a training initiative among all of the people who participated in the program. Instead it seeks out two types of participants from opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one side, it looks for people who have been the most successful in using the new learning back on the job and producing quantifiable results. On the other side of the spectrum, it looks for the people who have been the least successful and who have found the training to be only marginally worthwhile.

By examining the positive side, The Success Case Method intentionally seeks the people who are having success (and seeing measurable results) to validate that the training program is capable of producing the desired results. While these success stories are not critical reviews of the training program, they are factual and verifiable accounts that demonstrate how a person used some new method or capability learned from the training.

By examining the negative side, The Success Case Method identifies the barriers to learning by examining the environmental factors that have limited success for other program participants. While these factors are not used in demonstrating the impact of the program, they are used to improve the design and the reinforcement of the training initiative in a subsequent rollout.

In preparing the Success Case impact report, the evaluator uses a brief 3-5 item survey to identify the people who were the most and least successful.

Once participants from each group have been identified, evaluators choose a random sample from among both groups and interview them by telephone to discover:

• "Exactly what they used, when they used it, how, when etc."
• "What results they accomplished"
• "How valuable the results are (e.g., in dollars)"
• "What environmental factors enabled their application and results."

Join Blanchard Senior Vice President Scott Blanchard for a free, complimentary webinar on measuring the impact of training in your organization.

Measuring the Impact of Training
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
11:00 a.m.-12 Noon Pacific Time (2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

In this free online seminar you will learn how to use impact studies, success case methodology, and anecdotal success stories to measure the results of any training initiative. Scott Blanchard will show you specific ways to:

• Prove that investments in training and development are worthwhile
• Increase confidence for investments in training
• Gather critical feedback on the factors that enhance or impede your organization's future business performance

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
9:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. Pacific Time
(12:00 Noon - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

In this webinar hosted by Microsoft Live Meeting®, Blanchard Consulting Partner Susan Fowler shares three important keys from her new book Self Leadership and The One Minute Manager, co-authored with Ken Blanchard and Laurie Hawkins. Participants will learn how to develop employees who are self leaders--people with the mind-set and skill set to take responsibility and initiative for succeeding in their work role. The three keys are:

• How to challenge assumed constraints
• How to celebrate your points of power
• How to collaborate for success

What's Happening at Booth #800?

Live In-Booth Presentations from the Best Thought Leaders in the Business!
See Ken Blanchard, founder of The Ken Blanchard Companies, speak with coauthor Susan Fowler on "Why Empowerment Failed." You will also learn about:

• "The Impact of Leadership on the Bottom Line" with Scott Blanchard
• "Closing the Learning-Doing Gap" with Scott Blanchard
• "Engaging the Virtual Learner" with Vicki Halsey
• "What Coaching Can Do for Your Organization" with Scott Blanchard and Madeleine Homan
• "Learning Enough about Yourself to Lead Others" with Drea Zigarmi
• Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships" with Cathy Huett

• Situational Frontline Leadership
• Coaching Essentials for Leaders
• Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships
• 5-Minute Follow-Through (a new online follow-up tool)

Designed for individuals or organizations, our workshops provide the opportunity to learn skills to meet the challenges of today's working environments. Participating in a public workshop is an ideal way to preview Blanchard programs and processes for possible rollout in your organization. Smaller companies can also use these workshops to meet their employees' training needs.

Situational Leadership® II
May 17 and June 14, Blended Program--Virtual and in Ann Arbor, MI
June 6-7 in London, UK
June 20-21 in San Diego, CA
July 11-12 in Toronto, Canada
September 12-13 in London, UK
October 17-18 in San Diego, CA

Situational Frontline Leadership NEW!
June 13-14 in London, UK

Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships NEW!
June 20-21 in London, UK
September 27-28 in San Diego, CA

DISCovering Self and Others
June 23 in San Diego, CA

Coaching Essentials for Leaders NEW!
June 27 in San Diego, CA

The Magic of Situational Self Leadership
July 25-26 in San Diego, CA
October 24-25 in San Diego, CA

Gung Ho! ®
September 19-20 in San Diego, CA
September 19-20 in London, UK

We also offer Training for Trainers (T4T) sessions for most of the programs listed above. We give prospective trainers all the knowledge and tools needed to roll out a program in their organization.

Designed for professionals who are rising in their careers and who have responsibility for managing others, this University of San Diego degree program combines the best in Blanchard thought-leadership with the core of a traditional MBA. Learn more by attending an upcoming information session.