Employee post-training behaviour and performance: evaluating the results of the training process

Despite the fact that firms invest in training, there is considerable evidence to show that training programmes often fail to achieve the intended result of improving worker and organization performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the medium-to long-term effects of training programmes on firms by means of an integrated research model combining the principal factors that the existing literature has shown to be related to training transfer and also by examining the relationship between training transfer and operational performance. The transfer factors chosen are training design, trainee self-efficacy and work environment. The validity of this model is tested by applying the structural equation modelling approach to data from 126 employees who have participated in various training programmes in a number of Greek organizations. The results indicate that the design of a training programme has the strongest impact on post-training job performance, along with trainees' self-efficacy and post-training behaviour.