Used in Training Evaluation

 

Are you getting value for money from your training investment?

We often don't know if we are getting value for money from training activities. It's a long-standing concern for organisations and, with increasing emphasis on accountability, for training providers. The Repertory Grid interview with Enquire Within will show you how much impact, and what sort of impact, results from a training or development activity.

Following are examples of three types of training that may be evaluated using Repertory Grid.

Knowledge-based training

This is the simplest to evaluate. The underlying principle is that effective training will:

1. grow the users cognitive map, and
2. grow it in the direction of that of an expert.

A simple before-and-after session will show you how much, and how appropriately, the users map has grown. A detailed example.

Training in specific skills

This can be evaluated by asking the user to produce a before-and-after cognitive map, usually examining the users understanding of situations which require the specific skills: for example, for a training course in negotiation skills you would produce before-and-after sessions where the user describes negotiation situations. You would expect that effective training equips the user to understand more about the interpersonal skills needed, be better able to differentiate between situations requiring a repertoire of skills, to analyse the differences between success and failure, etc. The same principle can be applied to training in any specific skill - selling, influencing, customer handling, etc.

Complex training and development

An MBA or other wide-ranging developmental activity can also be evaluated using Enquire Within. Because the material covered is complex and multi-faceted, you would probably use three or four different sessions, focusing on different aspects of the users hoped-for changes in their frame of reference. An MBA, for example, might be evaluated using sessions on the case studies, business leaders, and organisational crises studied, plus a further session inviting the user to reflect on significant personal insights gained during the course.

Sharpening perceptions of existing knowledge

Enquire Within does much more than allow you to elicit the users before-and-after cognitive map. The process of doing the first session is itself a developmental activity for the users. It sharpens their perceptions of what they already know and don't know, putting them in a better position to get the best out of the training experience. In a long or complex developmental activity, user can have some sessions on their computer desktop and use them to help in building an ongoing picture of their learning, with instant feedback on the growth of their cognitive map. Not only does Enquire Within allow you to see whether the training has achieved its purpose; it enhances the training from the beginning by making it more purposive and involving for the user.

Other Training Related Resources

• The repertory grid in action: How to use it as a pre/post test to validate courses. Author: PETER HONEY - Journal: Industrial and Commercial Training.
• A Little on Learning.
• An Example When Used As Training Software to Support a Study Program
• Getting Value For Money From Your Career Training.
• An example of using Enquire Within to evaluate a management development course that happened some time ago.
• Analysis of Training Needs and Performance Counselling
• An example of an analysis of a training evaluation session.

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