How do you evaluate training session impact on participant performance?

1 Define your objectives

Before you design or deliver any training session, you need to have clear and specific objectives for what you want the participants to learn, do, and achieve. These objectives should be aligned with the organization's goals and the participants' needs, and should be measurable and realistic. You can use the SMART framework to define your objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, by the end of this training session, participants will be able to use the XYZ software to create and edit reports in 30 minutes or less.

2 Choose your evaluation methods

In order to evaluate the impact of training sessions on participant performance, various methods can be utilized depending on objectives, resources, and context. Reaction is a method that measures how participants felt about the training session, such as satisfaction, engagement, and feedback, which can be collected through surveys, questionnaires, polls, or interviews. Learning is another method that assesses how much participants learned from the session by using tests, quizzes, assignments, or demonstrations. Additionally, behavior evaluates how participants applied what they learned from the training session with observations, feedback, or self-reports. Lastly, results monitors how participants' performance improved as a result of the training session with indicators, metrics, or benchmarks. All of these methods can help identify strengths and weaknesses of delivery and content as well as determine transfer of learning and return on investment.

3 Collect and analyze your data

Once you have chosen your evaluation methods, you need to collect and analyze your data to draw conclusions and recommendations. You can do this by using surveys and questionnaires, tests and quizzes, assignments and demonstrations, observations and feedback, and indicators and metrics. For example, surveys can be created with Google Forms or SurveyMonkey, tests with Kahoot or Quizlet, assignments with Google Docs or PowerPoint, observations with Zoom or Skype, and indicators with Excel or Google Analytics. The responses, results, performance, outcomes, and measures can then be scored, compared, evaluated, provided feedback on, recorded, displayed, calculated, and compared using charts, graphs, percentages, grades, rankings, rubrics, criteria, comments notes checklists ratings formulas ratios or trends.

4 Use your findings to improve

The final step of evaluating training session impact on participant performance is to use your findings to improve your training delivery skills. You should communicate your results to relevant stakeholders, such as the participants, managers, or sponsors, highlighting the achievements, challenges, and recommendations of your evaluation. Celebrate successes with certificates, badges, or testimonials to acknowledge and appreciate your efforts and achievements. Implement changes that you identified from your evaluation, such as modifying content, methods, or materials. Monitor and measure the effects of your changes and continue to evaluate and improve your training delivery skills. Doing so will help you design, deliver, and assess your training sessions with confidence and professionalism.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?