Experiential Learning Programme (ELP)

Topic :
“Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training - A Study of Public Private
Partnership (PPP) Model Based Airports in India”
@
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited /
Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
By
Dr.S.Suman Babu
Assistant Professor, Hyderabad Business School
GITAM University

Under The Mentorship Of

Mr. Venkatesh Palabatla
Chief Human Resource Officer
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
The Stakeholders
 Pre Work Before ELP
 Big Picture By Mentor: Had a very elaborate discussion for extensive hours and
days with Mr. Venkatesh Palabatla, CHRO, GHIAL at GMR Aero Towers.

 Carving out Scope: Discussed how value can be added in the area of Learning &
Development (L&D) and the criteria for evaluating various training programmes for
the employees. The measurement tools that can measure impact on Performance,
Growth, Revenue and Productivity of airports.

 Familiarisation with internal stakeholders: Interacted with L& D Team, Talent

Acquisition group and all the departmental heads in the airport so as to have a sense of
entire operations in larger perspective and understand how all the stakeholders are
working towards increasing the customer (Passengers) base in the near future.
 Work Done – Impact Made
 AS IS study:
• Studied existing tools for Training Need Analysis, L&D offerings, Evaluation Techniques and Feedback
mechanism. Also studied already filled in questionnaires (on Training) of all the GMR employees
 Work Done :
• Measured few variables from the filled in questionnaires which can impact its ROI.
Independent Variables (X) : 1) Training & Development 2) Need Analysis
Dependent Variables (Y) :1) Employee Satisfaction 2) Employee Performance 3) Organizational
performance 4) Effectiveness of Training 5) Organizational Productivity

• Hypotheses: Discussed and designed few hypotheses to test training effectiveness through already filled in
questionnaires of all the GMR employees
 Recommendations:
• Suggested few models like Philips model of ROI for evaluating training effectiveness apart from Kirkpatrick’s, CIPP
& CIRO training evaluation models.
• Suggested tentative conceptual frameworks that can be derived from Training Needs Analysis and Feedback templates.
• Discussed about Data Analytics and also few statistical tools that can be used to test the hypotheses like Correlation,
Regression and Factor Analysis.
 Further Opportunity : Was given invitation to support and engage in forthcoming L& D project study by GMR
 Learning Outcomes
 Linking L&D To Business is Critical: I was taken to AOCC (Airport Operations Control
Centre) inside the Airport and briefed about the entire operations of the Airport including how
employees work in a regulated and time bound manner and how training should be customized
for the regulated environment.

 L&D alignment with Emergency Response: I was briefed about Safety and Security
aspects of the Airport including CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), ARFF (Airport
Rescue Fire Fighters) & RAXA (Security Force of GMR Group) for safeguarding the entire
airport round the clock 24/7. Went close to the run way to understand how they operate when
aeroplane catches fire during take-off and landing and how they operate during emergency
landing. This orientation helped me establish alignment of L&D with improving emergency
response.

 Bottom-line Learning: L&D value creation happens through understanding business key
drivers and aligning L&D offerings accordingly and evaluating ROI.
 Any Suggestions For Improvement in the ELP Structure
 Link ELP to UGC/AICTE based projects (Minor/ Major Projects) because it
will add points to their Academic Performance Indicators (APIs).

 ELP projects should clearly articulate Impact expected and a completion

certificate should clearly articulate the impact made as this will add to Academic
Performance Indicators.

 More such opportunities should be provided to faculty so that they can take
experiential learning from the corporate to the classroom so that students will be
immensely benefited from the experiences of the faculty.
 THANK YOU – CII

Learning truly never stops ……..ELP

has been a great experience !