What is a Training Program Evaluation?

A training program evaluation often measures a program’s success in meeting previously identified objectives. Such evaluations are likely to depend upon intended outcomes of the program. Once those goals have been identified, the evaluation can be shaped based upon the information desired by trainers. The trainers often want answers to specific questions that ultimately define the type of evaluation tool used, which may be in the form of surveys, action plans and learning questionnaires. After the tools are collected and analyzed, trainers may be asked to create validation summaries that identify the successes and shortcomings of individual programs.

Successful training programs often rely on evaluation processes that provide trainers or coordinators with substantial feedback. In many cases, a perfect program does not exist because of diverse opinions from employees, customers and clients. A training program evaluation, therefore, may serve as a measuring tool whereby coordinators can make ongoing adjustments to the training and verify its subsequent impacts.

Often, the first step in developing a training program evaluation is to identify the program’s goals. Employee training programs, for example, may concentrate on workplace safety and compliance with national or local laws. Management training programs, on the other hand, may relate to preventing workplace conflicts and improving communication skills. Organizations may also work from their mission statements to develop training programs that meet company-wide goals.

Once coordinators have collaborated to develop training objectives and materials, the evaluation itself must be considered. In some instances, training programs are created simultaneously with evaluation criteria. This ensures the training processes reflect expected outcomes. The training program evaluation may thus contain multiple areas of assessment, including an analysis of costs and benefits, goal-based development and efficiency for reaching the intended audience.

Consistent and methodical processes are often used to collect feedback for a training module. Without a specific series of steps, assessment information may be unreliable. Managers who verbally ask for employee opinions after a training program, for example, do not have written evidence to support their claims. Moreover, trainers are likely to collect and analyze written evaluations more efficiently than those provided verbally.

To substantiate the program evaluation, trainers may require that it answer specific questions concerning the delivery of trainee information. For example, trainers may want to know the exact data provided to audience members and how that can be used to improve daily productivity. Trainers may also be interested in knowing how successful the trainees were in implementing the data and to what extent managers supported these actions. Shaping the evaluation around these questions may help to identify what evaluation tool is most appropriate.

Evaluation tools may be used individually or collectively to understand the outcome of a training program. A survey that asks for personal thoughts on and reactions to the training, for example, may be distributed to audience members immediately following the program. To keep this from being a simple tick-sheet, training developers should encourage trainees to provide their honest feelings regarding the program and the ways in which it struck a chord or may be improved.

Another tool often used for training program evaluation is the action plan. Unlike the survey, which relies solely on feedback from the trainees, the action plan is usually developed by all interested parties, including trainers and managers. This plan may detail the ways in which program information or instructions can be instituted into work processes. Deadlines and departmental goals for implementing the action plan may authenticate its purposes.

The learning questionnaire may be distributed shortly after a training module so trainers can understand the lasting impact made by a program. This questionnaire may ask trainees what they learned, of what they were reminded and what was not included in the training that could logically be expected. Such a tool often measures the amount of learning achieved by posing relevant questions against the program’s objectives. In addition to scoring ranges for each question, a blank space may also be provided on the learning questionnaire so trainees can offer other relevant feedback.

After the evaluation tools have been distributed and collected, trainers are often expected to produce a validation summary. This statement is often necessary to support claims that a training module satisfies the defined objectives. Evaluation summaries may also be helpful for publicizing a training program or creating future modules that are similar in nature.