Involving managers in training evaluation.

Involving Managers in Training Evaluation

Do your training programs suffer from predictable-results syndrome? Do you find yourself perplexed over which training programs will best suit the needs of your diverse employees? Do you have a good grasp of the value of your training? Most training managers don't, and the predictable-results training blues seem to be catching. Consider the following based-on-life situation, and discover a prescriptive method for overcoming training blues.

No one-size-fits-all training

course

After sending three of his line supervisors to an interpersonal-skills training course, Ian Keen, a senior manager at a medium-size tool-and-die plant, felt frustrated. The results were just as he would have predicted.

Gail Wilson, his top supervisor, made good use of the learning experience. But Gail was the type who could be stranded on a deserted island and still learn something. It didn't make much difference what she learned in the training; she'd apply it to the job somehow.

Then there was Walt McFarland - an average supervisor whose initial response to training was generally positive. When Walt attended training, he would say, "It's useful," or "I got a lot out of it." But back on the job, nothing happened that showed he was doing anything differently. Walt's track record never changed - no matter how good or bad the training was.

Ian's third supervisor, Anita Rodriguez, was an enigma. Sometimes she took initiative and used what she learned in training; other times she seemed to do worse after training. If Ian showed an interest in What Anita was doing, she'd improve, but only for a while.

Ian knew of no sure way to tell how training would affect his supervisors. With or without …