External factors and influences
Nowadays companies have to face quite a number of competitive challenges that encourage them to improve the quality of goods they manufacture and the services they provide. Training is regarded as one of the most effective methods to enhance staff performance.
The traditional approach to training relies largely on the content of the program and is aimed to ensure that it covers all the essential issues (Brinkerhoff, 2006). However, it has been proven that there exist a lot of factors outside the program context that can exert significant influence on the outcome. Basically, we can subdivide all the variables that affect training results into two categories: those that relate to the program itself and those that are predetermined by the conditions of its implementation (Watling, Kenyon, Zibrowski, Schulz, Goldszmidt, & Singh, 2008).
The external factors affecting the results of training include
- personal characteristics, which are connected with cognitive, problem-solving, reasoning, and other abilities of each participant, his/her desire and capacity to acquire new knowledge and skills;
- pertaining motivation, which comes from explicit encouragement and regular performance appraisal on behalf of the management;
- work environment, which encompasses a great number of conditions that have to be observed, such as the absence of situational constraints (excessive demands, the pressure of hectic routine, etc.) or availability of all the necessary resources (equipment, tools, time, etc.);
- obligatory attendance, which proves to be more successful as it increases the value of the program in the eyes of the participants;
- optimal training length that varies across organizations (Watling et al., 2008).
As we can see, most of these factors cannot be addressed directly by the training group. Nevertheless, it would be advisable for them to join their effort with the management, which is capable of motivating the staff to use newly-acquired skills in the working process and is responsible for providing the trainees with all the necessary resources. The training group can also use social networking to create an atmosphere that would favor peer-to-peer encouragement and assistance.
Program planning vs. Program Evaluation
Program monitoring is an integral part of the planning and implementation process. The success of an initiative depends heavily on a careful specification of the desired outcomes, both short- and long-term.
One of the gravest mistakes managers make is considering inputs and required actions separately from a particular final target in mind (Wyatt, Krauskopf, & Davidson, 2008). However, planning and evaluation stand in close proximity to each other. In fact, they can be even called two perspectives of the same program: while planning is future-oriented, evaluation deals with experience assessment. The major thing to bear in mind is that effective planning always takes future evaluation into consideration, whereas evaluation results depend directly on careful planning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2007).
The most reasonable approach to planning would be to identify an achievable result and then draw a logical model of successive actions leading to it. This model should also include short-term goals, which will allow those involved in the process of program implementation to see gaps in planning and bridge them in time, before performing a comprehensive evaluation. Such halfway interventions make it possible to correct the course of action saving time, labor, and money. Besides, their accurate application can bring about considerable changes in the ultimate outcome.
Thus, we can conclude that the influence of planning and evaluation is reciprocal, and only detailed analysis of both goals and available strategies for their achievement can lead to the desired results at minimal costs.
References
Brinkerhoff, R. (2006). Telling Training’s Story. Evaluation Made Simple, Credible, and Effective. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Kirkpatrick, D., & Kirkpatrick, J. (2007). Implementing the Four Levels: A Practical Guide for Effective Evaluation of Training Programs. San-Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Watling, C., Kenyon, C., Zibrowski, E., Schulz, V., Goldszmidt, M., & Singh, I. (2008). Rules of Engagement: Residents’ Perceptions of the In-Training Evaluation Process. Academic Medicine, 83(Supplement), S97-S100. Web.
Wyatt, T., Krauskopf, P., & Davidson, R. (2008). Using Focus Groups for Program Planning and Evaluation. The Journal Of School Nursing, 24(2), 71. Web.