Training Evaluation

Background - Employee training is deemed essential in developing the skillset, knowledge, performance of an employee in any organization. An employee with a full package of these would be an intangible asset for the management. Relevant skillset or knowledge are initially developed by an employee during the undergraduate/postgraduate before being hired. Subsequently, as the industry evolves every day with non-familiarized technologies, the call for “upgrade” is seen as a challenge. This challenge is at the top most priority of the human resource department, as part of an organisation’s sustainability programme. With no end to learning, the newly acquired skillset and knowledge positively correlate to the performance of an organization in the competitive industry. However, the irony is that organizations focus too much on their budget for trainings/workshops/seminars/etc to fulfil their human resource KPI. Completing such KPIs yield smart employee? In reality, this is secondary. Organisations should place importance on the effectiveness of training. The training provided to an employee should be evaluated through post-evaluation tool to gauge the effectiveness of such training. This will route to developing and managing manpower quality in an organization. Purpose - Many researches of late 2013 onward, had studied on the influence of training against employee job performance. This pulls out the attention of the human resource department to yield the expected Return on Investment (ROI) from this costly investment. With such post-evaluation tool in place, organization will be able to make decision on the continuity of such training, where the Return On Investment (ROI) will be more justifiable. Every organization need to look into the training impact on its employees after the training, such as its benefits on the skillset, knowledge and ultimately, the performance of an employee. For an employee, this will create a positive vibe at workplace such as confidence dealing with uncertainties, increase morale and productivity, commitment empowerment and broader vision towards future improvements. With this in place, the human resource management can be more focused on retaining these precious employees rather than spending more seeking and hiring time-based qualified employees. Design/methodology/approach Existing Models - Where the post-evaluation of training is concerned, the preferred model will be the Kirkpatrick (1959)’s art piece of four levels of training evaluation, which comprises of reaction, learning, behaviour and result. This universal model is widely accepted by many organization and categorises the stages of training before, during and after period. The most crucial step of this model is the “behaviour stage.” The impact of training such as if the content was understood and if the knowledge was absorbed to application at worksplace in a logical and practical manner. Performance Measurement - The “behaviour” stage of Kirkpatrick model can be measured via an impactful survey or follow-up questions or superior observation. It would be a good combination of what has been learnt, individual contribution and self-rated performance graph. Evaluation Period - 3 months after successful completion of a training. Findings/Expected Contributions - From the organization point of view, especially those who run on tight budget in managing the human capital, the measurement tool will provide means to measure training effectively and maximize the results of training ROI. From employees point of view, selective training will enable them to achieve ambitious targets/KPIs and commitment in the competitive environment