4 Levels of Training KPIs +

Balanced Scorecard Example

Training is a standard part of learning process of any

organization. the most important challenge for the
organizations is to be able to detect the
difference between less useful infotainment and highly
useful performance-shifting training.

The Problem of Training

Measurement
Evry workshop need to to be evaluated:

The Organization side :

 Did this training give the team

required knowledge and skills?
 Were those new skills actually applied?
 How do we know that this training will finally
lead to performance improvements?
 What parts of the training worked well and
what parts need to be improved?
 Should we repeat the training on this topic?
 Should we hire this trainer again or find
someone new?
Trainers in their turn, need a data-powered feedback
that will help them to improve their training products.

Trainers need to understand how to evolve the training

program in order to increase the outcomes and
the impact on the organization’s performance.

Kirkpatrick Levels Model 

For effective evaluation of the training, it is important to
have several control points separated in time periods.

The Kirkpatrick levels framework suggests reviewing a

training from 4 perspectives:

 Level 1. Reaction (after-training feedback)

 Level 2. Learning (the takeaways of the
trainee)
 Level 3. Behavior (knowledge/skills applied in
practice)
 Level 4. Impact (impact on ultimate business
performance)

Trainer Evaluation
If the training is conducted by a third party expert, then
we also need to take into account a shortlisting process.
There should be some prerequisites for trainers and
training:

 How qualified is the trainer, and

 How the suggested training is aligned with the
company’s strategy.

The Cost of the Measurement

If we put these four steps on a chart with “The cost of
measurement” on one axis and “The benefit of
measurement” on another, we’ll see that:

 The easiest to measure is
the immediate reaction (Level 1) after the
training and training takeaways (Level 2).
 Measuring prerequisites requires some
quantification of a screening process, but it is
still doable.
 While the levels Level 3 and Level 4 are the
most interesting from the viewpoint of possible
findings, the cost of the measurement
increases.
 Training Scorecard Template.
Preparation
My recommendation is to start with a good strategy
map that links your financial, customer-related, and
internal goals with your learning initiatives. This will give
a direction to all of the management efforts.
The next step is to measure prerequisites. To do this, we
will need to quantify the following data:

 Trainer qualification
 Trainer communication skills
 Estimated training costs (travel
expenses, accommodation, trainer fee)
 The match between training program and
strategic goals

Level 1. Reaction
At this level, we need to measure after-training feedback
that will help to get an idea about how engaging this
training was. These questions could give some data for
the indicators:

 How do you feel about the

training? (negative, neutral, positive)
 Would you recommend this training to
your colleagues?
 Do you want to repeat this training in the
future?
 The number of questions asked during and
after the training
 Subjective estimation of the engagement of
the audience 
Level 2. Learning
The easiest way to quantify learning outcomes is to
conduct a final test that will show how well the students
understood the material.

The metrics could be:

 Exam pass rate, %

 Average exam score, %

 Before/after training test results

The learning outcomes can be tested in different ways.

For example:

Instead of using a simple test, one can ask trainees to

practice something that was learned and evaluate
the actual behaviour.
Respectively, the practice-related indicators will need to
be implemented.

In this way, we are not only testing but helping

students to establish new behavior patterns.
Measurement date: at the end of the training.

Required Minimum
The cost of the measurement for the next levels will
increase. If we stop our measurement on this level, then
we are at risk of “false positive” situations, when
a charismatic trainer delivers an engaging talk that is
well-accepted by an audience (a kind of infotainment)
but will rarely result in performance improvements in the
organization.

Level 3. Behavior
Conducting tests is a good starting point to make sure
that the trainees have obtained required knowledge, but
what we actually want to see is a certain change in
their behavior patterns. The quantification, in this case,
depends on the nature of the process.

In some cases, the indicators of new behavior will be as

specific as:

 Time reduction achieved, %. 

 Cost reduction achieved,
 Increased quality - Reduce of the return
problems rate,
 Performance improvement, %. 
 The KPI must be linked to a specific
performance index. For salespeople, it might be
the number of sales generated,

In most cases, we will need to spend time finding good

indicators that would quantify new behavior patterns.
Our KPI system will help to frame the brainstorming
process.
When to measure? 1-2 months after the training.

Level 4. Impact
The main purpose of any training is whether it helped
the organization to execute its strategy more efficiently
and effectively or not.
We could start searching for indications of such
improvement several months after the training, but it is
important to think about the expected impact and how
we are going to measure it beforehand 

When to measure? 4-6 months after the training.