Evaluating Organizational Training

31. October 2007 by kevinmhuff.

Evaluating training is the only means to validate the existence of a training program. Without evaluation, the training team, the organization being trained, and the corporation are all being cheated. Evaluation is the lifeblood of training, measuring the effectiveness of training, the application of new skills, the improvement in performance, and then using those measurements to further improve training programs!

There are several evaluation criteria domains, made popular by Kirkpatrick with his four levels. The first is Reaction, the second is Learning, the third is Job Behavior, and finally the fourth is Organizational Results. A quick online search will yield hundreds of results about training evaluation and the various levels … some will even list Kirkpatrick’s four levels differently. Suffice it to say, a training team MUST evaluate as many categories as possible. O’Conner and Bronner, authors of “Training for Organizations, 2nd ed.” also propose a fifth category, that of the training process.

We evaluate training in those categories by proctoring end-of-class surveys (Smile Sheets) and exams, conducting interviews and surveying management, and by reviewing organizational results like sales reports (handy when training salespeople…)

It can be said that NOT evaluating training might be costing the corporation more than it costs to take the necessary time to properly evaluate.

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