The Single Best Way to Measure the Effectiveness of Employee Training Programs

By: Lauren Sternecky May 4, 2023
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Nearly every industry depends on employee training programs to onboard new hires. Trainings can also keep staff up-to-date on job duties, protocols, and industry trends.

For many companies, an effective employee training program isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” Your program could be a tool for communicating safety and compliance standards that keep your employees safe and protect your company from liability.

So, how do you measure the effectiveness of a training program? There are several ways you can do it (and—spoiler—there’s one way that ranks above the rest). 

Below, we’ll walk through some of the most common methods to measure training program effectiveness. For each method, we’ll break down the pros and cons. Then we’ll share the single best way to measure the value of your own employee training program.

Traditional methods for evaluating training programs

These are the tried-and-true methods that many companies rely on to evaluate their employee training programs. They include:

Self-reported surveys and feedback forms

Employees complete a survey or feedback form after they finish training. This can provide useful insight into the employee experience. This feedback can also be helpful as you make adjustments to your training program in the future. This method has its limits, though: It only takes into account the employee’s perspective on the training experience.

Pre- and post-training assessments

These assessments help you measure an employee’s understanding of the material before and after a training. Although assessments measure retention, they may not be a good indicator of an employee’s true comprehension. Many assessments screen for understanding of basic concepts, but they can’t predict whether concepts will be put into practice on the job site.

Observation and feedback from managers

Manager feedback is an important way to evaluate any training program. Managers provide first-hand accounts of employee performance. They can tell whether employees are adhering to guidelines spelled out in training.

However, manager feedback is subjective and can’t offer a holistic view of your training’s effectiveness. It’s also time-consuming to regularly check in with managers for individual feedback on each employee.

Limitations of traditional methods

In addition to the limitations laid out above, each of these methods is subject to bias and subjectivity—especially those that rely on individual feedback.

Plus, none of the traditional methods offer a simple way to measure the long-term impact of your training program. You might be able to measure initial retention, but these methods don’t go deep enough to identify behavioral change.

A better way to evaluate trainings

The best way to evaluate your employee training program is with the help of a learning management system (LMS).

An LMS empowers you with the tools to create objective, standardized evaluations. Plus, you can take advantage of real-time progress tracking to see where employees are in the training. This also lets you identify common points of confusion in your program. 

Instead of administering a single assessment at the end of the program, you can easily weave quizzes and assessments throughout a training to evaluate incremental progress. You can also use other LMS tools to evaluate progress, including surveys and open-response forms. 

A powerful LMS gives you the flexibility to create custom evaluations that fit your program. It’s easy to collect data in one dashboard, rather than tracking individual surveys, assessments, and feedback forms.

Ultimately, an LMS can help you stay organized and measure the long-term impact of your program through multiple centralized evaluation methods.

Try LearnDash: The LMS solution for corporate trainings

You already know how important it is to measure the effectiveness of your training programs. With a powerful LMS like LearnDash, you can simplify the process and easily measure the impact of your trainings.
Ready to try LearnDash for yourself? Check out the free LearnDash demo and see what LearnDash can do for your company.

Lauren Sternecky