Trainings and evaluations go hand in hand. If you’re going to invest staff time, funding and materials into a training—its important to learn if the training met your objectives, and how you can improve in the future. It may even be a grant or funding requirement. The problem is that, too often, we equate training evaluations with satisfaction forms that may or may not meet our needs.
There are several different types of training evaluations, and—if you want to get something out of it—it’s critical that you match your evaluation to the objective you’d like to achieve. Below, are the most common objectives and some examples of evaluation methods you can use to meet them.
If You Want to Learn: Use:
Thoughts & feelings about the training Surveys
Feedback Forms
Changes in knowledge, skills or abilities Before and After Surveys
Before & After Direct Observation
Changes in behavior or choices Interviews
Before & After Direct Observation
Impact training had on the organization Review documents and policies
Before & After Direct Observation
Focus Groups and Interviews
[i] List adapted from: Kirkpatrick, DL & Kirkpatrick JD. (2009). Evaluating training programs: The four levels (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Bennet-Koehler