Business Development
Training and development activities can be evaluated before, during and after the activities:
Before the Implementation Phase
This can be evaluated by applying the methods to highly skilled employees and noting if the methods have been successful. One can assess if the methods really result in the employee's learning the knowledge and skills needed to perform the task or carry out the role.
During Implementation of Training
This can be evaluated with the use of short tests at the end of the training lecture to evaluate the employees overall understanding of a topic. Or with the use of evaluation sheets with an effective grading structure which covers evaluating the course, ambience, instructor effectiveness and have provision for comments. This will help gauge the level of effectiveness of the training and get feedback on what can be done to improve the effectiveness.
After Completion of the Training
This can be evaluated with the use of an assessment at the end of the training to assess the results of the course. To gain a better understanding, one can compare the results of this assessment with the one conducted at the start of
the course and mark for changes or improvements in performance. This would in turn evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
In conclusion, it has become something of a cliché for senior management to claim that 'people are our greatest asset'. Yet, much to the dismay of trainers, the effort they put in to developing this 'human capital' continues to be seen as an expense and not as an investment. It's time to turn this around.
Start to analyse your training programmes as if they were capital investments - using techniques like ROI and senior management may start to change their attitude to training.
And this could not have come at a better time when there are so many exciting new developments in training such as online training, experiential training, the blended learning approach and many others.
Diahann has over 7 years of training experience in both India and the UAE. This ranges from Customer Service, Soft Skills, Speech Enhancement, Behavioural and Leadership training.