Training Statistics Don't Mean SQUAT Without This -
The biggest problem to address is what you must start with before the initial step in order setting a baseline. Without a baseline statistics you report don't really have any significance, particularly in the case of looking to prove improvement.
What are the best way to collect the baseline data? It all depends on the type of training you are implementing However, here are a few suggestions:
- Prior to training development, following the "analyze" phase, compile an inventory of the intended audience. Make a questionnaire and distribute it to your users. It should be a baseline of their current knowledge of the (a) current or new method (b) tools or (c) the standard method. You should also make a list of performance indicators related to the performance of their current tasks level.
- Just before the participant begins an e-Learning or Live program, you must ask the participant to pass a competency test.
For either option it is important to baseline their skills/knowledge prior to undertaking training. It is then possible to evaluate multiple occasions post-training. If you're training for the new method (such such as "how to handle Help Desk tickets") It is important to be able to assess the participants abilities post-training and evaluate the length of time it takes to finish a task - all measured against those parameters prior to training.
By setting your baseline, you will be able to prove the effectiveness of your training program through proving improvement in performance through tangible metrics.