How Do We Measure Results? 10 Ways to Measure the Effectiveness of a Training Programme

In order to judge the effectiveness of a training programme, it is important to have a method in place for measuring results post-training and calculating your return on investment. Ideally a baseline should be taken before the training takes place, so that pre and post-training attitudes, behaviours and business results can be compared and the effect of training measured effectively.

The metrics for measuring the results of staff training will depend on your training goals. Most training programmes have multiple objectives and it is important to be clear of each individual training goal and make sure that both your members of staff and the training team are aware of these goals before starting the programme.

Sometimes it is very easy to determine if a goal has been achieved. For example, if your main aim of training is to increase conversions, this can be measured in a fairly straightforward way. Other factors, such as behavioural changes and staff satisfaction are more abstract and difficult to measure.

After deciding on your training goals, you can use one or more of the following methods to carry out training evaluation:

1.     Knowledge tests. By asking your staff to complete a test that measures their knowledge of product data, company and industry facts, and principles of sales technique, you can easily measure how much their knowledge has increased after the training. Testing knowledge in this way also helps you to identify areas that may require further training.

2.     Proficiency tests. assess the ability of staff members to apply what they have learned in training to their work. For example, you may wish to measure how quickly and effectively they can use CRM systems and other software after a training programme focused around these objectives.

3.     Skill tests. Selling skills can be measured in a number of ways. For example, when aiming to improve telephone selling, staff can be asked to conduct a number of calls and graded on each call for adherence to best practice.

4.     Measure specific business objectives. Measuring key performance indictors, or KPIs, is one of the main ways that business improvement may be measured. This could include number of sales made, number of appointments generated, or conversion rate over a set time period.

5.     Observe changes in attitude. Most training programmes require that participants complete an evaluation form at the end of the training, which can give some insight into how it has impacted their motivation and enthusiasm. However for a more accurate measure of long-term effect on staff attitude, consider carrying out further evaluation of staff satisfaction several months after the training is complete.

6.     Measure productivity. An increase in productivity can be identified by measuring how many calls are being made, how long each call lasts and other, simple to record, factors.

7.     Observe behavioural changes. After a training session it can be valuable to observe your staff for positive behavioural changes such as more effective work planning, better time management, improved presentation skills, and better communication and teamwork.

8.    Customer surveys. Asking your customers about the level of service they feel they have received can also be an effective way of judging training results. Ideally, customer satisfaction surveys should be conducted on a regular basis.

9.     Judge effect on employee loyalty and retention. Has staff turnover decreased? Are staff members more willing to agree to overtime?

10.   Calculate return on investment. There are a number of ways to calculate ROI. We suggest you measure the business improvement in terms of conversion rate, calculate the financial gains of this improvement over a set period of time, and divide by the total cost of the training including facility fee, staff wages and opportunity cost.

At LiveseySolar we measure changes in both observable behaviour and objective results pre and post-training and track progress for the three-month period after training. We provide you with easy to understand reports to aid you in calculating return on investment and measuring training effectiveness.