F or decades, training has been one of the most common interventions used by organizations to improve the performance of their employees and to teach them new ideas and skills. Training interventions typically involve delivery of predesigned and developed instruction, practice, and assessment activities with the goal of increasing learner proficiency on desired behaviors or attitudes. Examples of training include an instructor-led course to train new hires on organizational culture and policies, an individualized Web-based course to train existing employees in use of a new software application, or a virtual course to teach managers to develop and grow their employees. The critical commonality among all training interventions is the fact that employees are asked to learn and master the desired outcomes prior to applying the information to their work.Organizations have come to rely on training interventions because they can increase user knowledge, performance, and the results these factors exert on the entire organization. Arthur, Bennett, Edens, and Bell (2003) conducted a meta-analysis of 162 published training research studies and found a medium-to-large effect size for training. Burke and Day (1986) found similar results. They conducted a meta-analysis of 70 published managerial training research studies and found that on average managerial training was moderately effective at improving learner achievement.These training benefits come at a high cost. A study conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) found that For decades, training has been one of the most common interventions used by organizations to improve the performance of their employees and teach them new ideas and skills. But owing to the cost of developing and delivering training, organizations have adopted alternative ways to enable employee performance while reducing the cost and minimizing the time users spend away from the job. One alternative is electronic performance support systems (EPSS). The present study examined the effect of EPSS and training on user performance, time on task, and time in training. Results revealed that participants receiving only EPSS and those receiving training and EPSS performed significantly better on a tax preparation procedure than participants who received only training. Training-only users also spent significantly more time completing the procedural task than their counterparts in other treatment groups, leading to a negative correlation between time on task and performance. The implications of these findings for the design and development of performance support and training interventions are discussed.
P E R F O R M A N C E I M P R O V E M E N T Q U A R T E R L Y