Do You Really Need a Training Matrix for Impactful Employee Development?
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SubscribeTraining matrices show training to be done, but they’re not always managed effectively. Read how to better manage them for better L&D
Most organizations want to invest in their employees’ professional development (we would hope). It just takes a bit of work to track what training programs need to be completed, by whom, and by when—especially if you’re manually keeping track of all that data.
A training matrix is useful to keep an organization’s training clear and manageable. Or so they say. Too often, we see training matrices that aren’t having much of an impact on employee development, and we want to change that.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the real reason training matrices fail and how you can use them for meaningful employee development instead.
What is a training matrix?
A training matrix is a tool that organizations use to visually track, plan, and manage employee training. It’s a comprehensive overview of the skills, knowledge, and qualifications required of specific roles in the company, and highlights what training employees need to do. It differs from a training needs analysis, which identifies learner needs and capability gaps.
The problem with training matrices
We’re always talking about how the best way to manage, facilitate, and track training progress is through automated workflows. It should then come as no surprise that our biggest issue with the training matrix is that it’s so time-consuming to maintain.
Every time employees complete training, move to new roles, or their training requirements change, the training matrix needs to be updated. This can be a huge administrative burden for your HR or L&D teams, especially in larger organizations with a lot of employees (and that’ll just get worse as your organization scales).
This maintenance burden opens the door to potential inaccuracies in data if updates are missed. Business outcomes can’t be met if strategic decisions are made based on outdated information, or data that’s inaccurate due to human error. And because there’s an over-reliance on spreadsheets to create a training matrix, they’re not very flexible or customizable for individual employee training, especially when it comes to informal learning experiences that contribute to employee capabilities.
The one-size-fits-all approach ends up becoming more of a “tick-box” approach to learning where compliance is the special of the day instead of nuanced learning opportunities. That prevents your organization from effectively developing the skills, knowledge, behaviors, tools, and processes employees need to drive organizational objectives.
How to manage your training matrix
You might be asking what the purpose of using a training matrix is if it can’t properly support your training efforts. But just because manual processes traditionally hold the training matrix back from effective training management doesn’t mean that it’s literally impossible. You just need the right strategies in place to manage your training matrix effectively and efficiently, so that it can handle employee training and identify training needs.
We’ve identified four best practice strategies for you to use here:
- Incorporating a capability-led approach
- Leveraging technology
- Aligning training matrices with business objectives
- Conducting regular reviews.
Incorporate a capability-led approach
Training programs should look beyond skills alone and instead focus on capabilities, so your training matrix should do the same. The difference lies in the outcomes. A skills-focused training matrix will look at the individual here and now, but neglect processes, knowledge, and tools that your organization requires in the long run. A capability-led strategy encompasses soft and technical skills, knowledge, behaviors, processes, and tools, so your training matrix will have a more holistic view of development.
Capabilities act as the bridge between learning and performance management. They’re measured in levels of competency, which managers can use to evaluate employee performance—and then build truly personalized development plans. Where that fits into your training matrix is post-capability assessment: the level of competency determined would be recorded and managed in the matrix.
Having a capability-led training matrix also makes it easier to identify and prioritize training courses for development. A training needs analysis can identify skill gaps, but you can use the training matrix to set the contents’ training status as high-priority.
Leverage technology for automation
Automation through some kind of performance learning management system (PLMS) is crucial for reducing the manual effort involved in traditional training matrices. If you set up a workflow to automatically update the matrix when a completion status changes, then your training data will be updated in real-time.
Learning technology can also do the heavy lifting with data collection and analytics, which means you can do more impactful work, like identifying capability gaps and high-demand learning content. Note that this kind of data is important down the line when it comes to making L&D decisions for budgeting and resource allocation, giving you more bang for your L&D buck. It’s the best way to ensure that your organization and workforce are properly supported to a) achieve future training needs and b) meet business goals.
And even if you don’t have technology that automates training matrices, you can still utilize reporting from your learning tech to make it easier for you to build one on your own. Look to capability-based reporting to determine where capability gaps lie in relation to different job roles (and therefore, what training needs to be done, where, and when).
Align with organizational goals
This shouldn’t be too hard once you have a capability-led strategy. After all, capabilities are derived from business strategy, being the means to actually achieving your desired business outcomes.
You have a couple of avenues with which you can use your matrix.
- Map capabilities to specific job roles to understand the priority of training content for individuals.
- Track business goals against individual learning goals. This can be more helpful for managers to track their team’s progress.
In either scenario, you can visualize the key capabilities needed for every job role (and the associated required training) and the clear link between training activities and strategic outcomes.
Regularly review and update
No employee is going to stay in the same role with the same responsibilities forever, so your training matrix needs to be dynamic enough to reflect that. This will also ensure you’re keeping abreast of the business landscape your organization works in, and therefore building relevant training paths for learners.
If you’re doing professional development right, there’s no end destination. The goal is not to just go from A to B, or emerging to proficient competency. This is where the right technology is crucial. A PLMS automatically adjusts development plans based on current levels of competency, so learners are never without relevant training. If you don’t have that tech, then your matrix needs to be a living, breathing document that’s two steps ahead of learners’ current competency level.
And your business is going to adapt over time to changes in technology, standards, and processes in the industry. It goes without saying that your employee training matrix will need to be updated to reflect the required capabilities needed to support organizational goals, strategy, and capability gaps. This will help to drive a culture of continuous learning.
Key takeaways
Done right, a training matrix helps track learner career growth to ensure they’re equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, behaviors, processes, and tools to effectively perform their jobs.
But too often, training matrices aren’t managed in a way that tangibly impacts business performance. Organizations need to implement a capability-led strategy to underpin employee training and performance management. It’s the only way to ensure that the right training programs are delivered to the right employees at the right time so they can succeed in their roles and contribute to business outcomes.