JetBlue POL Evaluation

A. Description of Principles of Leadership Training Program

As JetBlue Airways continues its steady growth in a declining economic
climate, training programs and departments have felt pressure to keep up
with this progress. JetBlue University is the department responsible for the
development and implementation of training programs for the company.
In this need, JetBlue University has designed a new training program to
increase awareness for new employees of the company culture and overall
mission, as well as the foundation of leadership roles and responsibilities. This
new line of training is called the Principles of Leadership or POL training
program.
The program was established to meet the needs of the company in the
following ways:
To educate employees- mainly new hires- on the mission, policies, and
procedures within JetBlue Airways. This will aid in the overall
understanding of corporate culture.
To establish an atmosphere of team leadership and purpose within the
company. This will allow employees to increase their job satisfaction,
improve on skills that will encourage the growth of the company, and
recognize their place in the company as a positive and necessary one.
And lastly, to continue the rate of company growth as well as uphold
JetBlue Airways place in being one of the nations most efficient and
profitable airlines.

B. Need for Evaluation

In order to be most effective, the small network of training specialists,
managers, and other associates at JetBlue University would like to be
prepared in discussing the POL programs progress and success with their
superiors.
For the conversation to be useful, clear, and positive, JetBlue University must
conduct a formal evaluation of their program and its efforts to meet the
needs of the stakeholders. Merely collecting and analyzing completion rates
of the program does not provide enough information for the program to be
seen as effective. Benefits of directing an evaluation of the program would
include the following (Horton, 2001):
Making better decisions regarding training- whether that be in the
design elements of the program or the overall implementation.
Exhibiting financial responsibility- this could perhaps give the program
the opportunity to seek additional funding due to program success.

Improve quality of instruction and encourage learning- quality is

directly linked to effectiveness within training programs. Evaluation is a
form of learning- in this case, learning how well the program is run and
using data to progress from that point.

C. Recommendations and Rationales

After thoughtful discussion and research into JetBlues needs for the
evaluation of the POL training program, the following, is a concise list of
recommendations along with justifications that can be taken in order to
successfully evaluate the program.
I.

The first place to start would be to communicate with stakeholders and

management within JetBlue University to determine POL course
objectives. By communicating between these levels you are starting
the process by having clear and concise goals regarding the POL
program from the top down.

II.

At this stage we, the training design team and I, will take the agreed
upon objectives of the program and design an evaluation method that
best fits your needs. Specifically, we will be using a four-level model
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006) to develop material that assesses
employee satisfaction and attitude, employee learning, and employee
changed behavior. This step allows your team to create the form of
assessment based on the desired outcome.

III.

Naturally the data must be collected. The assessments and evaluations

will begin to take place. We will want to use both short-term evaluation
methods and long-term in order to get a breadth of data and
knowledge regarding the effectiveness of the POL program.

IV.

Lastly, we will compile the data in order to analyze it. Most data
coming back to us will be gathered through surveys and
questionnaires. There will also be behavioral long-term data they may
be collected over months and analyzed at specific breaks in the fiscal
year (quarterly, semester, bi-annually, etc.)

D. Evaluation Framework
The following section will organize the recommendations from above using
timeframes and more detail.

What to
evaluate

How to
evaluate

Who collects
data

When will
data be
taken

Success?

1.
Employee
attitude

Attitude
surveygauges
employees
baseline
attitude
toward
company
as well as
during and
after POL
course.
Built-in
questionnaire
throughout
course
modules.

HR conducts
initial survey
through digital
media. JetBlue
Uni. conducts
further surveys
in course.

Within two
weeks of hire,
mid-course and
end of course.

Target goal80% of
employees
attitudes
towards
company has
improved, 100%
is same or
better than
baseline.

JetBlue
University
through digital
media.

At the end of
each course
module.

3.
Employee
adoption
of
company
culture

Formal
evaluation
using
designed form,
measures
following of
policies and
procedures.

Supervisor of
employee,
submitted
digitally to
JetBlue Univ. for
further
review/analysis.

4.
Employee
leadership
skills

1. Formal
evaluation
using
designed form.
2. Employee
submits
evidence of
professional
growth and
development
using
designed
location on the
company
website.

1. Supervisor of
employee,
submitted
digitally to
JetBlue Univ. for
further
review/analysis.
2. Employee
submits
evidence online
in a leadership
portal.

Quarterly,
starting after
POL course
completion for
one year. Then
bi-annually if
target goal was
met each
quarter.
1. Bi-annually
for the first
year of
employment,
annually in
consecutive
years.
2. On an
annual basis,
all years of
employment.

Target goal100% of
employees are
satisfied with
training
program.
Target goal90% of
employee
ratings are
between
satisfactory (3)
and exemplary
(4-being the
highest).
Target goal- 1.
90% of
employee
ratings are
between
satisfactory (3)
and exemplary
(4-being the
highest).
2. 100% of
employees
submit
minimum 40
hours of
leadership
development
experiences.

2.
Employee
satisfactio
n

Rationales:
1. A positive attitude toward company training programs will increase
motivation to learn and encourage acceptance of company policies

and culture. A survey will quickly and accurately display how each
new employee is feeling.
2. Satisfaction within the work environment and trainings offered will
keep morale high. This will decrease employee turnover, and
encourage a strong and healthy body of employees to support the
continuing growth of JetBlue Airways. A simple questionnaire
administered throughout the course of trainings can frequently
illustrate the overall drive of the employees.
3. In order for the employees to perform at their highest level they
must understand and accept corporate policies and procedures. A
formal evaluation sends the message to employees that JetBlue
Airways demands excellence of its staff. It also always supervisors
to engage with their new hires on a quarterly basis regarding their
performance and growth.
4. An increase in involvement and leadership within the company
illustrates an employees desire to have a positive influence in their
position, no matter what that may be. A formal evaluation, again,
displays the high expectations JetBlue Airways has of its employees.
The online portal for submitting leadership hours gives the staff
freedom and opportunities to get involved. It also encourages
continued growth and development, which can only benefit the
company.
References:
Horton, W. (2001). Evaluating E-Learning. The American Society for Training
& Development. Pg. 2.
Kirkpatrick, D.L. & Kirkpatrick, J.D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.