Human Capital Lab

Why Human Capital Management & Why Now?

I’m passionate about human capital and focused on helping people and organizations perform better. Finding quantifiable results from education and training initiatives is challenging. As vice president of client services at Capital Analytics, Inc., an affiliate of The Human Capital Lab, it’s something I tackle daily trying to improve organizational and business performance.

I’m intrigued by the concept of “Learning Transfer” – looking at what happens after a learning intervention occurs. I hope to make it the focus of my doctoral thesis work.

When a student goes to class and the training is completed, what ensures the new knowledge they acquire will be applied when they get back to the job? What are the factors that inhibit as well as enhance the application of that learning? We know that achieving the desired impact, in part, depends on the individual’s manager setting good, specific expectations up front, and helping provide the right environment to apply what is learned once the intervention is completed. If organizations could quantify the value of the manager’s role, they would be likely to specifically address that role in their learning strategies.

Alignment is the key. So often, organizations don’t have course objectives aligned with performance outcomes or business results. Training needs to add value and to do that, its objectives must be specific and measurable. Without intentional alignment right up front, it will be hard for training to deliver those business results.

Throughout my career in human capital, I’ve been careful to build in systems to collect data and measure quantifiable results. It’s all about people and processes – improving workplace performance and measuring the results. Specific goals must be defined, have training aligned with them, and have measurable results to enable business and organizational leaders make informed decisions.

Today’s tighter economic climate demands that business leaders know if expenditures for training or education really help. If performance improves, they want to know if it was the training that made the difference or if the employee just happened to be a good performer who would have done well regardless.

Developing human capital can be complex. For example, when is the optimum time for a specific intervention? Training a new employee may be too soon, while the same training for an employee who has been with a company three years may be too late. For national or global companies, the same training program that works well in one region may not be as effective in another region. These are the types of questions that need to be asked – and answered.

Human capital is a true business resource that can be managed and optimized. We need to show the business world that there is a science behind it and it can be measured. All businesses want measurable results. As the U.S. has moved away from manufacturing and become increasingly service-based, expenditures are in people rather than plant and equipment.

Business leaders want to know what is working and what is not, so they can focus on what works, whether it is employee training and development or expenditures in tuition reimbursement, internship programs, social networking, etc. Knowing an organization’s culture and understanding its business model help to contextualize the knowledge and assessment process. To measure impact, we need to know how businesses measure themselves.

At the end of the day, I want to provide corporate decision makers with “actionable information” – data and proof showing how well an investment in training or other employee education intervention is working so future investment decisions can be made with confidence.

Bonnie Beresford

Vice President of Client Services

Capital Analytics, Inc.

Learn more about Bonnie Beresford and her work at Capital Analytics, Inc.

I am also very intrigued by the concept of “Learning Transfer”, i.e. looking at what happens after a learning intervention occurs. I am the CEO of a manufacturing company. I am interested in this related to myself as well as for others in my organization. When I complete my learning, or course, or as I am now, degree in Organizational Performance, what insures the new knowledge I acquired will be applied back on the job? How do I align the right learning expectations for my people with the key objectives of the organization and then provide the environment for them to apply what they have learned?

I agree that alignment is the key. Specific goals must be defined, training aligned with them, and results measured. The measuring part seems the hardest. In my personal case, of my own learning, alignment is good, and while it will take a little time, the performance outcome and business result will be able to be measured on the bottom line, i.e. profitable growth and shareholder value increase. I wonder how to make it that clear, and relatively promptly measureable, for others in the organization. This is an area I intend to learn more about and to work on.

An area of “learning transfer” that I am keenly interested in is that the training, or course, is often just the beginning of the learning and application of it. Applying the learning can be a significant challenge for many. They can have good intentions but feel to busy to make application a high enough priority. Or, as I believe is often the case, they have much more learning to do to figure out how to actually apply what they have learned. Additionally in some cases changes must be made, in their job or organization, for them to effectively apply what they learned. Will they be empowered and motivated by their managers to take on this challenge? If not, then what? I believe Human Capital Management leaders must have a significant focus on how learning can be readily applied in their organizations. I am interested in feedback related to this.

I agree that there is often a disconnect between learning and application. In fact, I don’t think there is an equal balance between the employee’s development and the support by the organization. An employee may receive certification in a particular skill group, or even an advanced degree. However, if the organization doesn’t see how that development may be immediately transferred to the job, the employee becomes disengaged and may even leave. It’s the old “use it or lose it,” except that the organization is the barrier to application.