Evaluating Training Programs

IT COSTS MORE out-of-pocket money not to train salesmen than it does to pay for a good training job, says William F. Wrightnour of United States Rubber Co. The only time training money is misspent is when training is done merely for training's sake with ineffective results, Wrightnour told the American Management Association's annual marketing conference. It is important, he says, to appraise training programs to make sure they are accomphshing their purposes. Based on a study he recently made of the sales training approaches of a number of American companies, Wrightnour asserts that the most reliable way to measure the results of training versus no training is to establish two groups of salesmen, matched so that they are as nearly alike as possible. Then administer training to only one group and note the resulting differences. One company tried a variation: devising four types of training programs and administering them ...