Evaluate Training Effectiveness

Introduction The following is a review of a scenario to determine and evaluate the effectiveness of a training technique used by a trainer. This report will examine elements that contributed to the effectiveness of the training, the ineffectiveness of the training and make recommendations for improvement in future trainings.
Scenario
An “expert” (definition: came from out of town with a briefcase) was hired to teach the health effects part of a Hazmat course for truck drivers. He arrived just in time, wearing a suit and tie, and lectured for two hours. He left as soon as his lecture was over (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield, 1999, p. 248).
What Made the Training In-effective There were a number of reasons why the training was considered
in-effective. Firstly, the trainer was almost late to the training. This did not give him sufficient time to set up for the presentation and to get to know the audience. This showed a lack of enthusiasm in the training that was to be delivered. It also gave an impression that the trainer was not excited about what he was about to teach or was he happy to see the group he was expected to train (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield, 1999). Secondly, the audience were a group of truck-drivers hence the trainer was inappropriately dressed for the training. The trainer failed to understand the audience demographics (age, occupation etc.). This may imply that the trainer did not have a genuine concern for the training outcomes and the trainee’s pleasure in the training. Thirdly, there was no time to give and receive feedback from the audience, as the trainer left immediately after the lecture, despite his coming late for the training. There was also no time to perform a survey to measure the level of understanding by the trainees. In addition, the training was delivered in a lecture format to a group of truck drivers who obviously were not used to sitting in class and receiving lectures for two hours. The delivery method was not engaging hence the perceived ineffectiveness of the training. There was also no application of real world scenarios to the training which in my opinion was important based on the occupation of the audience.
What Made the Training Effective From the scenario, the trainer was called an expert, hence the intent by the company to bring in a professional trainer to deliver the Hazmat course was commendable.
The company lso saw the need to get an expert resource person for the course due to the technicality of the Hazmat course.
Recommendations
The trainer could have used previous experiences or real life examples to help make the Hazmat course more fun and interactive based on the demographics of his audience. There are also different ways in which the training could have been delivered and the style of the training. Using common scenarios in which the truck drivers could identify and easily relate to their job responsibilities, may have been a better approach to deliver the Hazmat course. A good understanding of the audience demographics will have helped to not only select an effective delivery method, but also to ensure that the trainer dressed appropriately to be more accepting and approachable to his audience. The development of an effective lesson plan using CEPAR (connecting, exploring, practice, assessing, and review) would also ensure that the trainer remained on track in achieving the set out learning goals and objectives. Assessing and reviewing immediately after the training will also help to access how well the audience liked the course and how well the training met the target audience needs (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield,
1999). Setting up key performance indicators that are reviewed at regular intervals and managed during the course of the training is also a recommendation for an effective training program (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield, 1999). Monitoring of the audience progress during the course of the training and after the training completion is also an effective way to measure the effectiveness of a training (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield, 1999).
In addition, rather than leaving immediately after the training, it is recommended that the trainer use feedback to help reinforce the learning by helping the audience to recall information that was learnt. This will also help to reassess the training intermittently and not just at the end of the session. Feedback may be formal, informal, oral or written. The health effects part of the Hazmat course may be classified as a dry material to be delivered to a group of truck drivers. It is recommended that when delivering dry materials, the audience should be engaged in the training, the training should be as fun as possible, the material should be made relatable, and participation from the audience is vital (Hilyer, Veasey, McCormick, & Oldfield, 1999). Furthermore, rather than deliver lectures, the trainer could act as a facilitator while delivering the Hazmat course and use the experiences of the drivers to direct the training
process. Subsequently, for future trainings, outsourcing motivated experts is another recommendation. This may be driven by feedbacks received from trainees on previous training experiences and the acting on the feedback to ensure that trainers that are interesting are sourced for.