Measuring the success of learning, training and knowledge development in a company

Abstract

An increasingly complex and globalized world asks for highly skilled employees. Many jobs have been outsourced to low‐cost countries, which increases the requirements onto the employees. This requires companies to invest in their employees’ skills. Training, learning and knowledge development have become the pool for innovations and competitive advantages. The (often) high costs of such initiatives stand in contrast with the everlasting demand of stakeholders and management for higher profits. Many firms are looking to measure the success of trainings etc. They want some sort of benefit out of their investments. From interviews and workshops with Swisscom (who has been collaborating in this Master Thesis) it has been understood that often, a simple financial number or key figure is thought to be enough. Other (soft) factors like increased customer satisfaction or lowered personnel fluctuation are therefore not taken into consideration. This has been corroborated with a research in existing literature, where a lot of the existing measuring methods have a strong focus on pecuniary aspects. Another gap that has been identified is that most measuring methods are discussed in separate literature. These gaps are addressed within this Thesis. A holistic measuring method for a training project that includes different angles and perspectives is set up. Furthermore, the reader receives a consolidated overview of existing measuring methods....