Training, Soft Skills and Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Retail

Maria Prada (), Graciana Rucci and Sergio Urzua

No 9647, IDB Publications (Working Papers) from Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract: Understanding the causal association between skills and productivity is essential for designing effective training programs. This paper evaluates an intervention aimed at boosting leadership and communication skills among store managers and sales associates from a large Latin American retailer. The empirical analysis is carried out using longitudinal information gathered by the firm and through two skills surveys. The Identification exploits the experimental design in the context of a difference-in-difference strategy. The results indicate large positive effects of the training program on store-level productivity. We further link these Findings to individual-level performance measures. In particular, we document positive effects on total sales and numbers of transactions for all workers. Regarding the mechanisms, we provide evidence suggesting that the intervention was more effective in boosting leadership skills than communication skills. Spillovers from trained managers to untrained sales representatives also contribute to the main effects. Our findings point towards the possibility of increasing productivity through training programs targeting critical skills.

JEL-codes: C93 J24 M53 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-exp, nep-hrm and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:idb:brikps:9647

DOI: 10.18235/0001714

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