How do you evaluate the effectiveness of training?

Training is very important for many reasons.  However, training is only worth doing if it actually makes a difference.  If people get taught a new skill but they never use that skill, then the training has essentially been a waste of time and money. 

While the use of the skill requires the participation of the employee, it also requires management to provide the opportunity to use the skill.  Without the opportunity to practise, the skill becomes forgotten.  Further, even with the opportunity, most training is forgotten after a course without regular coaching to reinforce the original learning.

All of this can make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of training as it can only truly be evaluated by observing behaviours and results over time.  There are four ways that we can evaluate the effectiveness of training. 

1.       Feedback.  Each participant completes a feedback form at the end of the training module rating its effectiveness and relevance to them.

2.       Learning.   Each participant takes a short assessment at the end of the training to assess what they have learnt and can instantly remember.

3.       Behaviour.  Specific behaviours should be observable in the participants if they are implementing the training.  These can be observed or assessed over time.   

4.       Results.  If the training was effective, then the results of the activities that the participants are involved in should improve.  By observing the results of their work, changes should be apparent.

Evaluation types 1 and 2 are easy to do and are useful.  However, most useful are types 3 and 4.  However, these do rely on participants being given the opportunity and also require the results to be easily correlated with the training.  When there are many factors outside of the control of the participants, then this can be difficult to do.

Given that most training is forgotten within 3 months of completion without positive reinforcement, it is probably much better to spend the time and effort on coaching and supporting the employees with the new approaches that they have been taught during the training.  By evaluating the training through feedback and learning, its effectiveness can be measured instantly.  By following up with coaching and support, it can be embedded into processes and workflows such that its is most effective.