Month: May 2021

Introduction

Given the market’s intense competitive nature, innovation is a constant occurrence. It is one of the factors that causes an organization’s goals and priorities to change. It necessitates recalibrating employees’ skills in terms of competencies that are consistent with the company’s goals. It is carried out by businesses by offering instruction to their workers. Continual focus on learning and development enables new employees to understand the means of leveling up to the company’s expectations and offers existing employees the opportunity to expand their knowledge base.

“If you believe that training is expensive, it is because you do not know what ignorance costs.”

Learning and improving workers’ skills makes economic sense, even though it is seen as a cost rather than an investment. It is a continuous phase that begins on the first day. In this rapidly rising economy, the real problem should be how businesses offer training to their employees and whether it is sufficient to affect employee development while still meeting business objectives.

When training programs are implemented in the company, enhanced employee performance and business productivity are naturally expected. But how can one know the effectiveness of a training program? Did employees grasp what they were expected to learn? Did they get the most out of the new knowledge at work? Did they achieve the objectives? And was the training initiative worth the organization’s investment? The answers to these questions will depend on the assessment of learning outcomes. In a nutshell, training courses are designed to impart new skills, but their efficacy requires systematically evaluating the training effectiveness.

 

What Is Training Effectiveness?

The effectiveness of training or e-training is a measure of how much learning increases employee performance; for example, how learning programs help teams develop their sales and leadership skills, increase their productivity, or accomplish a business goal. The Kirkpatrick Model is the most widely used method for assessing training effectiveness. Organizations use the model to assess a training program and its relevance in business.

The assessment of training effectiveness determines the extent to which training influences the trainee’s awareness, abilities, and actions. It’s a metric for how well training improves trainee results, such as how the workers strengthened their sales and soft skills, increased their productivity, or met business goals. The effectiveness of training is also measured in terms of a positive return on investment (return on financial investment). The ROI metric is useful at the end of the assessment process because it compares the learning results to the employer’s training investments in tangible and measurable terms. Training effectiveness assessment is the process of assessing the effectiveness of organizational training programs using scientifically based techniques. Begin by determining why, who, and what training is needed, and then evaluate the training that has been provided.

 

How Do You Measure the Effectiveness of Training?

There are a variety of ways (or methods) to assess the efficacy of training. These approaches become an important source of input and knowledge about the effectiveness of the applied training program, including sections that are not useful. These approaches will assist management in filling any capability gaps with appropriate training programs, allowing them to adopt the most effective training methods.

Organizations of all sizes, big and small, are not required to spend substantial funds or time in training effectiveness assessment. With proper preparation and forethought, excellent results can be obtained. To achieve the desired results, both company and training priorities must be compatible. For instance, an inbound call-center sets a target of efficiently answering sixteen percent more customer queries than the previous year.  Then the aligned training objectives include each representative enrolling in an online course on using advanced call-center software.

Employee training metrics should provide both qualitative and quantitative data (learner input about whether the training was beneficial to their job) (quiz score and completion rates). It is primarily up to the company to decide which goals and indicators to use. The best way to achieve results and track learning progress depends on the needs of each company’s training program.

 

Approach to Training

While there are many approaches for assessing training or  e-training efficacy, each has its own set of characteristics and advantages. Employee surveys, one-on-one meetings, case studies, and post-training quizzes are all standard methods for assessing training effectiveness. More data on employee learning performance can help companies assess the effectiveness of training programs.

The term ‘training program’ is often welcomed in the board rooms. The goal of these training courses—and most such programs—is to enhance execution and results. However, the way training is provided varies among organizations with differences in targets, products and employees. 68% of workers claim that training and development are the most crucial company policies.

Identifying the audience and the essence of the training is the first step in training employees. Most employers focus solely on the work position and build a one-size-fits-all evaluation.

Following the identification, the instruction is delivered using specific approaches such as seminars, group exercises such as roleplays and group discussions, as well as films and videos. The last but the most crucial step is to measure the effectiveness of the training programs – which most companies either refrain from or follow some ineffective ways that include merely recording the reaction of trainees or something on similar lines which has negligible effectiveness.

The methods of identification mentioned above are not all aligned with business goals. It is a waste of time and money because you have no way of knowing if the group in attendance is the same as the one targeted. Furthermore, you are oblivious to appropriate material. Furthermore, these methods do not guarantee that the software would be useful enough to involve employees.

 

Why Train?

Millennials … are more socially and globally connected … than any prior generation. And they don’t question; they learn.

Brad Smith

Everyone is not perfect. Most employees have some weak points or dark areas in their work skills, for which they need to be trained. The assessments could inform about the need for training, for they reflect deficiencies and competencies which need to be worked upon.

 

Who to Train?

Not all employees need to be trained. Neither do all employees need the same level of training. The assessments generate a full-fledged report of employees who need training.

 

What to Train On?

A person with sufficient product knowledge and inadequate presentation skills cannot suffice an organization’s needs. The managers should have a clear idea of what the training should comprise and which competencies are particularly needed.

 

Training Effectiveness – How To Measure The Effectiveness Of Employee Training Program

Customized Assessments: The stakeholders in most enterprises agree that a highly tailored, completely company-oriented test is a feasible alternative to their evaluation needs. Everyone prefers online evaluations over pen-and-paper assessments in today’s digital world, or in other words everyone prefered L&D through  e-training or e-learning.

They are systematic and objective tests that reveal information about an employee’s job personality. These evaluations are tailored to specific job functions. They are designed to assist candidates in maximizing their strengths while also addressing their areas of growth. Furthermore, these tests are simple to administer. Since the measurements are quantitative and objective, they are not subject to observer bias.

Compared to companies that don’t, companies that invest in employee training enjoy a 24% higher profit margin.

A situation may occur where ABC Company is unsure about the effectiveness of these training programs.

Let’s discuss training effectiveness.

 

Using the Modern Approach to Evaluating Training Effectiveness

Talking about the ABC Company, if it arranges training and development programs, it might know the necessity of evaluating training effectiveness and its ROI. Ultimately, nobody wants to spend valuable resources on training that does not provide better returns.

 

What is the impact of training on employees?

• Was the training or e-learning useful in helping participants increase practical learning and aptitudes?
• Could the learners apply what they learned and enhance their performance at work?

Pre-Assessment

First, each participant is given an assessment that determines their proficiency in essential competencies, which are a collection of skills needed to excel in a workplace through various job roles. These reports are necessary because we can’t move forward until we’ve found the right match between the applicant to train and the competency that needs to be improved.

Let’s presume an organization has enough expertise to recognize the training or e-learning requirements. In other words, it recognizes not only the workers need training, but also what type of training they need. For these situations, certain businesses have a better approach. For such businesses, the approach will be a pre-assessment that could predict an employee’s actual status in terms of competencies consistent with the company’s goals.

 

Effective Training

It could be a classroom or instructor-led instruction, or it could include interactive elements like quizzes, case studies, group discussions, or Q&A sessions on an e-learning platform such as neoHire. Video conferencing, audio conferencing, webinars, and distance learning services are examples of online activities that may be included in this package.

 

Post-Assessment – How to Measure Training Effectiveness?

The training is followed by measuring its effectiveness. Fortunately, some proven methodologies for measuring the training effectiveness already exist. One can successfully measure training effectiveness using the Kirk-Patrick Model.

 

The Kirk Patrick Model (The 4 Levels of Training Evaluation)

 

 

Reaction

This level measures how learners have responded to the training, including the critical aspects of the activity – utilizing reviews, questionnaires, or talking to participants to get honest feedback on the training experience.

This process could include:

• Finding out if the course content was easy and relevant
• Discussing the program’s strengths and weaknesses
• Asking about the key takeaways
• Know if the program was successful in matching the learner’s perception and learning style.
• At the end of this level, you should look for any gaps in the content.

Learning

You can measure what the trainees have learned and how much knowledge they have gained at this level. This step could include:

• Test scores amid and after the training or e-learning
• Assessment of connected learning ventures
• Course completion and accreditation

After going through these sets of metrics, assessment is done again (obviously with an enhanced set of questionnaires) after three months. This method could also fill the gaps and let the trainees know about themselves better, thus influencing the training effectiveness.

 

Behavior

This level indicates how trainees apply the information and how it has impacted their performance and attitude. It takes 360-degree feedback from supervisors, peers, and reporters. This includes:

• How has learning been actualized at work?
• Are the trainees sure to share their new abilities and learning to their companions?

Are the trainees aware that they’ve changed their behaviour?

 

Results

The last level comes down to the ‘why’ part of the training. It captures the difference in the participant’s behaviour before and after the program. It includes outcomes that the organization has determined to be good for business and employees. The learning outcomes may suggest:

• Increased employee retention
• Increased production
• Higher morale
• Improved business results

Training aims to improve individual and group performance, thus influencing the organization’s overall performance. Each successive level is a more precise measurement than the one before it. ABC Company conducted training programs in this manner, and also evaluated their effectiveness and effect on employees.

 

How will neoHire help?

 neoHire brings you efficient and precise tools for evaluating and training your employees. It is an e-Learning platform which can be used by HR’s for complete end-to-end Learning and Development for their employees. Now, measuring training effectiveness is incredibly easy with our custom-made assessments. These simple, reliable assessments will help you understand the training lifecycle to evaluate the training effectiveness. When decoding the training life cycle, four steps are involved: identifying training needs, administering pre-training assessments, training, and post-training assessments. Our useful analytical tools will enable you to measure the ROI of your training program. These data driven approach will help you finetune your training and deliver the best possible outcome. Our scalable platform also helps you conduct training for as much employees as you desire.

• Custom made Assessments
• Data driven analytical tools
• Scalable Platform
• Gamified Learning

Conclusion

Recognize the stumbling block in the training program you provide to your workers. It helps you achieve your business goals with a more logical approach when training aligns with the business and has a defined feedback mechanism for each partner. Employees at all levels understand what is expected of them, how to put their vision and principles into action, and what is required to succeed. Taking this techniques and constructing an e-Learning or L&D training program around it might be the perfect thing needed for your organization to drive to new heights.

Various steps are being taken by companies all over the world to ensure better recruiting practices and reduce unconscious bias during the recruitment process. In recent years, almost every company has made diversity and inclusion a top priority in recruitment, as executives seek to add more diverse talent to their teams.

What is interviewer bias in recruitment?

If anyone has a preconceived idea about someone they’re interviewing, it affects their judgement and makes the interview less impartial overall. Although interview bias is most commonly associated with qualitative research, it often applies to recruiting and has an effect on hiring decisions.

In a LinkedIn survey, 42% of respondents said bias of interviewers was a reason for interviews failing as an effective employee selection method.

Interviewing with unconscious bias is not only unequal and divisive, but it also results in poor hiring decisions and high turnover rates. Biased recruiting practices can also lead to legal issues in some cases.

Companies that use equitable and inclusive hiring practices, on the other hand, are more likely to be creative and successful. As a result, when recruiters take action to ensure that recruiting practices are fair and impartial in the recruitment funnel, which helps companies in a variety of ways.

Common interview biases that recruiters should keep in mind:

Cultural Noise

When an interviewee’s answers are based on what the interviewer feels the interviewer wants to hear rather than being truthful, this bias arises. It is a measure of the interviewer’s ability to tell the difference between a candidate’s socially appropriate response and their true opinion in this situation.

 

Stereotyping Bias

This happens when an interviewer believes a candidate has those characteristics since they belong to a particular party. If a work requires lifting 50 pounds, an interviewer will incorrectly believe that women are unable to meet this requirement.

 

Generalization Bias

Generalization bias can occur when interviewers assume candidates’ mannerisms in the interview are part of their everyday behaviour. The interviewer might assume what the candidate did once is what s/he would always do.

 

Halo/Horn Bias

The most common cognitive interview bias occurs when an interviewer allows one strong point about a candidate to overpower or influence anything else he or she says. It may be something he liked (halo) or something he didn’t like (horn) that obscures the candidate’s other responses, subjecting the interview to the interviewer’s subjective views.

The perfect example of this would be when the candidate being interviewed cannot converse well in English.

Even if his or her work may not require fluency in English, if the interviewer bases their decision on it, the interviewee’s performance may be excellent in their field, but the interviewee may still be rejected or approved solely due to a Halo bias.

A situation where the interviewee reveals his or her political viewpoint is another example of halo bias. If it aligns with the interviewer’s political views, the interviewer will choose that candidate over others simply because they share the same political views.

Recency Bias

Since our brains are hardwired to remember specifics of knowledge provided to us most recently, the interviewer remembers the most recently interviewed candidates more vividly than candidates interviewed earlier.

When an interviewer fails to take notes during each interview, it becomes impossible for them to remember every aspect of the interview, making it difficult for them to consider all applicants during the decision-making process.

Contrast Effect

 When a stronger candidate interviews after a weaker candidate, the latter will appear more competent than they are because the difference between the two candidates makes the former appear exceptionally better than they are. This becomes a dilemma that the interviewer must keep in mind as they conduct one interview after another.

eg: Multiple applicants are interviewed one after the other in a limited period of time during campus recruiting. This can impair the recruiter’s ability to interview all applicants objectively, and the interviewer may choose someone who is optimistic about his or her one internship experience over someone who seems timid and reserved but is more skilled.

How can we reduce this?

Start with building a diverse shortlist

Making a diverse shortlist of finalists is an excellent place to start. When introducing applicants to the hiring manager, divide them into various categories to create a diverse shortlist. This can help to minimize unconscious bias because people prefer to choose candidates from each group, resulting in more diverse choices being selected.

You may categorize candidates on a diverse shortlist by gender, nationality, ethnicity, or other similar diversity-related groupings. A Harvard Business Review study found that if your applicant pool only has one woman, she has a statistically zero chance of being recruited.

 

Standardize your interview process

Standardizing the interview process so that it has the same framework for and candidate is another perfect way to reduce interviewer bias. To start developing a rapport with a candidate without seeing them, you may want to start with a phone call, as this will help to prevent any prejudice induced by their presence.

Using a talent recruit software like neoHire will aid in this process of standardizing and will lessen the burden on your side. Make it a point to ask the same questions in the same order for and candidate during the phone screening and in-person (or virtual) interview. Bias is much more likely to affect unstructured interviews, while a simple framework makes it much easier to avoid because each interview is comparable. Try to ask open-ended interview questions, as they’re harder to look at subjectively and a better measure of competency.

Prepare interview scorecards

Many recruiters use interview scorecards to effectively rate applicants and make comparisons. Unconscious bias in interviews can be reduced by using interview scorecards with simple scoring criteria. When scoring candidates on interview scorecards, do so as soon as possible when the memories are still fresh.

If you have several interviewers, make sure they all know how to correctly use the interview scorecards so you can get the most out of them. To prevent problems of conformity bias, make sure that everyone rates a candidate before seeing other people’s assessments.

 

Define the job, not the person.

A true job description is a list of things that people must do rather than a list of things that they must possess. If an applicant can demonstrate during the interview that they have effectively handled similar work, it is obvious that they have all of the requisite skills and experience. This is usually not the same as what is listed on the job description. By identifying work as performance goals, you can attract a wider range of talent while also mitigating bias by evaluating a person’s past performance on similar work rather than their presentation skills and first impression.

 

Use reverse logic.

People are more relaxed when they meet a candidate they like right away, and more tense when this response is negative. Make a mental note of this any time you see a potential candidate. Soon, a trend will emerge. Recognizing your prejudices is the first step in controlling them. The majority of people look for constructive confirming data about people they like and negative confirming facts about people they don’t like.

 

Conclusion

It goes without saying that we’re all biased from time to time as people, even though it’s not a deliberate decision. However, it’s critical that we consider the numerous prejudices that emerge at various stages of the recruiting process and take the necessary measures to prevent them from influencing hiring and candidate selection.

Online methods of Interviewing and Evaluations such as on our Online recruitment and L&D platform can eliminate bias to a certain extend due to it’s advanced proctoring and auto evaluation features.

Interviewing is an important aspect of the hiring process, but it’s perhaps the most difficult to eliminate prejudice from. Having said that, there are still a number of steps you should take to make the interview process as objective as possible.

So, where do we go from here? You can start eliminating interviewer bias right now if you follow these suggestions and make it a point to educate yourself about best practices on a regular basis.