The Status of Evaluation and ROI in Japan

Despite years of strong evaluation efforts in the United States, evaluating training only recently became a major topic for human resource professionals in Japan. Several Japanese companies have begun to think beyond the traditional one-to-three-day training courses and strive to create a comprehensive system for improving human performance. They question the value of subjectively designed courses, look at processes that facilitate behavioral change and knowledge transfer, and are concerned with connecting training programs to corporate strategy. Interest in more scientific evaluation approaches and analysis has increased significantly.