By Northeast Human Resources Association

According to a recent sampling of the Northeast Human Resources Association's (NEHRA) 4,000 members, job training and development remain an organizational priority for a majority of the region's employers. NEHRA conducted an e-survey of its members in October to determine training trends in local organizations.

More than three quarters of those surveyed value training and development programs. Thirty-eight percent say it is "extremely valued" and 41% of those surveyed say training is "somewhat valued" in their organization.

"These survey results confirm what we are seeing in the field. Organizations understand that training and development is an essential part of talent management, employee engagement and retention, and they are increasing efforts in this area," said Kathleen Fujawa, Vice President, Human Assets Business Partners, Teach for America and co-chair, Northeast Human Resources Association Training & Development Special Interest Group.

Training and development budgets for the coming fiscal year look strong. While forty percent of the companies' training budgets will remain the same as last year, 54% project an increase in funding, with 8% of this group anticipating an increase of more than 20 percent.

More than half (51%) of organizations surveyed target all levels of employees for training and development programs. Twenty eight percent say mid-level managers are their primary target and 19% target entry-level staff. Leadership development was ranked the highest priority learning area (49%), followed by project management (26%) and computer software skills development (25%).

About a third (31%) of those polled say less than 10% of training is provided through external sources; 26 percent say 10-25% is outsourced; 22 percent say 25-50% is outsourced; and 22 percent say more than 50% is provided through external sources. In the majority of companies, administrative aspects of training are done internally 74% of the time, strategy is developed internally 57% of the time, and content is developed internally 45% of the time.

When searching for training vendor recommendations, 71% of those surveyed go to their personal network of business contacts. More than half (52%) consult industry associations and 26% use Internet search engines. More than half (52%) use e-learning in their raining and development programs.

Many but not all training programs are directly linked to the company's goals and strategies. Comments varied on this question with many indicating that training is linked to plan objectives focusing on the skills needed to meet production and financial goals; others indicated that training is directly linked to a development goal, strategic change or elements of the organization's mission; and others indicated that training is related to external compliance requirements.

Participants in the e-survey currently assess and measure the success of training programs primarily through evaluations at the end of the training or observation by managers. Few provide for a longitudinal reassessment while others correlate training with retention rates or productivity changes. However, a significant number of respondents suggested that there is limited investment in the development of metrics to measure the value of training and development programs.

NEHRA members are comprised of HR professionals representing large and small companies in all industries within the region. A total of 233 NEHRA members and nonmembers responded to the survey, which was conducted online between October 9-23, 2006. Just over one-third of the e-survey's respondents had between 100-500 employees in their organization, while nearly another third had over 1,000 employees. For full survey results, visit the NEHRA website. Note that some percentages do not total 100% as multiple responses were allowed.