Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2023 - 24

TIME TO FLIP
THE SCRIPT
on
By Carol Cohen
THE MODEL ISN'T
THE PROBLEM. THE
WAY WE USE IT IS.
Evaluating training - and therefore
proving business value - has long
been a challenge for those of us in any
learning and development (L&D) or
workforce development role. How often
have we been asked, " What is the ROI? "
or " What is the business value? " And as
we stare at that 4.75 score on the user
survey, we wonder how we could ever
answer those questions honestly. The
process of measuring achieved value
is critical for learning leaders within an
organization - but it can feel impossible.
Ever since its inception in 1959, the
Kirkpatrick Model has formed the
foundation of evaluation in four levels:
Level 1 is the learner's reaction to the
experience, Level 2 is the learning and
knowledge increase or transfer, Level
| 24
3 focuses on the behavior change and
Level 4 represents the business results.
Although Level 4, evaluating business
results, is the most desired result from
training, it's usually the most difficult to
accomplish and often ignored. In fact,
" ignored " is probably not an accurate
representation of the angst of so many
instructional designers and learning
program managers who wrestle with
determining that result.
To make the case for keeping your
project at the top of the list of priorities
for an organization, setting goals for
behavior change and business value is
your superpower. Meanwhile, we have
all felt that it could not be done. Over
time, some very smart people have tried
to adapt the Kirkpatrick Model to the
modern world. But why break what isn't
broken? The model isn't the problem.
The way we use it is.
We begin too late in the process to
think about it. We don't believe we can
do it. You have heard the doubt and
maybe even said it yourself: " We can
set a business goal, but I have no idea
how we could measure it, " " What about
all those other factors that influence
business results, " and more such claims
that might be described as failure-inadvance.
It is time to step up to the
challenge and make the Kirkpatrick
Model work for you!
Establish Metrics From the Start
As learning partners of the business and
its stakeholders, we must flip the script
on Kirkpatrick. Begin with a conversation
about business value and behavior
change. And set those metrics before
initiating development of the training
intervention. Seems simple enough,
right? Establishing those metrics at the
front end will not only make for excellent
conversation with stakeholders but will
also form a thread through the design
and development of training and any
activities associated with the project to
influence the outcome.
How many times have we gotten all
the way through a project with a high

https://trainingindustry.com/magazine/summer-2022/designing-training-programs-for-behavior-change/ https://trainingindustry.com/magazine/summer-2022/designing-training-programs-for-behavior-change/ https://trainingindustry.com/continuing-professional-development/resources-for-the-learning-leader/measuring-the-impact-of-ld-my-evaluation-plan-2/ https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/measurement-and-analytics/the-kirkpatrick-model/ https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/measurement-and-analytics/the-kirkpatrick-model/

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2023