6 per cent of their gross annual wage it is legitimate to worry

Advertising expenses "are half useless...". But it is not known which... Then it does not change. "Some HRD are sometimes tempted to paraphrase this advertising adage applied to training expenditures. Yet, measure the effectiveness of the training begins to grow, because views the committed amounts (under the law, undertakings with more than 20 employees must devote to training at least 1.6 per cent of their gross annual wage), it is legitimate to worry.

The commonly practiced test is to ask participants their opinion on the quality of the service. Much of these figures are the professionals, but one wonders if the satisfaction expressed by participants may be sufficient. "Students are sometimes reluctant to say they were not well assimilated the content of the course or doubt that it helps advance, fear to be private training or poorly seen by their hierarchy," recognizes Pascal Debordes, Associate Director of Cegos. Not to mention those always happy to escape, not even a day, to the gravity of the routine or the hierarchy...

Objective evaluation

To assess the training of more objectively, Frédéric Guénot, Director of training for the distribution of France Telecom shops network, tried another method. In 2004, the operator undertakes with Cegos training to staff of agencies to trade efficiency. To isolate the impact of this internship, France Telecom decides to measure the performance of the 1,500 first sellers that follow. The result, after a year, is positive, since trained commercial selling 20 more than the other. "But we would not obtain such a result if we had taken care to train managers to accompany their teams in advance." "We also found that the non-trained sellers, but coachee by managers who they were, also improved their results," points out Frédéric Guénot. In the end, the incumbent operator was able to calculate for a euro invested in this training, he had won ten euros in additional sales. "We are going to formalize this type of approach, so that the group planned to increase by 25 the volume of training hours per employee between 2005 and 2008".

For training which did not have a direct impact on sales, the measure of effectiveness is more delicate. Gérald Laquit, Director of development of the network Beneteau, leader of the pleasure craft, still embarked on a process of this type in September last with cabinet Demos. The assessment process focuses on the establishment of a school of training for dealers of the mark. "We learn very concrete things: the conclusion of a maintenance of sale for a commercial to retouching of polyester for a technician from the management of the teams for the directors of concessions", says Gerald Laquit. A quizz, practiced three to six months after the end of the training, must measure the acquisition of knowledge. Thus, the integration course participants will be asked to put in order the steps of the ordering process. Those in the stage of sale applied to products can be questioned on their mastery of the commercial rationale and the benefit for the client to take such option. More than 700 people will pass by this process within three years. "Non-commercial, although with no immediate impact on sales, are very important for the customer loyalty, and thus the turnover in the term", says Gérard Laquit. "For example, a last charge of the properly made boat (documentation owner, controlled process, explanation of the contract of pleasure) is the use of the vessel in its first hours and therefore the satisfaction of buyers."

Avoid the "frustration".

Remains to overcome last obstacle: the risk that employees perceive these posttests as a school control of their jurisdiction. Businesses must therefore reflect on how they plan to operate and communicate these results to interested parties. "If you tell them that they will be accountable to their manager of their results, the tests may be distorted by the frustration." "The function of a training course should not be confused with that of a center assessment" concluded Pascal Debordes.