Companies today are beginning to invest more in improving employee training and development. You may be among those who’ve seen the value of upskilling the existing workforce. And the results are highly positive.
According to LinkedIn Research, effective employee development increases employee performance by 25%. But how do you know if your training plans will be effective? How do you measure the outcomes of a training program?
This is where the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model comes in. In this article, we dive into the training evaluation framework developed by Donald Kirkpatrick. We look at the levels of evaluation, Kirkpatrick model examples, best practices for implementing the framework and its limitations.
Who Is Kirkpatrick?
Donald Kirkpatrick first published his model of training evaluation in 1959 as part of his PhD dissertation. Companies use the Kirkpatrick Model to evaluate learning programs and instructional design.
Through the decades, Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model has been updated many times. The latest revised version is known as the New World Kirkpatrick Model. It retains the original framework and emphasises the importance of considering the entire learning ecosystem including pre-training planning and post-training support.
What is the Donald Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model?
The Kirkpatrick 4-level training evaluation model provides a systematic method for evaluating training programs and their effectiveness.
- Kirkpatrick Level 1 – Reaction
- Kirkpatrick Level 2 – Learning
- Kirkpatrick Level 3 – Behaviour
- Kirkpatrick Level 4 – Results
Level 1: Reaction
The Kirkpatrick levels of training evaluation start with measuring participants’ immediate response to learning. It involves collecting training feedback to evaluate learners’ perceptions and feelings about a program’s quality, relevance, and presentation. This feedback can then be used to identify strengths and areas for improvement in course creation and training delivery.
Level one evaluations don’t measure learning itself, changes in behaviour, or results. These are covered in other levels.
Example: After a customer service training program, a company sends all participants a survey and feedback form. Learners can rate the training session and provide their views on content, course delivery and the overall training environment. The company reviews this feedback and adjusts this and other training initiatives to accommodate different learning styles and make training more impactful and engaging.
Level 2: Learning
The second level of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model investigates how much knowledge participants have gained. Using different types of assessments, quizzes and practical tasks, companies can gain a thorough understanding of score improvements, completion rates, and percentages of participants reaching certification.
Kirkpatrick level 2 evaluation examples form the foundation for the third level, which assesses changes in behaviour.
Example: As part of a technical skills workshop, a business includes pre-tests to gauge employees’ existing knowledge. After the workshop, post-learning assessments show increased scores, indicating the acquisition of intended knowledge and skills. They also track training completion rates and certification achievements. Using these metrics and feedback from Level 1 of the Kirkpatrick learning model, the business refines its training to enhance skill development and make training engaging.
Level 3: Behaviour
Level 3 of the Kirkpatrick Model assesses how effectively employees are applying their knowledge and new skills in the workplace. This level focuses on the transfer of learning to on-the-job behaviour, evaluating the long-term impact of training on people’s everyday jobs.
Unlike levels 1 and 2, level three evaluations require long-term assessment. Since new habits take time to develop, employees will need to be evaluated over an extended period for behavioural change to develop and show measurable results.
Example: Three months after a leadership development program, an organisation conducts 360 performance reviews. They evaluate leaders’ management techniques and daily interactions with team members, focussing on specific behaviours included in the training program. The feedback shows a marked improvement in coaching and communication skills, demonstrating the positive impact of training on the team and organisation as a whole.
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The fourth level of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model measures the outcomes of a training program. This ensures training aligns with key performance indicators like increased productivity, boosted sales, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced human error.
Kirkpatrick Level 4 evaluations help companies assess the direct impact of training, where favourable results indicate a greater return on training investment.
Example: Six months after an advanced negotiation training course, a company reviews their sales performance metrics. They discover a significant increase in deal closures and a higher average sale per transaction, highlighting the direct impact of training on business operations.
Level 5: ROI
Many companies adopt the Phillips ROI Model as an additional step to the Kirkpatrick Training Evaluation Model. During this final level of assessment, companies assess the financial impact of training programs relative to their cost. this can help them manage budgets and identify where further training will provide the most value.
Example: Following a company-wide safety training initiative, an organisation tracks the reduction in workplace incidents. By comparing the savings from fewer lost workdays and legal fees to the costs of the training, they calculate an ROI of 150%. This demonstrates that the training paid for itself and has added long-term value to their operations.
How Does The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation Help You?
Provides a Structured Approach
Kirkpatrick’s model offers a structured, systematic approach that guides businesses through a logical evaluation process. By following a standardised framework in assessing your training programs, you can gain insights into both long- and short-term results. This will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your employee development plan and improve the operational impact of training.
Sets Clear Outcomes
The Kirkpatrick training model provides valuable data to justify investments in training, especially when the fifth level of ROI is included. The Results and ROI processes provide a concrete view of organisational and financial outcomes, which can secure management or executive support for future training.
Encourages Application
By evaluating both Learning and Behaviour, the Kirkpatrick model helps companies to marry learning and skill development. It sees employees transfer their learning into practical actions which enhance job performance and business results.
Allows Flexibility
Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation can be applied to any training initiative. It provides an adaptable framework that makes it flexible enough to assess learning across various industries and topics. This makes it effective and easy to adopt in any business or organisation.
Measures Training Effectiveness and Identifies Areas of Improvement
The first three levels of a Kirkpatrick evaluation assess the effectiveness of learning initiatives and help businesses enhance their impact. By measuring employee reactions, knowledge gains, and the practical application of learning, companies can identify areas for improvement. This allows them to adopt different learning styles and employee training methods for optimal performance.
Aligns Training with Business Goals
Assessing results and ROI ensures that training aligns with organisational goals. While general workplace skills training is valuable, the last two levels of the Kirkpatrick model focus on developing new skills and knowledge that meet specific business needs. For example, the return on investment for workforce skill development is more clearly defined and measurable when compared to soft skill training courses.
Justifies Training Investments
By linking training outcomes to measurable business results, companies can more effectively secure funding for their training initiatives. Justifying training expenses can be challenging without clear indicators of a program’s success. However, the fourth and fifth levels of the Kirkpatrick Model highlight the benefits of training, helping businesses allocate resources and align training budgets with expected results.
Improves Employee Engagement and Retention
The impact of training on employee retention is well documented. When employees see that a company is invested in their skill development and career progression, job satisfaction increases, making them less likely to leave. Using the Kirkpatrick model to evaluate a training program with employee feedback in mind, companies can better align individual goals with organisational objectives, thereby enhancing employee engagement.
Fosters a Culture of Continuous Learning
While continuous learning is often associated with employees, it can extend to an entire organisation. The Kirkpatrick evaluation model helps companies continuously improve their training programs, fostering an environment where feedback is valued and employees are encouraged to adapt and evolve in their roles.
5 Best Practices for Kirkpatrick’s Model of Evaluation
1. Start with the Fourth Level
When implementing the Kirkpatrick Model for the first time, it’s tempting to begin at Level 1. However, starting with your business goals, target outcomes, and key metrics for measuring training impact can help you orient your evaluation more effectively.
From there, consider working backwards through the Kirkpatrick levels of evaluation. Identify the behaviours needed to achieve your desired results, then focus on the knowledge that will instil those behaviours and the most effective training delivery methods. This approach ensures a smooth progression from reaction to learning, to behaviour, ultimately leading to the desired results and ROI.
Example: A business aims to improve team coordination and collaboration. They identify improved communication as their key metric and the desired behaviour as employees asking more questions and initiating critical conversations. To develop these communication skills, they create role-playing scenarios that focus on how to ask the right questions and active listening.
2. Best Practices for Gauging Employee Reactions
Collecting feedback is crucial for understanding employee reactions to training. This can be done before, during, and after the training. Pre-training feedback helps gauge employee expectations, in-training feedback improves the immediate learning experience, and post-training evaluations offer a comprehensive view of the program’s overall success.
Online questionnaires, feedback sites and suggestion boxes are just a few methods of gathering input from your employees. The right online assessment software can automate this process, saving time and resources while providing instant insights. Ensure employees know you’ll be asking for feedback, as this encourages more thoughtful and valuable responses.
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Continuous assessment is critical for understanding the impact of training. It provides a detailed view of employees’ knowledge and skills before and after training programs, offering a clear picture of the learning experience.
You can use various assessment methods like quizzes, discussions, evidence portfolios, exams, checklists, and interviews to gain insights throughout the learning process. These tools help effectively measure employee understanding and boost knowledge retention.
It’s also important to assess training effectiveness from instructors’ perspectives. This can be easily accomplished with a customisable training evaluation template.
4. Best Practices for Identifying Behavioural Changes
Since behaviours take time to develop, it’s important to assess any practical applications of learning 3-6 months after training has been completed.
Consider using methods like one-on-one performance reviews alongside assessment results and input from leaders, managers and team members. This will help you to form an objective and unbiased view of the impact that training has had on an employee’s overall performance.
5. Best Practices for Measuring Results
The right training and assessment software or Learning Management System (LMS) can be invaluable for measuring the impact of training. It can offer reporting and analysis that directly contribute to business success.
However, software alone may not be sufficient. It’s crucial to measure results both before and after training programs. This is why starting with Kirkpatrick’s fourth level—understanding the desired outcomes—is often the best approach. Identifying the results you want to achieve upfront helps establish baseline measurements of business operations, enabling a clearer view of the long-term impact of training.
Limits of Kirkpatrick Model vs Other Training Evaluation Models
Limit 1: Linear Approach
The Kirkpatrick model’s four-level structure assumes that reaction leads to learning, leads to behaviour, and leads to results. However, real life doesn’t always work that way. A positive reaction to training doesn’t guarantee learning, and learning doesn’t always impact behaviour. Many factors can influence learning and behaviours which the Kirkpatrick model doesn’t account for.
Limit 2: Resource Intensive
The Kirkpatrick Model can be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and commitment, especially at Levels Three and Four. While technology can automate some processes, measuring behaviours, results, and ROI demands long-term monitoring and analysis. This makes the later stages of the model particularly challenging and costly, which may be difficult for smaller businesses with limited resources.
Limit 3: Isolating Training Impact
At the Results level, it can be difficult to isolate the impact of training from other factors that influence business outcomes. For example, market conditions, management changes, or new technologies can also affect productivity or profitability. This makes it difficult to determine how much of the improvement is due to the training itself.
Limit 4: Focus on Post-Training Evaluation
The original Kirkpatrick Model focused primarily on evaluating the impact of training after it had occurred, offering little guidance on how to design or implement effective training programs. As a result, businesses lacked insights into creating training that would perform well under the model’s criteria. While the New World Kirkpatrick Model addresses some of these concerns by considering the entire training environment, it still heavily relies on post-training evaluations.
Limit 5: Overemphasis on Quantifiable Results
The model’s final level, Results, emphasises the quantifiable outcomes of training, such as increased sales or productivity. While important, this focus can lead organisations to overlook qualitative benefits like employee morale, creativity, or long-term cultural change. These are harder to measure but equally valuable.
Limit 6: Lag in Measuring Behaviour Change and Results
The Kirkpatrick model acknowledges that behaviour change and business results often take time to manifest. However, it doesn’t provide a clear methodology for how to measure these long-term outcomes. This can lead to delays in evaluation and difficulty in sustaining momentum for continuous improvement.
