Measure the success of training

Consider four levels of training evaluation:

Level 1: Reaction (of participants).

How to Measure: A survey "smile sheet" at the end of a training session in which you ask participants to rate various qualities of the training.

Popular but not very meaningful. Useful for the trainer in adjusting the program.

Level 2: Learning.

How To Measure: A pre-and post-test (or just a post-test) that shows how much or how little the participants retained from the training. Examples of this are certification tests following training or the driver's test to obtain a license. Good for specific / technical information. Not as good for more complex skills or procedures, or skills you might be testing out of context. Your learning outcomes are one possible source for this level of evaluation.

Level 3: Application (transfer of skills to job).

How to Measure: The question is whether or not people are doing back on the job what they were taught to do in training. Some tools used to capture or measure the transfer of learning are journals or self-administered check-lists; informal observation and coaching by supervisors; random or scheduled obrservations by supervisors with formal critique forms. Here, too, your learning outcomes could be a source of level 3 measures.

Level 4: Performance (business impact).

How to Measure: Depending on the goals of the training, the idea here is to show measurable impact on the business, whether in product improvement, customer service, higher profits etc. Generally these would be goals be laid out even before the training begins, framed as part of a good needs assessment. If the organization doesn't know where it wants to go, it will be hard to tell when it has arrived.

These four levels were popularized by a guy named Donald Kirkpatrick. More on him and his ideas can be found at the Web page:
http://www.ispi-atlanta.org/Evaluation.htm . This page is part of a wonderful site from a guy named Don Clark. The site is called "Big Dog's Human Resource Development Page" (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd.html). It is packed with information on training. You might check out his index page devoted to instructional design in general (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/sat.html) for an overview of design and evaluation.

In recent years, some people are using a fifth level:

Level 5: Return on Investment.

How to Measure: One has to calculate the real cost of training (i.e. trainer's salary; manhours spent in training; materials etc.) and then track the dollars and cents (or pounds or Euros) generated as a result of this investment. This is not easy, but more and more companies are demanding some kind of ROI equation from consultants and their own training departments.

An expert in the field of measuring the impact of training is a guy named Jack Phillips. You might check out his books:

• "Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods"
• "The Consultant's Scorecard : Tracking Results and Bottom-Line Impact of Consulting Projects"
• The American Society for Training and Development also offers his book, " In Action: Implementing Evaluation Systems and Processes," which summarizes his material and offers case histories.

All can be found on Amazon.com.