Performance Management
TEN TIPS ON CREATING TRAINING EVALUATION FORMS, WITH SAMPLES Dorothy I. Riddle, Ph.D., CMC Service-Growth Consultants Inc. riddle@servicegrowth.com
Training evaluation focuses on how effective the trainer was in designing and delivering the training, rather than on content acquisition by the trainee. Here are ten basic principles that can help you create an evaluation form that gives you useful information, followed by two samples: 1. Keep the evaluation short – no more than one page, no more than five minutes to complete. 2. Tie your questions to the objectives of the training, asking about both whether they understood the material presented and whether they feel they can apply the material. 3. Ask only about things you could or would change – e.g., different sequencing of material, different length of session, different venue. For example, if the training will never be in this location again or if it has to be delivered in this location, then there is no point in wasting the trainee’s time asking about the location. 4. Use primarily “close ended” questions – i.e., questions where they choose from response options – as these are the easiest and quickest to complete and also the easiest to score. 5. For “close ended” questions, have a minimum of three and a maximum of five response options. Giving only two response options (Yes/No) triggers a judgmental right/wrong mind set instead of a more open evaluative mind set. Giving more than five response options is confusing and distracting as most people have trouble making that fine a differentiation and so the data you get is of poor quality. 6. Include a question about the action they are willing to take – e.g., recommending the training to others – as this is the best single measure of customer satisfaction. 7. Ask at least one “open ended” question to allow them to provide specific feedback.
8. Make completing the evaluation the last part of the training, leaving sufficient time after you have “closed,” so
Training evaluation focuses on how effective the trainer was in designing and delivering the training, rather than on content acquisition by the trainee. Here are ten basic principles that can help you create an evaluation form that gives you useful information, followed by two samples: 1. Keep the evaluation short – no more than one page, no more than five minutes to complete. 2. Tie your questions to the objectives of the training, asking about both whether they understood the material presented and whether they feel they can apply the material. 3. Ask only about things you could or would change – e.g., different sequencing of material, different length of session, different venue. For example, if the training will never be in this location again or if it has to be delivered in this location, then there is no point in wasting the trainee’s time asking about the location. 4. Use primarily “close ended” questions – i.e., questions where they choose from response options – as these are the easiest and quickest to complete and also the easiest to score. 5. For “close ended” questions, have a minimum of three and a maximum of five response options. Giving only two response options (Yes/No) triggers a judgmental right/wrong mind set instead of a more open evaluative mind set. Giving more than five response options is confusing and distracting as most people have trouble making that fine a differentiation and so the data you get is of poor quality. 6. Include a question about the action they are willing to take – e.g., recommending the training to others – as this is the best single measure of customer satisfaction. 7. Ask at least one “open ended” question to allow them to provide specific feedback.
8. Make completing the evaluation the last part of the training, leaving sufficient time after you have “closed,” so