Evaluating Training Impact: Insights from 6 Professionals
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Measuring success: How 6 experts evaluate the impact of training
To help you measure the impact of your training initiatives on employee performance, we gathered insights from six industry leaders, including co-founders and CEOs. From using the learning gains metric to tracking return on investment, discover the key metrics and methodologies these experts rely on in their organizations.
- Use the learning gain metric
- Apply the Kirkpatrick scoring method
- Assessing the relationship between skills and time
- Examine the operational efficiency ratio
- Implementation of the Net Promoter Score for employees
- Track return on investment
Apply the learning gain metric
We recently started using a metric called “learning gain.” This metric measures the difference between an employee's performance before and after a training initiative. Learning gains give us a good sense of how much employees have improved through our training initiatives.
When learning gains are high, it means our training initiatives are effective and helping employees perform better. If the learning gain is low or negative, it means we need to make some changes to our training programs.
Apply the Kirkpatrick valuation method
The Kirkpatrick evaluation method is used to measure the effectiveness of training interventions on employee performance.
Before attending or completing a training activity, the employee's performance on a specific skill is measured using a self-assessment form, and the manager assesses current mastery of the skill using a competency matrix.
Immediately after the training activity, employees fill out a feedback form to find out how they responded to what they learned, how the activity helped them develop their skills, and where they plan to apply what they learned within the company.
Two to three months after the training, activities are conducted to help understand the “so what” and the positive impact on performance. Employees either fill out a feedback form about their improved skills and work performance or have an informal conversation with the People team. Supervisors also reassess skills by observing job performance and again using a competency matrix.
Assessing the relationship between skills and time
In our technology-driven company, it is critical to measure the impact of training on employee performance. We evaluate this by analyzing the relationship between the newly acquired skills and the time invested in training. This is critical because as a leading provider of AI solutions, our people must constantly adapt to evolving technologies.
If the ratio is high, it means that our employees can quickly adapt to the new technologies and use them effectively. If the rate is low, it means we need to invest more time and resources in training our employees.
By tracking the effectiveness of our training programs, we ensure that the time spent learning translates into concrete skills development. It also allows us to check whether our investments in training are in line with the goals of our company, which aims to remain at the forefront of technological innovation. This method keeps our employees agile, capable and ready to advance our AI-based solutions.
Examination of the operational efficiency level
One method for verifying the effectiveness of learning and development initiatives is to determine the company's operational efficiency before and after training.
Operational efficiency is the ability of a company to manage its resources (labor, time and money) as productively as possible while providing high quality services. Because it encompasses many aspects of business, it also provides a complex insight into employee progress after the learning process is complete.
Aspects of this technique can vary depending on the company's KPIs, but typically it compares financial profitability, e.g. Cost per unit, cost reduction or total sales before and after the measure.
But it's not just about improving numerical results. Criteria such as customer satisfaction or the quality of work processes are also important for measuring the impact of training and evaluating the progress of staff or individual employees. The flexibility of this metric is very appealing.
Implementation of the Employee Net Promoter Score
An important metric for evaluating the effectiveness of training initiatives on employee performance is the Employee Net Promoter Score. This metric measures how likely employees are to recommend their experiences with the company to others.
It is also useful for measuring how successful training initiatives have been. If the initiative has had a positive impact, employees should be more inclined to recommend similar experiences to others. Therefore, the eNPS value should increase.
Track return on investment
An effective and unique metric for measuring the success of training initiatives on employee performance is tracking return on investment (ROI). Determining ROI combines and examines both the costs and benefits of a training program into a single, coherent number. It measures how well a company can generate revenue through its investments in employees, as opposed to other methods that only track output, such as attendance or test scores.
By leveraging metrics like learning gains and ROI, HR teams can gauge training effectiveness. IceHrm offers tools to streamline this evaluation process.
