- Provide guidance to individuals in the preparation and implementation of personal
career development plans, and - Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of training programmes.
Evaluation of training
- Meaning and methods: Evaluation is an attempt to obtain information (feedback) on
the effects of training programmes, and to assess the value of the training in the light
of that information available. We answer the question: How far has the training has
achieved its purpose? This is not an easy task because it requires effort, resources,
and skills to separate the effects of training on the job performance from other
potential environmental factors. As a result, few organisations have the courage to
do thorough training evaluation (Macdonald & Hite 2005). However, when
evaluation is done thoroughly it must cover five levels (Kirkpatrick 1959). - Reactionary: It is used to assess the worthiness of the training, trainers and contents
- Learning: New knowledge, skills, changes of attitude.
- Job behaviour. Measures the extent to which trainers have applied their learning to
the job. - Organisational unit: It assesses the effect of changes in the trainee behaviour as part
of the organisation where they are employed. - Ultimate value evaluation: We assess how the organisation as a whole has benefited
from the training whether its profitability, survival or growth has improved or not.
Transfer of leaning
It has already been emphasised at the beginning of the chapter that the main reason for
organisations to invest in human resource development is to improve job and organisa-
tional performance through knowledge, skills and attitudes change. In other words, if
trainees cannot transfer the learning acquired and make use of it in the actual job and
organisation’s working environment, the training and learning are not useful because
they do not address the expected learning needs for the individual neither for the job nor
the organisation. Holton et al. (1997) define transfer of learning as the degree to which
trainees apply knowledge, skills and attitudes they gain from training to their jobs. The
extent to which the transfer of learning can take place is often informed by common
elements theory (Butterfield & Nelson 1989), which propounds that the more the learn-
ing and actual working situations are related to the learners, the more the transfer of
learning takes place. So, in order to ensure that the learning is relevant and can be ap-
plied in a normal working situation, trainers have tried to do preparatory work includ-
ing:
- Training needs analysis.
- Development of the training proposal and joint approval by the management and
trainers. - Getting feedback on learners’ expectations.
- Designing teaching aids which reflect the work situation as much as possible.
- Designing exams, cases, simulations and other tests for learning that are as practical
as possible. - Facilitating learners in preparations of transfer plans.