Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 5/e

Evaluating the Training Effort

Learning Objective 7

1. Explain what to consider in evaluating the effectiveness of a training program.

Two experts contend that after spending about $560 billion on training in one recent year, employers are getting a poor return on their investment, because it “doesn’t lead to better organizational performance . . . .” 169 After trainees complete their training (or perhaps at planned intervals during the training), the program should be evaluated to see how well its objectives have been met.

There are two basic issues to address when evaluating training programs. One is the design of the evaluation study and, in particular, whether to use controlled experimentation. The second is, “What should we measure?”

Designing ...