Delivering training strategies: the balanced scorecard at work

Aligning the value of training to organizational goals is an emerging need in human resource management. This study, aimingatexpandingtheresearchontrainingevaluationfroma strategicmanagementperspective,examineswhethertheuseof the Balanced Scorecard approach can enable an effective delivery of training strategies, thus strengthening the link between training and organizational goals. The research was based on action research methodology. Researchers worked for about 12 monthswiththreehealthcareorganizations.Theresearchfindingsindicatethatthebalancedscorecard:(1)allowsvisualization of a clearly focused and internally consistent map of cause-and-effect relationships, turning the functional training efforts into strategic results; (2) effectively supports the training function both in managing training processes and in delivering targeted organizational outcomes; (3) offers a specific set of critical measures for evaluating the training function’s performance; and (4) permits the fostering of a sound alignment between training programme objectives and functional goals. Various theoretical and practical implications are discussed.