As a relationship manager at Phoenix, I am often consulted (or even challenged!) by clients about how to measure the effects of the training they commission – a perfectly natural wish, because they have generally identified an area to improve in their organisation or business, and they want to be sure that improvement has taken place.

With that in mind, I thought I would put down my own personal thoughts on how training can be evaluated effectively, in order to check that the time & budget being spent on training are producing the desired returns at every level: organisational, departmental, team and individual.

Inevitably there is a balance to be struck when evaluating the benefits of soft-skills training.  On the one hand, the more time and resources invested, particularly up front in benchmarking of criteria, the more reliable the evaluation becomes.  However, on the other hand, there is a point at which the returns on this extra investment are outweighed by other priorities – as there is too great a ‘cost’ in carrying it out.  Remember also that even the most rigorous and ‘scientific’ evaluation will produce results which in the opinion of many commentators are indicative and evidential rather than solidly proven in the soft-skills context – there are simply too many variable factors at work in most organizations for the effects of training to be measurable in terms of a quantifiable number or percentage.  For this reason, I advocate measurement of training through the observation and benchmarking of behaviours above all else, as I believe this is the truest test of whether learning is effective over the mid- to long-term.

With positive cooperation from participants, evaluation processes can even contribute to the fixing and application of new learning, rather than simply measuring it; another reason to evaluate wherever possible.

It may be that the depth and scope of evaluation varies from course to course, depending on the topic or the group; but a workable ‘full’ evaluation would consist of the following:

1. Benchmarking of participants’ behaviour in relation to the course topic, at some point pre-training.  “Where are they now?”  This can be established through assessment centres, 360-degree feedback, through the Personal Review process, or simply by self-scoring.  Phoenix are able to help with the preparation or implementation of these as required.
2. What are the objectives for the training, in the light of step 1?  What will success look like (i.e. expressed as behavioural change)?
3. TRAINING TAKES PLACE
4. Post-course feedback forms check that participants appreciated the training, and that their initial response to it was positive.  It is important for a culture of learning that training be enjoyable, and that participants return from courses inspired and energised by it, and advocating it to others.
5. The next step is for line management to de-brief participants, make an initial check that objectives as expressed before the course have been addressed, and to review any new objectives that have been set as a result of the course.
6. Next, at a period of between 3 to 6 months, behaviours in relation to the course topic should be re-assessed, preferably by the same method as before the training, in order to ascertain that positive change has occurred.  This is the most important stage of all, since it provides the evidence that participants are using what they learned.  In some cases it may be appropriate simply to ask participants to self-report what they are doing differently as time goes by – but in others, something more objective, such as 360s, will be preferable.
7. Finally, it is important to recognise that even the most high impact training needs to be supported internally, and the right behaviours and practices reinforced positively by line managers and the overall culture of the organisation.  If the prevalent culture is at odds with the training messages, the status quo will erode the changes.  In line with this, it is useful to recognise that the best messages bear repeating, and thus we would recommend that all training be followed up by refresher workshops of a similar nature within a 12-month period.

Tim Holmes – Account Director, Phoenix Training