Kirkpatrick's Analytics

Level 1: Learner Satisfaction

Level One is a satisfaction survey. Per Kirkpatrick, “evaluating reaction is the same thing as measuring customer satisfaction. If training is going to be effective, it is important that students react favorably to it.”

Guidelines

• • Determine what you want to find out

  • Design a form that will quantify the reactions

  • Encourage written comments and suggestions

  • Strive for 100% immediate response

  • Get honest responses

  • Develop acceptable standards/ benchmarks

  • Measure reactions against standards, and recommend appropriate action

  • Communicate reactions and actions as appropriate

Benefits

• • A proxy for customer satisfaction

  • Immediate and real-time feedback on an investment

  • A mechanism to measure and manage learning providers, instructors, courses, locations, and learning methodologies

  • A way to control costs and strategically spend your budget dollars

  • If done properly, a way to gauge a perceived return on learning investment

Instruments

• • “Happy sheets”, feedback form

  • Verbal reaction, post-training surveys, or questionnaires

Level 2: Content Learning

Level Two is a “test” to determine if the learning transfer occurred. States Kirkpatrick, “It is important to measure learning because no change in behavior can be expected unless one or more of these learning objectives have been accomplished. Measuring learning means determining one or more of the following.”

• • What knowledge was learned?

  • What skills were developed or improved?

  • What attitudes were changed?

Guidelines

• • Use a control group, if practical

  • Evaluate knowledge, skills, and or attitudes both before and after the program

  • Use a ‘test’ to measure knowledge and attitudes

  • Strive for 100% response

  • Use the results to take corrective actions

Benefits

• • Learner demonstrates the transfer of learning

  • Provides training managers with more conclusive evidence of training effectiveness

Instruments

• • Typically assessments or tests before and after the training

  • Interview or observation

Level 3: Job Impact

Level Three evaluates the job impact of training. “What happens when trainees leave the classroom and return to their jobs? How much transfer of knowledge, skill, and attitudes occurs?” Kirkpatrick questions, “In other words, what change in job behavior occurred because people attended a training program?”

Guidelines

• • Use a control group, if practical

  • Allow time for behavior change to take place

  • Evaluate both before and after the program if practical

  • Survey or interview trainees, supervisors, subordinates and others who observe their behavior

  • Strive for 100% response

  • Repeat the evaluation at appropriate times

Benefits

• • An indication of the ‘time to job impact’

  • An indication of the types of job impacts occurring (cost, quality, time, productivity)

Instruments

• • Observation and interview over time to assess change, relevance of change, and sustainability of change

Level 4: Business Results

According to Kirkpatrick, Level Four is “the most important step and perhaps the most difficult of all.” Level Four attempts to look at the business results that accrued because of the training.

Guidelines

• • Use a control group if practical

  • Allow time for results to be achieved

  • Measure both before and after the program, if practical

  • Repeat the measurement at appropriate time

  • Consider costs versus benefits

  • Be satisfied with evidence if proof not possible

Benefits

• • Determine bottom line impact of training

  • Tie business objectives and goals to training

Instruments

• • Measures to be in place via normal management systems and reporting—challenge is to relate to the trainee

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