Donald Kirkpatrick answers readers’ questions
We recently ran an interview with Donald Kirkpatrick the ‘father’ of evaluation – where we gave members a chance to ask questions of the great man himself. Here are his first set of answers to your evaluation concerns. Question: It was great fun reading your interview with TrainingZone.co.uk. I have been in the corporate training […]
Evaluation: How to turn training dreams into reality
Training only becomes training when it is applied and the evidence is clear that it is working. Everything else is just wishful thinking, says Paul Kearns. ‘I’m happy for my teenage son (or daughter) to receive sex education but I don’t want him (or her) having sex training!’ It’s an oldie but a goodie and […]
A week in training: The £65m skills booster
This week: there’s a £65m pot for boosting skills in science, manufacturing and engineering, managers show support for extending flexible working to all, learndirect launches an interactive game to boost literacy and numeracy, and staff show a lack of trust in their senior managers. £65m skills boost for science, manufacturing and engineeringSemta, the sector skills […]
Evaluation: How to see in the dark
Training and development has gone right up the agenda for forward-thinking organisations that want to develop competitive advantage, grow market share or even just improve their image and reputation. But, asks Cliff Lansley, when it comes to evaluating the need for training and what it actually delivers, have we been trying to see in the […]
Evaluation – beyond the happy sheet
Does training work? That’s always the number one question but we are still a long way from having a definitive answer.It’s nearly fifty years since Donald Kirkpatrick first put forward his four level model for evaluation of training, fifty years in which the idea of evaluation has taken hold, but the practice is still a […]
TNA and Evaluation: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Martin Schmalenbach looks at how to link training needs analysis with evaluation. Afterall, he says, they’re two sides of the same business coin. Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is the process of identifying training needs for an individual or group of people. Its outcome is a clear set of training objectives to be met by what […]
Trainer’s Tip: Induction Feedback
Nik Kellingley has some advice on how to get solid feedback on an induction process. It will take an honest approach to things and to accept feedback in the spirit it was given but you could: Look at initial performance reviews, how well are people integrating and taking to the task in hand. Look at […]
Ask the Expert: Training Audits
A training audit is no small task – where do you start and having collected all the data, what do you do with it? Our experts have some advice. Question: I want to conduct a full training audit within my organisation later on this year. Does anyone have any templates I could use or any […]
Ask the Expert: Benchmarking
Benchmarking L&D in your organisation against an ‘industry standard’ can be a tricky process – who wants to reveal such sensitive information to their competitors? None-the-less it’s a frequent topic on Any Answers and this week our expert Graham O’Connell looks at how to set about a benchmarking exercise. Question: Having completed an analysis of […]
Holy Grail or Empty Vessel?
Garry Platt responds to a recent article, The Holy Grail of Evaluation? on TrainingZONE, in which Kevin Lovell explained the principles behind an automated evaluation system developed by Knowledge Pool. Kevin Lovell representing the Knowledge Pool recently published a short article on TrainingZONE entitled “The Holy Grail of Evaluation?”. It was claimed in this article […]
Training Business News in Brief
Helmsley Fraser Commits to TAPLearning provider Hemsley Fraser Group has announced a policy commitment to the TAP (Trainer Assessment Programme) Learning System, the training skills certification programme administered by The Training Foundation.Under the requirements of the TAP Partners Programme, Hemsley Fraser’s learning professionals will achieve TAP certification following participation in a skills refresher and assessment […]
The Holy Grail of Evaluation?
Can you automate higher level evaluation to make it time and cost efficient? Kevin Lovell explains one such system… Take any group of learning and development (L&D) professionals, ask them who measures learning activity (the quantity and quality of training delivery) and nearly all the hands go up. Then ask who measures learning outcomes (what […]
Psychometrics Spotlight: The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
In the latest of our series putting the range of psychometric tests under the spotlight we look at the less well-known, yet pleasantly surprising, Thomas-Kilman conflict mode instrument. Conflict is an inevitable aspect of working life, arising in situations when two or more people’s concerns appear to be incompatible. There are many ways that conflict […]
Psychometrics spotlight: The ABLE Series
In the latest article putting the range of psychometric tests under the spotlight we look at the ABLE series. The ABLE (Aptitude for Business Learning Exercises) series is a set of exercises used for ability testing for both selection and development purposes. Rather than focusing on the more traditional skills such as verbal and numerical […]
Psychometrics Spotlight: The 16PF Personality Questionnaire
In the second of a new series putting the range of psychometric tests under the spotlight we look at Raymond Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire. The 16PF® questionnaire was developed by Raymond Cattell in 1949 and it has been continually enhanced and updated. In creating the 16PF questionnaire, Cattell sought to create a tool that could capture […]
Psychometrics Spotlight: Myers-Briggs
Over the next few weeks we’ll be examining the relative merits of the range of psychometric tests on the market; this week the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is put under the spotlight. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality questionnaire was developed by the mother and daughter team, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. They based […]
Case Study: Freemantle Media Implements HR Software
Freemantle Media, one of the largest international creators and producers of programme brands in the world, sought HR software to manage its 3,000 employees. Read on to learn how Ciphr Training was implemented within the company. Fremantle is currently using HR software from specialist providers, Computers In Personnel (CIP), to manage its people, data and […]
Book Review: Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense
Title: Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based ManagementAuthors: Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. SuttonPublisher: Harvard Business School Press, 2006ISBN: 1-59139-862-2Price: £16.99Reviewer: MAKE LINK (& PROFILE PAGE FOR SIMON JOHNSON)On what basis do you make business-critical decisions? Following careful consideration of the evidence? Or on instinct, whether that be from the head […]
The Way I See It … Exploring Effective Training Methods
Training has often been perceived by participants as a convenient excuse to spend time away from work, but if training sessions are engaging and inspiring, even the most reluctant could gain from the experience. Liz Kemp, Senior Learning Consultant at Capita Learning & Development explores the training methods which can guarantee maximum participation from employees […]
The Way I See It … IT Skills Audits
How to ensure that investment in IT training addresses business needs. All areas of a business are rightly expected to present a strong case outlining the need for any form of investment. While any company should, as a matter of course, set aside budget each year to cover training requirements, it still remains for training […]
