Dive Brief:

• The average cost for small companies to train one employee in 2015, as measured by Training Magazine, was $1105, Beth Miller writes for My San Antonio. That accounts for nearly $70 billion in the U.S. alone. Yet, companies are getting a poor return on investment because they do not have a plan in place to help employees retain this newfound knowledge. 
• Miller recommends a 4-step plan for assisting with employee training to make it stick for the long term. This includes evaluating each employee's readiness for training, documenting development plans as they apply to company objectives, delivering training using the best method and reviewing and putting this knowledge to immediate use on the job. 
• It's also critical to understand that learning styles and preferences can be very different for employees, so learning must be catered to the needs of each learner. 

Dive Insight:

Many companies roll out expensive and time-consuming training modules to their employees, only to experience a dismal ROI in the form of greater performance.

An effective L&D plan needs to not only include what employees are tasked with learning, but how they will be able to put this information to use in real world, on-the-job experiences. Performance needs to be closely linked to learning objectives.

Companies can evaluate employees before and after training takes place to measure this success (or failure) and then improve training over time. They can also gather feedback from learners to make adjustments to the training and ensure that it's relevant and useful.