OVERVIEW

Since the mid 1990s there has been a surge of interest in determining the business impact of Human Resource Development (HRD) programs. This is exciting because it demonstrates the importance of showing the value of development programs in language that stakeholders understand. Due to this interest, a flurry of activity and resources is focusing on Return on Investment (ROI) analyses. Though significant and important, the focus of ROI activity often leaves some of the more basic and fundamental evaluation methodologies sitting on the sidelines.

Two players often left on the bench are learning and performance evaluations. This is unfortunate because these are the two types of evaluation that offer the best opportunity to uncover the reasons for an HRD program's struggle or failure. For example, if an evaluator finds a negative ROI, measuring learning and job performance can determine the reason. These are the evaluations that can answer questions such as:

• Is the problem that the program participants never applied the skills or knowledge on the job, or is it that they never learned them to begin with?

• If the skills or knowledge were learned but not applied, what is inhibiting the application?

• What should be done? Should the HRD manager cancel the program?

• Should the manager select a new vendor?

• Is the program more suitable for a different audience?

• Should the program designers attempt to improve the program?

• If improvement is sought, what specific type of improvement is needed?

• What lessons learned can the HRD department...