The Four Levels of Training Effectiveness

Level 1 Reaction: This level evaluates the reactions of trainees to the program. Here, you consider if they liked the program and if they find it meaningful, if they like the facilitators and the training facilities and accommodations.

Guidelines for Evaluating Training Reaction
• Identify what you like to find out.
• Formulate a form which will quantify reactions.
• Encourage written suggestions as well as comments.
• Obtain 100% instant response.
• Obtain honest response.
• Ensure to cultivate acceptable standards.
• Measure reactions counter to standards and take suitable action.
• Communicate response or feedback as appropriate.

Level 2 Learning: Examine the trainees to identify if they mastered the skills, facts and principles they were to learn.
-Measuring learning involves identifying the following:
– What expertise or knowledge was learned?
– What skills were enhanced or developed?
-What attitudes were altered?

Guidelines for Evaluating Learning
o If practical, utilize a control group.
o Assess skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes both prior and after the program.
o Utilize a paper-and-pencil test in order to measure knowledge.
o Utilize a performance test in order to measure the skills.
o Obtain 100% instant response.
o Utilize the outcomes of evaluation so to take suitable action.

Level 3 Behavior Application: Ask if the trainees’ behavior on the job altered because of the training program. For instance, are workers in the store’s complaint department more helpful or courteous to irritated customers than previously?
• The frequency of application of new attitudes/knowledge/skills on the job.
• The effectiveness of the attitudes/knowledge/skills/knowledge applied on the job.

Guidelines for Evaluating Learning
• If practical, utilize a control group.
• Allot time for behavior change and application to emerge.
• If practical, assess both prior and after the program.
• Make a survey and/or interview any of the following: the trainees, their immediate or current supervisor, their subordinates, and those people who usually observe their behavior
• Obtain sampling or a 100% response.
• Repeat the assessment at appropriate times.
• You may consider cost versus benefits.

Level 4 Business Impact: in this level, consider what final outcomes were attained with regards to the training objectives formerly set? Take into account the number of customer complaints about in terms of employee drop, consider if the reject rate improve, observe if the turnover was reduced and so on.

Point out the extent to which you think this system has affected each of these measures in your business unit, department or work unit:
• Productivity
• Quality
• Customer Response Time
• Cost Control
• Employee Satisfaction
• Customer Satisfaction
Guidelines for Evaluating Learning:
• If practical, utilize a control group.
• Allot time for outcomes to be accomplished.
• If practical, measure both prior and after the program.
• Repeat the assessment at appropriate times.
• Take into account the cost versus benefits.
• Be delighted with evidence in case the proof is not possible.

Performance Indicators
Hard Data Indicators
• Downtime duration
• Number of defect products
• Sales volume
• Production unit
• Customer satisfaction index
• Response time to orders
• Number of accidents at work
• Others

Soft Data Indicators or the so-called intangible impact
• Job satisfaction
• Conducive working relationship
• Effective communication
• Stress rate
• Quality in decision-making

Measuring Return on Investment of Training
Benchmark for Choosing Programs for Levels 4 and 5 Evaluation
• The significance of the program in satisfying the goals of the organization.
• The cost of the program
• The visibility of the program
• The size of the target audience
• The extent of management interest

Benefits of Return on Investment of Training
• Measure contribution
• Set priorities
• Concentrate on outcomes
• Change management perceptions of training

Return on Investment of Training Model
• Gather data. Determine suitable performance indicators and come up with a collection plan.
• Isolate the effects of training.
Utilize Control Group. A control group arrangement can be utilized to separate training impact. Through this technique, one team receives training, while another; identical team does not receive training. The distinction in the performance of the two teams is associated to the training program.

Trend Lines. Trend lines are utilized to estimate the values of particular output variables if training had not been undertaken. The projection is correlated to the actual data after the training, and the distinction shows the estimate impact of training.

Participants Estimate. Supervisors of Participants Estimate. This approach relies on the premise that participants as well as their supervisors are capable of evaluating how much a performance improvement is coordinated to the training program.

Due to the fact that their actions have led the improvement, participants and their supervisors may obtain very precise input on the issue. They must know how much of the change was caused by means of implementing what they have mastered in the program.

• Convert Data to Monetary Values.
There are steps to convert data to monetary values and these are the following:
• Concentrate on a unit of improvement.
• Identify a value of each unit.
• Evaluate the change in performance data.
• Identify a yearly amount of change
• Estimate the yearly value of improvement

• Identify intangible benefits.
• Estimate Return on Investment of Training

• Tabulate Program Costs. Systematizing the costs composed of monitoring or enhancing all of the coordinated costs of the program targeted for the Return on Investment calculation.

The cost components that must be comprised are the following:
• Travel, meal costs and lodging for the participants.
• Employee benefit as well as the salaries of the participants who attend the training.
• Overhead and administrative costs of the training function which are distributed in some beneficial way

Common Questions to Evaluate:
• What percent this development can be ascribed to the application of knowledge/ techniques/skills obtained in the training program?
• What confidence do you have in this calculation, expressed as a percent?
• What other factors contributed to this development in performance?

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