Training Measurement & Impact "The Kirkpatrick Model"

when it comes to training program effectiveness, when you even tell that such percentage of employee only applied the skills they learned in training in their job, bridge the gap and measure what's is working and what's isn't to design the and develop programs that meet both employees and business needs, here in the 4 steps process you may learn though it how to measure and improve training effectiveness and instructional design:

Reaction Training Evaluation (Smiley Form, etc), solicits opinions of the learning experience following a training event or course. Typical questions concern the degree to which the experience was valuable (satisfaction), whether they felt engaged, and whether they felt the training was relevant. Training organizations use that feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of the training, trainees/employees’ perceptions, potential future improvements, and justification for the training expense. You can also track metrics such as participation rate, completion rate, and time spent on training (useful for self-directed online training courses).Use the feedback to help you identify areas for improvement and consider possible changes for future iterations of your training program..

Learning: Can be completed as a pre- and post-event evaluation, or only as a post-evaluation, measures the degree to which participants acquired the intended knowledge, skills and attitudes as a result of the training. This level is used by instructors and training executives to determine if training objectives are being met. Only by determining what trainees are learning, and what they are not, can organizations make necessary improvements.

Behavior: Measures the degree to which participants’ behaviors change as a result of the training – basically whether the knowledge and skills from the training are then applied on the job. This measurement can be, but is not necessarily, a reflection of whether participants actually learned the subject material. For example, the failure of behavioral change can be due to other circumstances such as individual’s reluctance to change. Level 3 evaluation involves both pre- and post-event measurement of the learner’s behavior, most facilitators/organization looking for it and want to see impact on their employees and to the business

Results: Seeks to determine the tangible results of the training such as: reduced cost, improved quality and efficiency, increased productivity, employee retention, increased sales and higher morale. While such benchmarks are not always easy or inexpensive to quantify, doing so is the only way training organizations can determine the critical return on investment (ROI) of their training expenditures. One typical challenge is to identify whether specific outcomes are truly the result of the training. Level 4 requires both pre- and post-event measurement of the training objective.

The takeaway:

The key to using it effectively is to make training evaluation an integral part of your training design from the beginning. By working backward on the Kirkpatrick 4 levels, you can develop training initiatives that are effective and impactful—and directly tied to measurable outcomes.

Despite its age and various limitations, the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model is still one of the most common training evaluation methods today.