Review of the Success of a Training Programme
INTRODUCTION
Within this text I will be outlining details of a specific training activity that Tesco Store managers may undergo, in particular Customer Services Training. This review will illustrate the effectiveness and success of my nominated training programme, with particular emphasis on the four levels of the Kirkpatrick’s Theory.
By measuring the effectiveness of training programs, an organisation can identify where the training programme may have failed to deliver what was expected, and how it has demonstrated a real and significant benefit to the company. As an organisation, Tesco should evaluate and measure the success of any forthcoming staff training programmes, and one way they can do this is by following the Kirkpatrick’s Model.
THERE ARE FOUR LEVELS TO THE KIRKPATRICK’S THEORY
1. THE REACTION OF TRAINEE –
So what they thought and felt about the training
2. THE LEARNING –
The resulting increase in knowledge or capability
3. THE BEHAVIOUR –
The extent of behaviour and capability improvement and implementation/application
4. AND THE RESULTS –
The effects on the business or environment resulting from the trainee's performance
REACTION FROM THE TRAINEES TO THE PROGRAMME
It is important for Tesco to ask all employees who took part in the programme to give feedback with regards to what extent how useful the training was, if it was challenging, well-structured, organised and so on.
If an employee was to enjoy the training more then they will perform better compared with if they didn’t like the training, as they would not have an incentive to complete the task to the best of their abilities. Obtaining information from employees about this can set Tesco objectives to provide a more improved training programme the next time round.
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. The perception of success of such interactions is dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest". Customer service is a massive part of any business, and a store manager is at the forefront of this forever demanding provision of service. With what has been said above, the same goes for how relevant participants found the training in regards to their day to day jobs, and as store managers help drive a culture that empowers colleagues to do the right thing for their customers, the type of programme chosen here was clearly relevant.
Time is always something you can never get back, so spending time out of you usual schedule to complete a training programme isn’t ideal, here the training programme provided is all operated online and can be done in candidates’ own time. This means that time will not be taken away from their day to day on goings, and work can progress as per usual, without the interruption of a training programme.
Having this Training programme fully integrated over the internet can be seen as somewhat new for some employees, and usually seen as a fully capable method of training but can be practically accessible for everyone either from work or home. Having this capability of completing the programme can have its drawbacks, having this access from home could mean that participants don’t take the programme seriously and become laid back about it due to being in a more relaxed environment.
Tesco can obtain this information from participants from a/an;
• completed participant feedback questionnaire
• informal comments from participants
• focus group sessions with participants
LEARNING ACHIEVED BY THE TRAINEES
Tesco should always review the increase of knowledge/skill of participants, from before to after any type of training. Finding out to what extent participants improved on previous knowledge and skills as well as change in attitude as a result of the training, are important factors to consider when determining the learning achieved by trainees.
It is essential that all participants learn what was intended of them, by the type of training provided. There