Training Evaluation Models Applied in Organizations

Training evaluation is the process involved in determining the significance, worth, and value of an organization’s training against its set standards. Most organizational management systems have been developed to enable them to support the evaluation of the designing of the training programs based on the evaluation models used within the organization. Notably, training evaluation using the right models helps organizations gather the trainers and the organization’s desired information. The information is further used to modify and develop the organizational training sessions, making them constructive and of more value.

The Three Training Evaluation Models

Different organizational use different models in evaluating the effectiveness of their training based on the nature of the budgets within the business organization. The three training models that organizations usually use include Kirkpatrick, Brinkerhoff, and Phillips.

Four-Level Training Evaluation Model According to Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick’s model comprises four different stages. The first level is an evaluation of the trainees’ reactions. According to Srivastava & Walia (2018), every program is examined to identify the individual needs which help in the improvement of the model in the future.

However, the model’s objective is to evaluate how the trainees react to the training by asking relevant questions that establish their thoughts (Srivastava & Walia, 2018). Evaluation of the participants’ reactions to determine their satisfaction level from the training is observable from their questions. The evaluators will figure out the level of satisfaction and how useful the trainees found the program in taking their organizational roles. An example of this is the case of an online assessment graded by delegates and other evaluators.

The second level is the evaluation of the learning. At this level, the main objective is gauging the level of knowledge, expertise, and mindset that the participants have developed. The evaluation will help determine any new skills and attitudes that the participants have learned all through the programs and what was not covered by trainers. The second level is faced with many challenges and required much time compared to the first level (Srivastava & Walia, 2018). The third level is the evaluation of the transfer. In this level, analysis of the behavior among the participants while on duty is observed to identify whether the learning is being applied after completing the program.

An assessment of the change is observed at this level. Significantly, that makes it possible for the evaluators to identify whether the skills, mindset, and knowledge taught from the program are utilized in the workplace. Jasson et al. (2017) explained that the third level starts between three to six months after the training. The fourth level is the evaluation of the results. At this level, the evaluators’ primary objective is determining the training results exhibited by the trainees. Evaluation of the results is considered the program’s primary goal since it determines the success of the training models (Jasson et al., 2017). The level understands the success index through measuring evident factors like a decline in expenditure, increased returns on the organizational investments, an improvement in the products’ quality, efficiency in the production time, and a decline in the number of accidents within the workplace.

Brinkerhoff’s Method for Learning Evaluation

Brinkerhoff’s model focuses on pointing out the least and most successful participants in an organizational learning program and examining their details more in-depth. The main objective of this method is to compare the successful participants with the failed ones to identify the change required to foster success in the future when training employees. However, the evaluators

publicize and write their success stories based on what they have learned from the value created in their learning programs (Srimannarayana, 2017). Typically, Brinkerhoff’s model was not formally designed to help organizations judge their overall performance and success initiatives. Instead, the model was meant to assist organizations in training from the best and the least performing participants.

Phillips Training Evaluation Model

Phillips training evaluation model is an extensive upgrade of the Kirkpatrick model. It serves as a training evaluation developer which provides that there must be a chain of impact allowed within the training course and the chain must start from the first level forming the basis of the model (level 1) and end with ROI. Evaluation of the reactions from the participants is undertaken in the first level of Phillips Models. However, in the second level, the evaluators determine whether learning took place and at the required standards covering the right content fully (Phillips et al., 2020). The participants take quizzes and tests during the training and test their level of understanding after the training.

Phillips et al., (2020) argue that the main activity is the implementation and application of the model in the third level. At this level, the participants are assessed on their ability to apply the training skills in the workplace to complete their tasks. The fourth level, the Philips model gets broader than the Kirkpatrick taxonomy which mainly focuses on the results to address the impact of training on organizational performance and success (Phillips et al., 2020). The fifth level is a return on investment. At this level, the organizational evaluators utilize the Phillips ROI model to determine the organization’s net returns from its investments.

Conclusion

From the three training evaluation models, Kirkpatrick’s model is the best to use in helping a corporate training director to generate the data required for Talent Development Reporting (TDR). The method helps provide the overall analyses of the net performance from the training programs, an aspect that is missing from Brinkerhoff’s and Philips’s models. Whenever the corporate training director has to generate data for the TDR, it is always necessary to evaluate the sessions’ effectiveness in changing their understanding. For instance, Kirkpatrick’s model helps identify whether the team members are putting what they have learned into practice. The model also supports the corporate training director in an objective analysis of the impacts of the training. In the long run, that helps them work out how effectively the participants learned so that their learning in the future can be improved.

References

Jasson, Cashandra C., & Govender, Cookie M. (2017). Measuring return on investment and risk in training – A business training evaluation model for managers and leaders. Acta Commercii, 17(1), 1-9. https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ac.v17i1.401.

Phillips, J., Phillips, P., & Ray, R. (2020). Proving the Value of Soft Skills: Measuring Impact and Calculating ROI. American Society for Training and Development.

Srimannarayana, M. (2017). From reactions to return on investment: a study on training evaluation practices. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(1), 1-20.

Srivastava, V., & Walia, A. M. (2018). An analysis of various training evaluation

            models. International Journal of Advance and Innovative Research, 5(4), 276-282.

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