Barriers to Behavior-Based and Outcome-Based Evaluations of Workplace Training

Most workplace learning professionals understand the need to evaluate the training interventions they develop for their organizations. A behavior-based evaluation examines the merit of the training and its relevance to organizational outputs, while a results-based evaluation measures actual outcomes against iexpected benefits. In short, did the training intervention meet its objectives, and did it have the desired impact on workplace performance? In this era of shrinking budgets, it's critical for learning departments to prove their value to their organizations. However, surveys reveal that only about half of workforce training interventions are evaluated on the on-the-job behaviors they generate, and even fewer are evaluated on how they met organizational expectations. Research also indicates that the quality of such evaluations is inconsistent, as is the perception of what a results-based evaluation actually measures. The proposed roundtable discussion would explore the barriers to conducting relevant behavior-based and results-based evaluations of training.