Evaluate the Efficacy of Corporate Training Program Efficiently with Kirkpatrick Model

Introduction Summary:

The average spend graph of workplace training per employee is northbound according to the Statista research. With the rising corporate training costs, it becomes imperative to gauge the effectiveness of the workplace learning program. This article will explore the Kirkpatrick Model for the efficacious evaluation of corporate training.

Introduction

As per Statista, in 2020, the global online e-learning market was sized at approximately 250 billion U.S. dollars. A successful company needs to have a dynamic training program that will always keep it agile.

Some of the benefits of an effective learning program include:

Closing of skill gaps
Employee retention
Increase in employee engagement with learning resources
Boost productivity, profit margin, and ROI
Maintaining competitiveness of the organization in the industry
Receipt of employee feedback about their ability to apply the knowledge.

Now, let us ponder on these questions. Is your company’s learning program effective and engaging enough to yield the desired results? But then how to know whether the training is helping the employees?

The Kirkpatrick Model, which is globally recognized, can be used to assess the efficacy of the eLearning module.

Kirkpatrick Model

The Kirkpatrick model helps evaluate the effectiveness of the training within an organization. It is also known as Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation and is widely considered the most effective training evaluation model.

Kirkpatrick Model of Learning Evaluation vector
The Kirkpatrick Model has 4 levels: Reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

Let’s delve into each level.

Level 1: Reaction

Here is a question for the readers.

Yes, taking feedback from learners on the training program is correct.

The reaction level assesses whether the learner found the training engaging, useful, and relevant to their roles. There are three aspects to it. In this level, the management assesses whether the learner is satisfied and if they found the training relevant and engaging.

Implementation Tips:

Include open-ended surveys at the end of the learning modules.
Give space for writing feedback. Alternatively, the learners can record responses.
Seek honest answers than polite ones.
Feedback can be given on content relevance, ease of learning, value addition, preferred template types, etc.

Level 2: Learning

This level focuses on how much the employee has acquired knowledge, skills, and attitude, including commitment and confidence. The evaluation at this level can be both formal and informal. The post-training test could be based on knowledge or tasks (real-life or simulated).

Implementation Tips:

• Conduct pre and post-learning assessments.
• Use of control groups can help.
• Use scores in learning modules wherever possible.
• Post learning knowledge check

Level 3: Behavior

This level emphasizes the behavioral changes post-learning. It takes time for the behavior modification to take place. The evaluation should be done around 3-6 months after the training ends.

The behavioral change depends on several aspects, such as:

• Learner’s correct understanding.
• Applicability of the training at the workplace.
• Organization’s processes and conditions to facilitate the expression of what has been learned.
• For example, the learner might have learned the use of blockchain in trade finance, but the company might not yet have the processes in place for that.

Here is an example of post-learning behavioral evaluation.

Implementation Tips:

• Both observations and interviews can be used to assess the behavioral change.
• List out the expected changes.
• Consider the readiness of both the learner and the organization for a meaningful and lasting behavior change.
• Include remediation and memory boosters to help learners change behavior.

Level 4: Result

This level focuses on results from the organizational point of view. The results take into account the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as the increase in sales, customer satisfaction, ROI, bottom lines, turnaround time of tasks, etc., or decrease in training costs, average spend per employee, and so on. The choice of KPIs will differ across the companies.

Implementation Tips:

Choose the KPIs for evaluation of training effectiveness
Give enough time to the learners.

Conclusion

The four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model help to evaluate the efficacy of corporate training programs consistently from the beginning. This allows one to update the training processes at any point so that the organization can reach its training goals at lower costs and in time.

If you wish to know how our services and learning platform, KREDO, and give an edge to your corporate training, write to us directly at suresh@tesseractlearning.com or contact us.