The Training and Development Audit

This self-assessment audit sets out to answer questions like these for your organisation's T&D function:

* Does the T&D process meet current business needs and deliver the company's vision/goals?

* Does the T&D function set clear performance improvement goals and measure its results?

* How well is T&D managed and run?

* How is the T&D process perceived by the rest of the organisation?

* Is the T&D process cost-effective?

* Do T&D plans and policies respond quickly and effectively to changing business needs?

Run correctly, the audit will:

* Ensure that all T&D activities have maximum impact on individual, team and company performance. * Integrate the T&D function more closely into the rest of the organisation.

* Enable the T&D function to measure and monitor performance improvement more effectively.

* Give senior management a clear measure of the cost-effectiveness of resources it allocates to T&D.

Rosemary Harrison is Chief Examiner for Employee Development at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She is also an Associate Member of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Durham.
Joseph Kessels is Professor at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.