When we predict training’s value , we use a form of business forecasting—estimating what training will deliver in terms of increased organizational and business results. These predictions come in the form of participant Intentions , Adoption in the workplace, resulting Impact on the business, and the costs to deliver the value. These predictions enable decision makers to make highly informed, proactive decisions .

Intention Goals are the planned actions that we want participants to author during training as their personal transfer plan. If training is working as designed, participants should be writing actions that drive desired adoptive behaviors back into their everyday work patterns.

Adoption Evaluation measures participant goal completion rate against the defined Adoption Rate created when you predicted training’s value. Data is collected on the success that participants have had in transferring their goals to the workplace, results are analyzed and compared to the Adoption Rate, and an Adoption Dashboard is produced to report findings. If needed, corrective actions are put in place to improve adoption.

Impact Evaluation is identifying the direct impact on – and value to – the business that can be traced to training. It assesses in quantifiable terms the value of the training by assessing which Adoptive Behaviors have made a measurable difference. Impact evaluation goes beyond assessing the degree to which participants are using what was learned; it provides a reliable and valid measure of the results of the training to the organization.

When participants report a positive impact from training, this approach allows you to articulate how and why training is impacting the business, leveraging this information to enhance the organizational impact of future deliveries. Conversely, when little or no impact is found, this evaluation method uncovers why and determines what can be done to remedy that undesirable outcome.

In Predictive Evaluation, we share our findings using the dashboard concept. The dashboard is a report to senior management providing an at-a-glance perspective on the current status of a course in the context of predetermined metrics for that program (Intention, Adoption, or Impact). Our dashboards are simple, short, and do not require interpretation.

The dashboard allows managers and executives to examine and assess training success. They facilitate discussion by highlighting metric status points, encouraging management by exception, where deviations from the norm become the focal points of discussion. Those course evaluation metrics should be established early in course design and applied as the course is delivered, transfer occurs, and organizational impact occurs.

• Intention Dashboard example
• Adoption Dashboard example
• Impact Dashboard example