5.3 Evaluating the development
How was it for you?
In Identifying training and development needs we looked at the training cycle, in which a need for training and development was identified; Meeting the need then described how training can be delivered, whether it is for the path manager or for a team member.
It is important for the team and the individual to determine whether the training and development has been effective. Before you do this it is useful to look at a model of how people learn. This can be interpreted in the learning cycle.
‘If you don’t know where you are going, you will not know when you get there.’
We experience
Think back to when you learned a certain task. Whether it was learning to ride a bike, drive a car or do a crossword, you have to start with an experience. That is, you attend a training course, try something out, are shown how to do something, watch a video or any other method which exposes you to the skill, method, task or knowledge.
We reflect
After instruction, if you wish to learn the task or knowledge, you reflect on it. You can either think through the process, such as doing crosswords or mathematical problems, or you can practise, such as first-aid training.
We set a rule
Having reflected or practised, you can see how a task is performed and you set a rule, that is the way something is done ‘clicks’. Having set the rule, you then go on to practise the task until it is ‘mastered’.
This is exactly the principle behind study skills in which the student learns a subject and then by writing essays or doing tests along with feedback from a tutor eventually understands a process.
Applying this to training and development
Training and development at any level wastes resources unless it correctly meets a need. The only way you can determine whether it has met a need is to evaluate the learning, taking into account the learning cycle. This applies to both managers and path team members.
Evaluation can exist at a number of levels, and unless you understand and use this you will not fully implement training that will meet the overall needs of the team.
Instant evaluation
We are familiar with instant evaluation sheets at the end of training courses. While these can be useful in an overall picture, they are generally of limited use as they only describe feelings at that time. They may also reflect what the learner has enjoyed rather than what he/she has actually learned.
Pre-briefing
It is more meaningful if team members are briefed by a manager before any training event to talk over the content of the training, to determine expectations and to set the scene for a debriefing.
Debriefing
Debriefing is a good way to ensure that the learner is focused and is going to be able to implement the training as soon as possible after the learning. It is also a vehicle for the manager evaluating whether this was the right training and whether it was value for money.
Learning
Many people attend courses or other training sessions but do not learn as efficiently as they could. There can be many reasons for this, including lack of motivation or poor teaching. You must determine whether any training and development is effective in assisting the learner to learn. This can be done through tests or examinations, but the most effective way in the workplace is to allow the learner to put the new knowledge into practice as soon as possible; if necessary, this can be carried out under supervision, and feedback given as soon as possible. Vocational qualifications were mentioned earlier; the assessment of skills in the workplace is a major benefit of this system.
Team learning
If you are concerned not only about the learning experienced by the individual but about the team, you have also to ask whether the training has had an effect on developing the team through either learning skills or changing attitudes.
That is, if you want to review team performance and the role of training in developing and achieving this then you should previously have set team development objectives using the SMART principles. The team development should contain objectives, for example:
- By the end of September 2003 two assessors will have been trained to certificate level, three coaches to skills level and five members of the team to SVQ Level 2.
- Only by evaluation can we guage the effectiveness of training and development.
We have here specific and measurable objectives that can be evaluated easily. This can be combined with evaluations from training courses and SVQs to form an overall picture.
Organisational learning
If the evaluation of team learning is important, so too is the evaluation of organisational learning. This can be compiled from team evaluation reports and take the form of a report on the overall impact of training and development on organisational objectives.
If the above approach is taken you can more easily compare what has been achieved with what was planned in the original training needs analysis and the individual, team and organisational development plans.
A checklist for evaluation
Below is a sample of the kind of questions which can and should be asked of any training and development. By no means comprehensive, it nevertheless gives guidance on what should be evaluated:
- Does the training delivered meet the identified need?
- Has the training met the individual, team or organisational objectives?
- Has the need been met completely or in part?
- What has prevented the need being met?
- Has the need been met both efficiently and in a cost-effective way?
- Was the training event satisfactory?
- Did the delivery of the training enhance learning?
- Has the learning been set at the right level?
- Has the learner been able to implement learning as soon as possible?
- Was the learner briefed and debriefed for the learning?
- Have all necessary resources been allocated to the training?
- Are these resources adequate?
- Has the development enhanced the learning needs of the team?