Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Training Employees

Copyright Paul E. Spector, All rights reserved, March 15, 2005

 Introduction
• New employees generally go
through some sort of training, even
if the job is simple.

• Experienced employees undergo

training to advance and to keep up
with changes.

• Learning in most jobs is a lifelong

process
– E.g., physicians completing rigorous
training to maintain his/her medical
license
 Learning Objectives
• List the steps involved in developing and
implementing a training program in an
organization.
• Describe how needs assessments are conducted.
• Explain the various factors that affect learning and
transfer of training.
• Discuss the various training methods, including
their advantages.
• Discuss how training is evaluated.
Training, Learning, &
Performance
• Training
➢ Systematic acquisition of skills, concepts,
or attitudes that results in improved
performance in another environment
• Expected to lead to learning

• Learning
➢ Relatively permanent change in behavior
and human capabilities produced by
experience and practice
• Foundation for training programs
• Cognitive, skill-based, affective

• Performance
– Actions or behaviors relevant to the
organization’s goals
Examples of Types of Training Programs

• New Employee Orientation

• Team training
• Sexual harassment awareness
• Cross-cultural skills
• Leadership skills
• Communication skills
• Technical knowledge & skills (e.g. computer
programming
 Most Most training
organizations focused on
provide training KSAOs for job

Training in
Organizations
Tradeoff
between Training
selection and conducted in
training house vs.
• Train KSAOs that externally
can’t be selected
 Needs Assessment
• Determining which employees need training
and what the content should be
– Can ensure that training resources are
wisely spent on areas in which there is a
demonstrated training need
– Resources are often wasted if needs
assessment is not done-wrong people
with wrong content
• Purposes of needs assessment
– Which training is needed?
– Where is training needed?
– Who needs to be trained, and how?
– What are some specific training
objectives and criteria?
– What are our resources?
 Needs
Assessment &
Training
Objectives

• Levels of needs
assessment (Golstein,
1993); 3-step process
1. Organizational
Analysis
2. Job/Task Analysis
3. Person Analysis
 Organizational Analysis
• Examines company wide goals/problems to
identify what training is needed and where.
• Objectives of the organization and how
they’re addressed by employee
performance
• Assess manager, peer, technological
support for transfer of training
• E.g., if managers are willing, give
time to trainees, how much, etc.
• Takes into account climate of organization
& its subunits
e.g. concern for safety in the production
unit
e.g. climate for transfer of training
• Identifies available resources to determine
how training be designed and the objectives.
 Needs Assessment; three levels
• Organization level;
– E.g., if the organization values performance quality, training
should emphasize quality control.
– E.g., if the goal is to minimize injuries, training should focus
on principles of workplace safety

• Job/Task Level; Concerned with the tasks of each job.

– A list of KSAOs resulting from job analysis shows what
knowledge and skills need to be taught if the employee
doesn’t have them
– E.g., training a police officer about legal arrest procedures
 Task/Job Analysis

• Examines tasks performed and KSAOs required

to determine what employees must do to perform
successfully.
• Determines the “content” of training
• Organizational goals may also determine
core competencies;
• e.g., innovation for org. goal, most
employees should have the training
• Steps of the task analysis:
1. Develop task statements
2. Determine homogenous task clusters
3. Identify specific KSAOs or “competencies”
relevant to task clusters/desired performance
4. Design training content to address critical
knowledge, skills, and competencies
 Person Analysis

Concerned with how well Sources of person analysis

employees are able to do job tasks information:
Examines knowledge, skills, and Performance evaluations (supervisor
current performance to determine who ratings)
needs training 360-degree feedback
What kind of instruction they need Objective performance data (e.g.,
How prepared the individual for accidents)
training (personality, ability, Employee assessments (experience,
knowledge, etc.) knowledge, aptitude tests, personality,
ability)
 Person Analysis
• KSAO levels of people rather than jobs
– Show where training will be most
useful.
– If enough applicants have the necessary
KSAOS, the KSAOs can be used as
criteria for selection;
• Should be the part of recruitment
plan
– Otherwise, the focus must be on
training.
• E.g., Hire secretaries who knows
how to type but not how to use a
specific computer software program
– Also, for employee development plan
• Remedy areas of deficiency or career
planning
 Needs Assessment
• Neglects to account to existing training programs.

• Ford & Wroten (1984); determining the extend to

which a training program already in placement
meets training needs;
– Subject Matter of Experts (SMEs) review the
content of the training
• Compile a list of KSAO list that are
addressed
– Separate group of experts reviews the KSAO
list and make ratings of how important each
one to the job in question
– Adopted or modified on the basis of this
procedure
Needs Assessment
• 73% of organizations conduct training
without a needs assessment (Saari et al.,
1988)

• Too often training resources are wasted

because needs assessment that might have
redirected the effort never performed

• A well conducted needs assessment can

help organizations make the most of the
training resources
 Importance of Needs
Assessment
• To specify training objectives/goals
– To tell trainers and trainees what is to be
learned to motivate trainees by providing
clear goals for them.
– Evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
• Criteria are defined from the needs
assessment.
– Objectives based on criteria
• Include a statement of the level trainee
should know or be able to do after
training by specifying under which
condition.
• E.g., Answer customer questions about
loan rates without asking 90 % of the
time
 Characteristics that Affect
Learning
“how learning occurs”
• Transfer of training: Can employees apply
skills and abilities learned in training to their
job?;
– Apply what they have learned to the job
• Training design takes place with an
understanding of how learning occurs.
– Determined by trainee x training design
characteristics
• Trainee: readiness to learn, motivation
to learn
• Design: objectives, learning
principles, delivery techniques
 Cognitive and other
abilities
Ability Not everyone learns at
the same pace
Bunker & Cohen (1977)

Goals and motivation

Mastery vs.
Trainee Attitudes and performance orientation

Characteristics motivation May be necessary to

use incentives or trying
to make it interesting

Sensory modalities
(auditory, visual,
kinesthetic)
Learning Presentation vs. written
materials
preferences Not good at reading
using spoken materials
 Trainee Characteristics:
→ Motivation &
Attitudes
• How much trainees are interested in attending
training, learning, and transfer of skills.
– Research: Motivation is related to transfer
of training as well as good employee
attitude.
• Expectancy framework
– Do trainees think that the work
environment is favorable?
– Do they believe that putting effort in
training would really lead to learning?
– Affects motivation
Trainee Characteristics
→Trainee Readiness
– Experience
• Level of experience affects what
training design would yield most
effective results.
– Interacts with abilities
–  experience,  ability →shorter
and less structured training
programs
–  experience,  ability → longer
and more structured training would
be more beneficial
 Design Factors

General principles Identical elements

• Teach “why,” not just • Similarity between
Feedback how training and work
setting

Overlearning Sequencing of
• Automaticity training
• Part vs. whole
• Massed vs. spaced
 Feedback

Feedback is necessary Can be build into the Provided by tests:

for learning learning activities Examination on the
information given
When something is Or questioning the
correct trainer
When something is
wrong
Enhances motivation
and goal-directed
behavior
 • The frequency and detail of
Design feedback??
• For skills, practice and get
Factors; feedback as they learn
• E.g., the instructor can
Feedback give feedback to the
trainee when driving an
automobile
• E.g., the driving itself
gives feedback to the
trainees; see by self
whether can stay on the
road and driving straight
– Feedback built into
the task
 Design Factors; General principles
• Means that training should teach why and how
something is done.
– Many programs include a section on the principles behind
the material being taught
• E.g., with computer training, an introduction to the
principles of computer and software design; what the
computer is and how it works
– Provides a framework for learning;
– The research has shown that including general principles
where appropriate enhances learning (Baldwin & Ford,
1988)
 Design Factors;
Identical elements
 Design Factors;
Identical elements
• Two types of simulator; High vs. low fidelity

– High fidelity; extremely realistic

• A cockpit from a real aircraft
mounted on a moving platform that
simulates the motion of the airplane
• When the trainee makes a move, the
simulator allows the cockpit to move
accordingly

– Low fidelity; a computer game that

simulates flying
• Even though do not contain all the
elements of a real airplane, many of
the elements are authentic
 Design Factors;
Identical elements
• Fidelity
Extent to which task trained is similar to task required
by job
– Physical fidelity-costly thus decisions should be
done accordingly
- Extent to which training task mirrors physical
features of task performed on job
- e.g. airplane simulators with accurate layout of
the cockpit + motion
– Psychological fidelity
- Extent to which training task helps trainees
develop KSAOs necessary to perform job
- E.g., training firefighters to learn
directions/orders to be given to improve
communication and decision-making during a
real fire
 Design Factors;
Overlearning
• Giving a trainee practice beyond that
necessary to reach a criterion for success in
training.
– First learn the material than overlearn it
– Consolidates the knowledge, applying
it with little thought
• Through practice and repetition.
– Not necessary if performed frequently
• Like welding for electrical
technicians but infrequent for PO
to fire a gun or for firefighters
performing CPR
– Automaticity when tasks can be done
without having to pay attention to how
one is performing
• e.g. experienced drivers
 Design Factors;
Overlearning;
• Acquiring automaticity
– Especially when performance on first attempt
is critical and little room for error

• E.g., Hospital emergency room, staff

should use the equipment quickly and
automatically in order to save the life of a
critical patient

– Too complex and done so fast that it is not

possible to think about all the elements

• E.g., athletes practice their skills until they

have become so overlearned that
automaticity is achieved
 • Can be built into training through
Design practice and repetition both for
knowledge and skills
Factors; – Repetition of important
concepts to ensure that the
Overlearning trainees rehearse the info
• Examinations to rehearse
and consolidate what is
learned
– With manual skills, sufficient
practice for automaticity
• e.g. military recruits
practicing assembling
guns
 • Rohrer et al. (2005); compared
Design short-term (1 week) and long-
term (9-week) retention of
Factors; learned material
– Overlearners retained more
Overlearning material throughout the study
• Almost all the gain
disappeared by the ninth
week
– It can be solved by
incorporating spaced training
• Practice over extended
period of time and not all
int a single long training
session
– Overlearning should be
paired with spacing
 • Whole learning
– When entire task is practiced at once
Design – More effective when complex task has relatively high
Factors; organization (i.e. how much subtasks are interrelated)
– E.g., learning how to ride a bicycle
Sequencing of • Part learning
Training – When subtasks are practiced separately by correct
sequencing & later combined
– More effective when complex task has low organization
– e.g., tennis, surgeons, pilots, dancers, actors
Design Factors; Sequencing of Training
• Massed training
– Sessions are long and take
place in a short period of
time
– Individuals practice task
continuously & without rest
– E.g., cramming for test

• Spaced training
– Sessions short and spread
out over time.
– Rest intervals between
practice sessions
– Generally, results in more
efficient learning &
retention
– Tasks with high complexity
require longer rest period
e.g., flight simulations
 Design Factors; Massed Training
• Can be more efficient;
– E.g., a one day absence less disruptive to the
workplace than four 2-hour absences, especially when
a replacement is necessary or the training location
requires much travel.
• BUT can produce boredom, which interferes with
learning
• Fatigue is another problem
– E.g., playing tennis for 10-hours a day will not be
feasible for some people
– E.g., when cramming for a test, the student may be
tired cognitively
 Design Factors; Spaced
Training
• Can be more effective in the long run
• Better retention over time particularly
for skills that are required but not used
often (e.g., CPR; Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation).
– Intervals depend on how long
material be remembered; the
longer the higher retention
• Especially for motor skills where
fatigue in a long session would
decrease learning, but also for mental
tasks
• E.g., keeping up with coursework is
superior to cramming
 Work Environment

Extent to which peers and The opportunity to use training might

supervisors are supportive of not exist (e.g., CPR, computer system
using new learning cancelled)
Needs proper needs assessment
 Training Methods
• There is not a BEST way to train.
• Several training methods, each with
advantages and limitations
– These methods can be used in
combination.
– The best training programs are
flexible, adapting to trainees and
content.

• On-Site Training Methods

• Off-Site Training Methods

 Off-Site Training Methods
• Audiovisual instruction electronic presentation of
materials on various devices.
– Previously audio recordings and videos; now more flexible
– Presents materials that could not otherwise be seen or
heard
– Lecturers in business and universities to use PowerPoint or
visual examples to illustrate principles
– Adding interactive feature to online training by allowing
comments and enable asking questions
• Can increase social presence of others and enhance learning
 Off-Site Training Methods: Autoinstruction

• Self-paced learning with no instructor

– Programmed Instructions; material is
divided into chunks/frames and presented
separately
• Questions and immediate feedback
– Correct answers are positively
reinforced, leading to faster
learning
• Each contains a piece of info, a
questions to be answered, and the
answer to question from prior frame
– Repetition and feedback are built
in the materials
– Advantages; repetition, immediate
feedback, and individual pacing.
– Traditionally offered using a book or
manual; now we can use computers
Off-Site Training Methods
• A conference is a meeting of trainees and a
trainer to discuss the material to be learned.
– Participants ask questions, discuss
materials, and go beyond prepackaged
material.
• Allows for a free flow of ideas
• Active learning
– Effective when expert trainees with the
material.
• High level of trainee engagement that
allows for feedback.
– Common procedure for graduate
education.
Off-Site • Lectures is a presentation by a
trainer
– Efficient way to present a lot of
Training information to a large group of
people
Methods • BUT limits feedback; takes a
lot of time if the trainees ask
questions
• So can be very effective when
feedback is not needed
– Effective method when the goal is
to obtain knowledge
• Not when the goal is skill
acquisition
– Can be supplemented with
audiovisual material
– Recorded and become part pf
autoinstruction
Off-Site Training Methods
• In modeling, trainees watch someone perform a task,
then imitate them.
– Model can be in person, on film, or videotape.
• Both effective and ineffective behaviors
demonstrated.
– Trainees to model the observed behavior and
given feedback.
– Good for training interpersonal skills such as
supervisory behavior, as well as technical skills.
• E.g., supervisory skill of giving negative
feedback to employee performing poorly
– Advantages include lots of practice and feedback.
– Research: effective in enhancing learning
• Better than autoinstruction or lecture in
training US: Naval Personnel
 Off-Site Training Methods

• Role-playing
– A type of simulation involving an interpersonal situation
• The trainee pretends to be doing a task.
– Used as part of modeling, but could also be based on information
acquired otherwise.
• The role play itself does not involve first observing another
person perform the behavior
– e.g. supervisory training
– Effective due to lots of practice and feedback--but costly, since few
trainees can be trained at once.
 Off-Site Training
Methods
• Simulators; are tools designed to reproduce the
critical characteristics of the real work setting;
– Specialized equipment or materials imitate a
task situation.
– Trainees pretend the situation is real and carry
out the task.
– Good for training in use of equipment, but
also for business decision-making.
• E.g. cockpits to train pilots; trainees
utilize relevant KSAOs while performing,
like altitude control, navigation, use of
checklists, communicating with the co-
pilot and with the air traffic controllers.
• E.g., business decision simulation
– Advantages are practice and good transfer;
disadvantages are cost of the simulation and
of training few trainees at once.
– Computer games to teach KSAOs; very
expensive to develop
 On-Site Training Methods

• On-the-Job Training
– Follows initial formal training
– Observe from more experienced employees
• May be informal
– It should be done systematically: identify
developmental goals, incorporate learning
principles, behavioral modeling, provide feedback
– If done systematically, it is more likely to be
effective
 On-Site Training Methods
• Formal; Apprentice Training: apprentice → journeyman →
certified skill tradeperson
– An apprentice is an employee who serves as an assistant
to the trainer
– Used to teach a skilled trade (electrician, carpenter)
• 2 to 5 years;
• For some job, the other methods may not be feasible
– E.g., electrician, plummer
• Because the organization will not want to pay
someone for years of training
– To be effective it should include modeling, practice,
feedback, evaluation
 On-the-Job Training
Methods
• Formal; Job Rotation: moving employees to
various jobs or departments in a company.
– Development of wider range of skills
• Entry level HR specialist might be rotated
through staffing, compensation, training
areas.
– Time period can be months
– Can be used to prepare potential employees
for future management responsibilities.
• New college graduates with an MBA
degree, might get rotated around several
departments like the HR, operations,
accounting to determine where they would
be most effective.
– Learn a lot about functions of these
departments
– Develop contacts in the organization
Other Training Methods
• Electronic training
– Encompasses all forms of
learning that use electronic
or digital resources
– Synchronous (real-time) or
asynchronous (self-paced)
– Blended learning
• Mentoring
– More experienced employee
offers career guidance,
counseling, and emotional
support
– Related to better
performance and quicker
promotion
• Executive coaching
Off-Site Training Methods: (e-learning)

• Affordable and easy to use

• Interactive and multimedia-rich content
– E.g., videos, simulations, quizzes, and
discussion boards
• Great deal of control over the training process
– Can individualize their learning experience
– Sophisticated assessment to provide
feedback and make feedback match level of
trainee
– Practice until criterion level of proficiency
achieved
• Gamification elements can be incorporated
• Can be put online
– Short micro-learning modules of 5-minutes
or less-just in time approach to increase
training efficiency
– Can be used whenever and wherever needed
 Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
Flexibility in time and place No trainer to motivate employee;
Training materials easily incorporate gamification
modified/updated Time not set aside, so employee
Cost-effective; eliminates travelling to squeeze into work time; employees are
attend training sessions given a day off to attend training
Can result in equivalent or even better Completion rates are generally less
learning than classroom instructions than 25%
Can be combined with other methods
• Blended learning
 More experienced employee offers career guidance,
counseling, and emotional support

Formal: Program where mentors assigned

Informal: Mentoring relationships develop organically

Mentoring
Can have benefits to mentor and mentee

Can be supervisors or peers

Not always positive when it becomes dysfunctional with

mentor being overly critical and undermining the protege
 Other Training Methods: Mentoring

Females are more likely to give

and receive psychosocial support; • Effect sizes are very small, so be cautious
men are more likely to give career about generalizing.
guidance.

Those mentored have better

performance, quicker promotion,
• Mentors have improved personal satisfaction,
better job attitudes, less turnover, enhanced job performance, recognition by
less work-family conflict, more others, future loyalty of protégés
engagement in organizational
citizenship behavior • Both enhanced psychological well-being

• Formal mentoring programs; mentors and

Formal mentoring programs do protégés are assigned to each other
not work as well as those that
develop naturally • But they may be useful since not all employees
are likely to find mentors
 Other Training Methods:
Mentoring

• Kraiger et al. (2019): In-depth study of what

mentors do to help
1. Clarifying career objectives and helping
protégés to develop their skills
2. Providing emotional support in dealing
with stressful situations
3. Instilling a feeling of psychological
safety as trust develops between the
mentor and the protégé
• Can focus on short-term (helping to resolve a
conflict with another employee) and long-term
(deciding whether to invest time in a training
opportunity)
 Executive Coaching

Personal coach who Often focused on Coach can use Can be effective Concern: no
assists manager in communication 360-degree in raising self- consensus about
improving and leadership feedback as tool efficacy in ksaos required by
performance managerial coaches
Help interpret the
When performance feedback and abilities Coaches with
deficiencies, cost of devise an action diverse
finding a replacement plan backgrounds
is high, improve perf.
of well-performing
 Delivery of a Training
Program

• Even the most well-designed training

program will be ineffective if it is not
properly delivered
– Usually delivered by training
specialists--not specialists in
content (SMEs are responsible for
content), but professional trainers.
• I/O psychologists and people from
several other fields are experts at
program design
• BUT, delivery of the training falls
outside the realm of I/O psychology.
 Important to determine if
training was effective

Set criteria
Steps to Design of
evaluation studies
Training Steps involved Choose measures
and collect data

Evaluation Analyze and

interpret data

Ineffective training
should be modified or
discontinued.
 Evaluation: Set
criteria
Kirkpatrick (1976): useful to divide them into four types
1. Training-level criteria: what trainees can do at the end of training in
the training environment rather than on the job
– Reactions; important because the employee should have
confidence and motivation to use it
• E.g., feelings of satisfaction, perceptions of utility
• Assessed with questionnaires; e.g., student evaluations
• Determined by trainer’s style, interaction with the trainees,
motivation of trainees, organizational support for training
– Learning
• E.g., acquired declarative & procedural knowledge, retention
of declarative knowledge
• E.g., Given an exam
• Should be reliable and valid
 Evaluation: Set
criteria
Kirkpatrick (1976): useful to divide them into four types
2. Performance-level criteria: examining transfer of training
– Behavior: whether the trainee is doing the things
learned
• e.g., acquired skill demonstrated on job,
productivity, errors, absenteeism etc.
• Learned to deal with angry customers, do they use it
when working?
– Results
• e.g., training utility in terms of organizational
outcomes: productivity gains, cost savings,
increased customer satisfaction
• Whether increased sales of an intended product?
 Criteria
• Training criteria
– Reactions: Did employees like it?
• Questionnaire at end
– Learning: Did employees learn?
• Test at end of training
• Performance criteria
– Behavior: Did behavior change on the job?
• Ratings by supervisor
• Observe frequency of using
– Results: Were there organization benefits?
• Assessment of outcomes on the job
• Costs
• Sales
 Evaluation: Did the
Training Work?

• Both are important in determining the

effectiveness of training
• Training criteria is needed since we need
to know if training worked
• Only after that we can determine if the
training affects performance on the job
– Although material learned, can be
other factors that inhibit that training
– E.g., the opportunity to apply
 Evaluation: Set criteria

• Each of these criteria is a partial index of

training success.
– In a training evaluation, it is likely
that not all criteria will show success.
– At least one performance and one
training criterion should be used to
evaluate the effectiveness of training.
• Meta-analysis by Allinger et al. (1997)
showed that most criteria assessed within
the same study were only slightly
correlated with each other
 Evaluation: Set criteria
• Study by Campion & Campion (1987);
due to insufficient resources training
was given only half of the employees in
an Electronics Company, which was
shifting employees from manufacturing
jobs to marketing jobs
– Interview skills training to enable
employees being successful on job
interviews
– 4 types of criteria; reaction,
learning, behavior, and results
– Results; The training was effective
in teaching the employees the
interview skills but ineffective in
helping them perform better in
actual job interviews
Evaluation: Did the Training Work?

• Design of evaluation studies

– A design is the structure of the evaluation
study, specifying how data are collected.
– Criteria set limits on design;
• E.g., reactions criteria can only be measured once, at
the end of training.
 Type of psychological
experiment

Conducted in field setting

Study
Design Pretest-posttest Employees assessed
before and after training
design

Employees assigned to
training or control group
Control group Trained employees
compared to controls
design Sometime control is
“placebo” training
Evaluation: Design of evaluation studies

• The pretest-posttest design assesses trainees before

training (pretest) and after training (posttest) on the
same measures.
– Evaluates how much trainees gained from training.
– May assess amount learned in training, or amount of
change in behavior on the job.
– The duration can be long for productivity measures; e.g.,
six months before and after training since some training
may not show effects on the job for a long time
– The assessment can also be used for providing feedback
Evaluation: Design of evaluation studies
• The pretest-posttest design
– Practical for organizations, especially if testing is
built into the training process.
– Disadvantage: changes in performance may not be
due to training.
• E.g., existence of the training program could have
motivated supervisors to get more out of subordinates.
• This increased attention on performance would cause
increase in performance rather than the training
Evaluation: Design of evaluation studies
• The control group design compares trainees,
after training, to a group of equivalent employees
who did not get training.
– Works best when employees are assigned at random to
the two groups.
• This is often not possible in organizations.
• Also, there can be contamination if the trained
employees tell the untrained control group
employees what they have learned
– Helps control for the possibility that something other
than training caused the observed differences in
employees.
 Training Evaluation Designs
• Pretest-posttest design
compare
Pretesting Posttesting
Training
criteria criteria

• Control group design

Randomly Training Test

assign to compare
groups No training Test
 Training Evaluation Designs
• Pretest Posttest Control Group Design

Randomly Training Test

Pretest assign to
Compare No training Test
groups
differences

• Did the trained group change significantly more than the control
group?
• Close association between groups cause spillover of information when
only control group used.
• Still problematic:
• Ones not getting training may resent not being in training, thus may
pressure trained employees not to apply it.
 Evaluation: Did the Training Work?
• Choose measures; choosing actual measures of
those criteria
– Criterion determines measure to some extent.
– Reactions require a questionnaire, though you must
still choose its form and the particular questions.
– Learning criteria require knowledge and skills tests,
which might include a role play or simulation test.
– Performance criteria might be similar to those in
performance evaluations.
• Measuring trainee behavior or results in the job setting
rather than in training
 Evaluation: Did the Training
Work?
• Collect data
– Collecting data in organizations can
be difficult.
• People aren’t always
cooperative.
• Might resist random
assignment;
– Means that the trained group
comes from one department
and the control group from
another; differences may be
caused by departmental
differences
– Choose the best possible design and
measures and try to adapt to
problems that arise.
• Plan ahead
• Modify when required
effectively
 Evaluation: Did the Training
Work?
• Analyze and interpret data
– Data is analyzed with
inferential statistics.
• For the two simple
designs discussed, a t-
test might be used.

– If training works on both

training and performance
levels, it can be considered
effective.
 Evaluation: Did the
Training Work?
• Analyze and interpret data
– Training that works at the
training level but not for
performance needs to be
examined.
• Work conditions or maybe
it’s not quite right.
– Doesn’t work at all needs to be
eliminated or modified.
– Helpful to pilot test training--to
use it on a small group of
employees and evaluate it before
using it on a large scale.
• Problems to be fixed before
wasting resources