Set up in-house training

Evaluating training effectiveness

Evaluating your training allows you to work towards improving it. There are several ways to get an accurate picture of what your training has achieved and what the limitations are.

Employee performance evaluations

Review the impact of the training on the employee's performance, as part of a regular appraisal process. This is a good time to discuss any additional training needs.

Business performance evaluations

Training can be evaluated by measuring tangible performance indicators, such as sales, production costs, output, absenteeism and staff turnover.

Qualitative improvements may be just as important. This could include higher quality goods and services, better teamwork, fewer customer complaints and greater innovation within your business.

Employee feedback

Ask your employees:

• if the training was relevant to their job and their level of expertise
• how they will put their learning into action
• for feedback on the training method
• what worked and what didn't
• what could be improved

Remember that the business' expectations may not be the same as employees' expectations.

Training assessment or evaluation forms may prove useful here. 

Timing is important. The longer the delay between the training and the evaluation, the less reliable the results are going to be. Evaluation also needs to be tailored according to the objective of the training. If, for example, the training was focused on teaching interpersonal skills, you can observe how they interact with others to determine the effectiveness of the training. If the training was designed to impart technical skills, then a practical test will do the job.

Evaluation is one of the three principles of the current Investors in People Standard that sets a level of good practice for improving an organisation's performance through its people. Read the Investors in People Standard on the Investors in People website.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• The business case for in-house training
• Informal in-house training
• Formal in-house training - the options
• Buying in a classroom-based course
• Distance learning and Internet-based training
• In-house training - skills requirements
• Training resources and costs
• Evaluating training effectiveness
• Checklist: setting up in-house training
• Here's how I set up in-house training and tailored it to our needs

 

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