If designing is like writing a recipe, and developing is like cooking the meal, then this phase is setting the table, ringing the dinner bell, and eating the food.

It may seem obvious, but one of the most critical things you’ll have to do in this phase is inform the employees that will attend the training. Give them plenty of time in advance so that they can work it into their schedules and complete any necessary pre-training preparation.

One thing to keep in mind is that a learning management system (LMS) can play a big role in helping you during this step. An LMS is a software application used assign, deliver, track, and report on training. If you use an LMS at work, it’s easy for your employees to log in and see the list of training they’ve been assigned. Many learning management systems even include notification systems that send emails to the workers when new assignments are made or due dates are approaching. In short, an LMS can automate a lot of the clerical, scheduling, and notification procedures you’d have to do yourself in this step (and they do a lot more than that, too).

In addition, you may also have to do things like inform the workers’ supervisor, reserve rooms for training, buy any necessary supplies, work through any scheduling or traveling logistics, and perhaps even have food and drinks available. Get your ducks in order in advance, so your training goes off as smoothly as possible.

Moving forward to the actual training, the implementation can take a variety of forms. It may be classroom instruction; practice opportunities such as role-playing exercises, focus groups, case studies, or small group assignments; on-the-job skills-based training; the delivery of paper-based hand-outs for individual reading and study; the completion of e-learning modules on a computer; a combination of some or all of these; or more.

If your training includes an on-the-job skills-based component, make sure you know exactly what the employees must do to demonstrate competence. Define this in advance, when you’re creating your learning objectives, and don’t leave it unstated or vague.

If your training includes a classroom instruction component, there are a number of things you can do to make this more productive. Although the key things involve letting the employees be active participants instead of passive and bored listeners, more mundane things like room temperature, lighting, table and chair set-up, visual aids, and the instructor’s presentation style also play a role. There are a number of good books and websites that can you help you with this; the American Society for Training & Development’s website is a good place to start looking.

Here are some additional articles related to training delivery and management:

• Using an LMS to Onboard New Employees
• Benefits of Optional, Elective-Based Training
• 70/20/10 and Informal Learning/Performance Support
• Free Learning Management System (LMS) Buyer’s Guide

Download our free LMS Buyer’s Guide Checklist.

Here’s a quick two-minute overview of a learning management system (LMS).

Step 7: Evaluate the Training

It’s easy to provide training to workers, pat yourself on the back, and think you’re done. But if you do, you’ve put your cart before your horse.

If your goal is to deliver effective training that changes your worker’s behavior on the job—and this SHOULD be your goal—then you need to confirm that the training was effective. The standard way to do this is to use Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation.

As you may have guessed, this method involves evaluating the effectiveness of your training at four different levels. Those four evaluations are:

Employees’ reaction to training:

Did the employees like the training? Did they feel like they learned? You can find this out by observing the employees during training, asking their opinions, or handing out surveys. You can hand out paper-based surveys after training if you want, but you may get better results if the survey is online and anonymous. Survey Monkey provides free online tools to help you do this.

• How to Write Better Training Evaluation Forms (Smile Sheets)

Employees’ actual learning:

Assessments during the training should evaluate the employees’ actual learning of the objectives. This might include simple tests for knowledge issues, or case studies, job simulations, or hands-on exercises for skills and attitudes.

• Testing Employees After Training
• How to Write Better Multiple-Choice Questions
• How to Write True/False, Matching, and “Other” Types of Questions
• Testing and Fidelity
• Testing, Reliability, and Validity

Employee’s post-training job behavior:

Are the workers taking the new knowledge/skills/attitudes from training and applying them at work where it counts? Observations of the employees’ on-the-job work behavior will determine this, as will other performance-based metrics.

Quantifiable business results:

Did the training result in reaching the desired business goal (i.e., did revenues rise, did costs decrease, was the new product manufactured properly, or were workplace incidents reduced)?

After you’ve performed these four levels of evaluation, you may determine that the training was as effective as you hoped, or even more. If so, congratulations and job well done. Now you can pat yourself on the back. On the other hand, these evaluations may show that your training wasn’t all you hoped it would be. If so, it’s time to revise the training and get things up to snuff.

• Level 4 Training Evaluations
• Business Goals, KPIs, and Job Training
• How to Measure the Impact of Training on Business Goals
• Big Data and Big Learning Data

Readers with long memories may have read about Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation and felt the familiar tingle of déjà vu. If so, that’s because Kirkpatrick’s four levels map directly to the four steps of the training needs analysis described at the beginning of this article. Check it out for yourself in the table below.

Readers “in the know” may also know that the classic Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation model has been updated a bit lately. Click to read about the updated New World Kirkpatrick Model from the Kirkpatricks themselves.

Step 8: Rinse, Lather, and Repeat Any Step When Necessary

Conclusion: Effective Training Programs Are Within Reach at Work

So there you have it. Does training have an important role at the workplace? Absolutely. But it can’t solve every problem, and its effectiveness depends on how it’s designed, developed, and implemented. If you follow the eight steps listed above, you’ll find that your training programs will be much more effective, leading to an increased training ROI, happier employees, and the attainment of key business goals.

At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that there’s a LOT more to be said on this topic. For example, while this article presents the steps of training development progressing in a linear, “waterfall” method, training developers today often depart from this for various reasons (for example, see the book Leaving ADDIE for SAM by Michael Allen).

Another interesting way to approach this issue is captured in a model created by Dr. Will Thalheimer that I very much like. He calls it his “training maximizers”–check that out at the Training Maximizers article on the Will at Work blog.

You’ll also find that sometimes training isn’t the best solution. Instead, there are lots of cases when you would be better off preparing performance support/job aids for workers.

And finally, you’ll also notice that formal training like the stuff we talked about in this article is best considered as part of a “blended learning solution” that also includes and facilitates experiential learning and social learning. Read about that here in our introduction to 70/20/10.

Anything else we should have added? We haven’t mentioned microlearning, or scenario-based learning, or social learning, or spaced practice, or a variety of other things yet. Please leave a comment below!

And feel free to check out our libraries of online workforce training courses. They’re all ready to go in handy SCORM and AICC formats for immediate importing into a learning management system (LMS).

Source: https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/how-to-create-an-effective-training-program-8-steps-to-success