How Well Does Your Organization Evaluate Its Training?
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Those of us who have been around for more than a minute understand how technology has infiltrated the work environment.
Gone are the days of filling out a (manual) timecard, typing a memo, or filling out a paper expense report.
Technologies are used for all these tasks that once required a pen, paper, and typewriter.
New technologies have changed the way we work.
The good news is it helps us in so many ways.
The bad news is we never arrive at a state of knowing (it all). This tension creates a challenge for businesses trying to figure out ways to continually train their workforce.
Employee training is vital because there are constant changes in the way business is done.
Consequently, workers need to be constantly learning new skills – or refreshing old ones.
Software updates, new electronic equipment, or customer service skills are a few examples of employee training needs.
Organizations encourage employees to participate in continuing education.
This continual learning may be as simple as updating computer skills or as complex as pursuing a higher education degree.
Many organizations offer tuition reimbursement to offset costs as part of a comprehensive benefits package.
On-site Training
An organization’s ability to administer on-site employee training can result in substantial cost savings.
One organization that I worked with had less than 100 employees and provided in-house training.
This training included various topics that included classes on quality, performance management, writing and giving performance appraisals, customer service standards, and company-specific computer software.
The organization utilized in-house experts to teach these classes. Project learning is also a great way to increase employee job skills.
Employees enjoyed learning from each other, and these in-house classes resulted in a great team-building experience.
Advantages of On-Site Training
On-site training has its advantages.
1. Employee Development
There are employee development opportunities when businesses produce their own in-house training. Developing leaders are given the opportunity to:
Create Topic-Specific Training: An in-house trainer will think through the creation of a training curriculum.
This process helps them hone skills, learn new information, and become content experts in a given subject.
For instance, a secretary who has mastered Microsoft Word software can be used to help other employees improve their job skills.
Present Information: We have all had that first time to present information.
Create an in-house training program and offer employees the opportunity to present and teach information.
Great presenters have been given opportunities to present. Give employees these opportunities so they can develop and improve their presentation skills.
2. Cost Savings
Organizations that create on-site training programs save thousands of educational dollars.
Do the math of sending employees to off-site training every time there is a software update or new technology to learn.
Training Evaluation
We all know that training is only as good as it is presented and absorbed by employees.
With this in mind, it is vital to solicit feedback on how employees perceive the training. And, if it added value and produced desired results.
As coaches, we constantly strive to help develop employees.
Part of that professional development involves helping them to understand the value of customer feedback.
Organizations use training evaluation forms to help identify areas of improvement.
A training evaluation form will identify strengths in the class, weaknesses in the content, and sometimes weaknesses in the training method or presentation.
A trainer who is aware of weaknesses can make an effort to improve the class.
We have provided a template for a training evaluation form.
These are basic training evaluation questions that can be customized to any in-house training and can be formatted in a word document for a professional presentation.
Sample Training Evaluation Form
If you would like a copy of this document to customize for your organization, click here.
If you like to do things electronically, Google docs also has a great FREE tool that can create electronic surveys that you can email to your students.
This tool also has some great reporting features that you can monitor over time.
Training is the key to success. Invest the time and resources in employees to keep skills relevant.
Train and evaluate the class effectiveness and perception of attendees to ensure the time and money you are investing in in-house training pays off big dividends.
