GAO releases guide to help agencies improve training programs

Federal agencies that successfully train their employees have several traits in common, including leaders who place a high priority on continuous learning and are willing to devote sufficient resources to on-the-job education, according to a new guide from the General Accounting Office.

GAO developed the guide to help government managers better assess and effectively address shortcomings in their agency's training efforts. Recent research conducted by the watchdog agency has highlighted problems collecting accurate or current data to identity workers who have completed training programs. The research has also pointed to a lack of coordination among agencies that could save money by sharing educational resources.

Only half of the civil servants questioned by the Office of Personnel Management as part of the 2002 Federal Human Capital Survey said they were satisfied with the job training they had received, GAO noted. The new guide by the watchdog agency is based on interviews with government officials as well as private sector and academic experts in developing training programs. GAO also reviewed literature on training and made sure the suggestions in the guide aren't in conflict with relevant laws and regulations.

Organized into three sections, the guide tells how to establish and evaluate training programs, gives answers to questions frequently asked by managers in charge of employee development, and summarizes eight characteristics that successful programs have in common.

"Users of this guide should keep in mind that this tool is a starting point and that it can and should be modified to fit the unique circumstances and conditions relevant to each agency," GAO cautioned. "Training and development approaches, and how they operate in conjunction with other strategies to improve individual and organizational performance, are continually evolving and changing."

In general, training programs should be designed keeping an agency's overall strategic plan for enhancing performance in mind, GAO recommended. They should help workers develop skills in areas defined as core competencies in this plan and also help employees improve specific weaknesses identified by agency customers

Officials should also develop methods for holding employees responsible for taking steps to further their education while on the job. In most agencies that have a well-trained workforce, "appropriate awards and incentives exist and are used fairly and equitably to encourage innovation, reinforce changed behaviors and enhance performance," GAO explained.

Agencies also need to place a priority on training when it comes time to make funding decisions, the guide noted. To determine an appropriate level of financial backing, agencies should develop an annual plan that lists areas where training is most necessary and then assesses the least expensive option for meeting that need. Officials need to determine if it would be most cost effective to offer the training in-house or through an outside source, such as a contractor, GAO added.

In making its decision, agencies should see whether they could share resources with other government offices that have similar training needs, the guide said. "Coordination within and among agencies achieves economies of scale and limits duplication of efforts," GAO explained.

Before acting on any of these recommendations, agencies first need to thoroughly assess their current training efforts, GAO said. They can do so by collecting a mix of "hard" data on productivity enhancements achieved through training and "soft" data such as employee feedback on courses, the guide said.