Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2018 - 52
MEASURING
I M P A C T
TRAINING VERSUS HUMAN NATURE:
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A BATTLE
BY JAMES D. KIRKPATRICK & WENDY KAYSER KIRKPATRICK
If you define yourself as a training or
learning leader, you have imposed a
limitation that will make it difficult
to be successful. Why? Training alone
yields behavior change only 15 percent
of the time, on average. Eighty-five
percent of training graduates fall prey
to a myriad of factors that influence
them to do something other than what
they learned, including the on-thejob environment, the direction of their
supervisor, the influence of peers, the
availability of resources, time pressures,
and the basic human nature to do what
is most convenient at a given time.
So, training is the easy part. The more
difficult part is influencing what
happens after training and creating a
favorable environment for people to
do what they learned and produce the
intended outcomes. The 85 percent
majority needs to be addressed for any
initiative to yield a reasonable level of
results, but seemingly, no one really
wants to claim it.
If the training function claims influencing
behavior change as part of their territory,
game-changing outcomes can occur.
Instead of being a learning leader, you
could be a learning and performance
leader. Or better yet, a strategic business
partner. There are ways this can be
accomplished, even from a distance.
The four levels comprise a framework
that is useful for this approach:
| 52
Level 4 Results: The degree to which
targeted program outcomes occur and
contribute to the organization's highestlevel result.
Level 3 Behavior: The degree to which
participants apply what they learned
during training when they are back on
the job.
Level 2 Learning: The degree to which
participants acquire the intended
knowledge and skills based on their
participation in the training.
Level 1 Reaction: The degree to which
participants find the training favorable,
engaging and relevant to their jobs.
THE END IS THE BEGINNING
The first step in changing behavior is
taking a step back to determine very
specifically what result you are trying
to accomplish. Your goal is to discover
and understand the underlying problem
that generated the training request, and
what would indicate that the problem
has been solved.
In a leadership development program,
for example, you may be trying to reduce
turnover, increase employee morale and
influence key financial or organizational
metrics such as productivity, sales and
profitability.
The more specifically you can define
the desired outcomes, the better target
you have to focus your efforts. You will
also want to ensure that the stated
outcomes are at the organizational level.
For example, "Train our new leaders on
effective communication skills," is not
an outcome. You need to know if new
leaders use effective communication
skills, what kinds of positive outcomes
would occur?
VALUE MUST BE CREATED BEFORE IT
CAN BE DEMONSTRATED
When you are clear on the desired
outcomes, find out what would need
to happen for them to occur. This
may sound very basic, but it is often
overlooked.
Countless people have participated in
leadership development programs with
clearly defined outcomes and a robust
curriculum, but no specified actions the
training graduates are supposed to take.
This approach is a recipe to accomplish
15 percent of the intended program
results, because only mind-readers and
extremely dedicated training graduates
will figure out on their own how to
accomplish the program goals and hold
themselves accountable to doing it.
Increase the odds of program success
by engaging in a two-way conversation
with experienced supervisors and
managers about exactly what training
graduates need to do on the job to
produce the desired outcomes. A
small number of clearly defined critical
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190910
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170506
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015outsourcing
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015fall
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015leadership
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013summer
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012spring
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