The
following guest commentary, co-authored by Jim Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., Wendy Kirkpatrick and Chuck Udell, MAAP, is part one of a six-part series on key strategies
for making the most out of employee training opportunities.

When you conduct training in your organization,
how do you know if it’s helping? How do you determine if you got your money’s
worth? This article series aims to answer those questions.

One of the most recognized methods of evaluating
the value of training is the Kirkpatrick Model, or the four levels:

Often, organizations mistakenly wait until after
training is complete to think about how its value will be measured. This makes
it much less likely that there will be any value to measure. If you are considering
investing in training, whether through in-house resources or a contractor, this
article series will provide guidance as to the questions you need to ask and
answer along the way to ensure that your training delivers the intended
benefits and bottom-line results.

Kirkpatrick
Foundational Principles

The Kirkpatrick Foundational Principles are the
key beliefs underpinning Kirkpatrick training evaluation.

Each article in this six-part series will address
one of the Kirkpatrick Foundational Principles, provide an example of it, and
describe how to utilize it in your business.

An
Industry Example

Here is an example of an automotive parts store
chain that failed to determine in advance how the value of the training program
would be measured.

This store chain was concerned that their counter
people were not asking their walk-in customers for additional sales. The VP of
Store Operations asked their training manager to find an online program that
would show these counter people how to ask for additional business. The VP
insisted on an online program so that the counter people could take the course
at the store without losing time traveling to and from off-site training.

After finding an online course that met the VP’s
requirements, the training manager advised the counter people that the course
was available and that they should take it within the next 30 days. Store and
regional managers were notified; this was the first that they had heard about
this online retail sales training class. Before the course, no managers were
involved with their counter people concerning the topic of additional sales,
and after the course, very few store managers even asked their employees how
the online additional selling class had gone.

Senior management liked the online course because
it had a test at the end. The counter people liked it because it contained a
lot of humor. The test results were excellent, and the participant evaluations
were very positive. However, three months later, management noted that there
was no increase in the number of line items per invoice, and no increase in
business. What happened? Why were the results so disappointing, making this
training program a waste of time and money?

The answer is more about what did not happen:

● No sales goal was tied to the training.

● Counter people were not told what they should
be doing differently as a result of the training.

● There was no follow-up after the training to
ensure compliance.

Learn
How to Avoid Common Training Mistakes

These mistakes are common. Most of us have even
experienced them first-hand. However, they are fairly easy to correct. To learn
how to improve the return from your training investment and achieve the desired
results, watch for the next five articles in this series; a new article will be
published every two weeks.

About
the Authors

Jim
Kirkpatrick

Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick is a senior consultant for
Kirkpatrick Partners. His major area of expertise is the Kirkpatrick Business
Partnership Model. Jim consults for Fortune 500 companies around the world and
is a masterful facilitator, conducting workshops on the Kirkpatrick Model,
business partnership and his newest topic, Training on Trial. Jim has
co-written three books with his father, Don Kirkpatrick, the creator of the
Kirkpatrick Model. He also has written three books with his wife, Wendy
Kirkpatrick: "Then and Now," "Training on Trial" and "Bringing
Business Partnership to Life: The Story of the Brunei Window Washer."

Wendy
Kirkpatrick

Wendy Kirkpatrick is the founder of Kirkpatrick
Partners, a company dedicated to helping organizations become more effective
through business partnership. She applies her skills as a certified
instructional designer and expert presenter and facilitator to lead companies
to measurable success. Wendy’s results orientation stems from her two decades
of business and training experience. She held positions in merchandising,
direct importing and product development before becoming a product manager with
Springs Industries and Rubbermaid. Most recently, Wendy was a training manager
for Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, where she managed the training curriculum
for 1500 sales and customer service representatives across North America.

Chuck
Udell

Chuck Udell, MAAP, is a senior partner with the
Essential Action Design Group, focusing on improving performance and
profitability for clients through improved sales, marketing and leadership
development solutions. Part of his client engagement includes developing and
implementing Kirkpatrick evaluation plans.

Chuck is the former president of the University
of the Aftermarket – an operating division of Northwood University, and prior
to that was president of AWDA University, the education division of the
Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA). While at AWDA, he
received several awards including the association’s Pursuit of Excellence Award
in 1997 and the AWDA Memorial Education Scholarship Award in 2000. He also is
the 2010 recipient of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association’s (AAIA)
Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award. He serves on a number of industry training
and education committees, and is a silver level certified Kirkpatrick facilitator.

More
Information

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