Evaluating Training Effectiveness – The Four Levels of Evaluation

It’s time to step back and evaluate your training effectiveness. Not only do you need to know what to do differently next time, but you also need to prove to management that your training works.

Donald Kirkpatrick developed a four-level evaluation model that allows you to objectively analyze the effectiveness of your training. For all of the four levels, we have identified common mistakes that can mean the difference between your participants thriving or surviving. Pay close attention to these overlooked components so they don’t happen to you.

Level 4: Did it make a difference?

Level Four is the ultimate assessment. It assesses the difference training made in terms of business outcomes; you need to measure if training is pushing your employees in the right direction. Level Four forces you to clarify the training goal with your decision-makers before you start designing.

The common mistake: It is very difficult to determine what specific techniques are responsible for the movement in the right direction. Instead of looking for why the training is working, try looking for concrete evidence.  

Level 3: Are they using it?

There are two common approaches to Level Three evaluation. The first is with participant surveys and the other is through observation.

Participant surveys gauge the degree to which your learners are using the information you delivered. The design of the survey is very important. When writing them, include questions with answer options that are clear in terms of the behavior you are looking to evaluate.

The second is observation. Watch people do the work and look for key concepts being implemented on the job. You can even kick it up a notch with random observation checklists – yes or no style – used by managers to witness the buy-in of the training by employees.  

The common mistake: Not making the assessments behavioral. You have to make sure you are measuring something that people can actually do and that there is a pre-defined set of criteria for improvement.

Level 2: Did they learn it?

Eighty percent of organizations evaluate at Level Two. This level is used to measure the increase in knowledge but sometimes it only shows us how problem-solving skills essential to the job are being used.

To measure more effectively at Level Two, develop a verbal assessment that measures how well participants can spontaneously articulate responses that match the goals you’ve established. When you design Level Two assessments, design them to observe the actual application of the new information. That way you get a realistic view of the knowledge transfer and a clear indication of how to support the employee in their continued development.

The common mistake: Not doing a pre-test! If you don’t get a baseline prior to training, you have nothing to measure against.

Level 1: Did they like it?

Level One should be your standard; the assessment that you do consistently. The purpose of this level is for tracking participant satisfaction.  

Most trainers who focus on Level One stop here as their only evaluation. The problem is that although it might measure immediately how well learners liked the training, the trainer and the content, it’s a limited view.

The common mistake: Not reviewing these annually. By looking back at the results on a yearly basis you will be able to identify patterns and see the results with fresh perspective.

Each level of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation has its time and place. It’s not that one level is more important than the other (each level provides an important checkpoint), but Level Four assessments are much easier to measure and can help you demonstrate the significant benefit your are bringing to the business.