The importance of training effectiveness has ratcheted up significantly in the last year, as organisations look for ways to affect the transfer of learning and ultimately the bottom line.
Measuring the impact of training programs goes hand-in-hand with increasing effectiveness, and was mentioned by 28 percent of companies as a top priority. This number is consistent with last year, as despite the large number of materials written about training measurement, most organisations continue to struggle with the process. Although there has been an intense focus on measuring the business impact of training, most organisations measure tactical aspects such as completions and volumes- things that are relatively easy to measure, but aren’t very valuable.
The current hype over measurement will continue in the short term as organisations define their measurement plans (i.e., what to measure and when). Ultimately, most companies will choose a few programs for measuring business impact, those that are worthy of the time and resources required for this effort.
Reducing costs/improving efficiencies is also near the top of the list, as one of the top two priorities this year. This number is roughly equivalent to last year’s.
One area that has come to the forefront this year is integration with performance and competency management initiatives. Part of the reason is that, driven by the shortage of | 
talent, organisations are focusing more closely than ever on career development programs. These talent-driven learning initiatives are multi-year, multi-class programs that require integration of learning activities with competencies and job families.
Ultimately, many companies would like to integrate all of their performance, talent, and learning activities. This has created a category of HR applications we now call "talent management." In addition to learning, performance, and competencies, "talent management" includes other HR activities such as recruiting and succession planning. Although just 12 percent of organisations today view this as a top priority, we expect this area to grow in importance over the next few years.
Adapted from Industry Report, Training Magazine Nov/Dec |