Training Evaluation Metrics

Most companies with employee training programs evaluate training efficiency based on questionnaires and happy sheets. While this is a good and time tested method of training evaluation, it is simply not enough and more quantitative and concrete training evaluation metrics are required for making important training related decisions.

Each and every organization has different kinds of training programs for different purposes, with most large companies having an individual training department with their own individual budgets. Unfortunately, training evaluation is never given as much of a priority as the evaluation of other performance metrics in any organization, like sales or growth etcetera.

This is because most organizations do not think that training influences the bottom line as much as other factors, which is totally false. Training influences the bottom line, though in a small manner, through the cost that is incurred on training expenses and the benefits that are reaped by the organization as a result of employee training. While getting employees to fill out questionnaires describing the benefit of the training they have undergone is all well and good, better methods of training evaluation, preferably quantitative ones need to be used if you want your company and your employees to benefit from training programs. Some of the key criteria which should be used for the evaluation of corporate training are:

Costs: Knowing how much your training programs cost is necessary for evaluating any kind of training program objectively. The main emphasis of all training programs somewhere or the other focuses on increasing profits, even if it is through indirect programs like employee retention or employee interaction programs and the effect on the bottom line can be gauged only once you know the exact amount of money that your firm is spending on the training programs. In order to calculate training cost, you need to factor in both the direct cost of training- payment to external agencies involved in training, travel, consultancy, material etcetera and the indirect cost of training, which generally includes things like the cost of training equipment and facilities and the emoluments of training staff employed in-house.
Employee Learning: Since the main objective of any kind of training program is to increase the knowledge level of a trainee with regard to certain subjects, measuring the increase in knowledge or learning is a crucial variable that will directly tell you about the effectiveness of any training program. Taking before and after exams or simply taking tests after the training has been imparted can give you a fair idea about the effectiveness of your training program in improving your trainees’ level of knowledge. Needless to say, if the students in your program fail to pass these tests or barely pass, your training program needs to be re-looked at and maybe restructured.

Profit: An increase in productivity and profits as a result of training is a new but useful way of evaluating your training programs. However, considering that the final objective of any training program is to help increase performance and profits, this is the most direct method of evaluating a training program. Profits are supposed to go up after a training program since employees who have imbibed training are supposed to be more efficient and skilled than they were earlier. Better employee performance as a result of training will directly impact profits and you can easily compare the costs involved in training with the benefits thereof, or to be more precise calculate the return on investment of your training program to gauge its effectiveness.