March 2008
Kirkpatrick’s Column
Evaluating results
Evaluating results provides the greatest challenge to training professionals. After all, that is why we train, and we ought to be able to show tangible results that more than pay for the cost of the training.
In some cases, such evaluation can be done and quite easily. Programs that aim at increasing sales, reducing accidents, reducing turnover, and reducing scrap rates can often be evaluated in terms of results. And the cost of the program isn’t too difficult to determine. A comparison can readily show that training pays off.
Most of the programs that I teach have results in mind. When I conduct a management workshop on how to manage change, I certainly hope that those who attend will make better changes in the future and that the changes will be accepted and implemented enthusiastically. The results will be such things as better quality of work, more productivity, more job satisfaction, and fewer mistakes.
When I teach how to improve communication effectiveness, I expect participating supervisors to communicate better on the job afterward and the result to be fewer misunderstandings, fewer mistakes, improved rapport between supervisor and subordinate, and other positive results. But, how can I tell? Can I prove or even find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the final results occur? The answer is a resounding no. There are too many other factors that affect results.
So what should a trainer do when top management asks for tangible evidence that training programs are paying off? Sometimes, you can find evidence that positive results have occurred. In other situations, you will have to evaluate changes in behavior, learning, or both. In many cases, positive reaction sheets from supervisors and managers will convince top management. After all, if top management has any confidence in the management team, isn’t it enough to know that the supervisors and managers feel the training is worthwhile?
Donald L. Kirkpatrick
From Chapter 7 of Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (Third Edition), published in 2006 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. |
