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How to Measure the Effectiveness of Training
If only changing behaviour were as simple as sending people on training courses and having them come back fixed! The process is not ever that simple, but it can be broken down into a number of steps, each one easy to define and in practice fairly straightforward to manage.
The steps described below define evaluation of training at each of six steps. From the perspective of the learners, they must first of all have a good experience in the training event itself; then they must learn the knowledge and skills that were offered, before being required to apply it in practice. How effectively they apply their learning will determine the impact it has and ultimately the results they achieve.
1. Enjoy it
This is the level at which conventional evaluation of training takes place. Did participants enjoy the venue and the food; did they like the trainer and his or her style of interaction; were the materials adequate, and were their expectations of the event met.
Having people start out with a positive response to a training event is a necessary but not sufficient first step toward obtaining business results.
2. Learn it
The second level of evaluation looks at whether participants learned the knowledge and skills that were presented to them. We must know they learned before we can expect them to apply their learning.
Did learners understand the concepts, information, and theory?
Did the input cover the needs identified in the needs analysis?
Were learners able to relate this knowledge to their own situations?
Did they gain insight into how their current behaviour accords with the material presented?
Did they leave the training with understanding of how and where they could apply their learning?
3. Apply it
It is self evident that if new learning is not applied it will not make any difference to performance. Accountability must be created.
Were opportunities available for application of the skills?
Was support and encouragement made available for tryout of the skills?
Were learners monitored and held to account for application of knowledge and skills?
4. Get it right
Learners need support as they try out new behaviours that may in the short term actually inhibit their efficiency. This support is necessary immediately after training and until the new behaviour pattern becomes habitual.
Was application of the new behaviours tracked?
Was feedback provided?
Did feedback provide insight into both strengths and areas for improvement?
Were further practice opportunities available to learners?
Were they held accountable for improving their performance?
5. Get impact
Obtaining improved business results is the objective of any corporate training intervention. Results can be assessed at two levels; the first is that of behaviour change.
Has the behaviour change, identified in the training needs analysis, been achieved?
What impact has the new behaviour pattern had on others and on work processes?
6. Get quantitative results
The ultimate test of the effectiveness of training is the impact it has on the bottom line of the business. Return on investment can be the most difficult level at which to measure effectiveness, and must be linked to the initial training needs analysis.
Can a quantitative assessment be made of the impact of the new behaviour pattern?
Can this be converted to financial impact?
In the economic climate of today when return on investment is required of all business activities, even training that has been categorized as soft skills can, and should, be subject to the discipline of assessment and evaluation.
About the Author Maureen Collins trains people how to handle difficult conversations, on difficult topics, with difficult people in her consulting practice, Straight Talk. She has a B.Sc. degree in Psychology from Edinburgh University and over 25 years of consulting experience. She consults in communication in the workplace. Go to http://www.straight-talk.co.za for free downloads and Straight Talk Tips.
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