What has the employee learnt? That is what every food business owner or manager, should be wanting to know at the end of a training programs.
Many food business owners and managers across the supply chain miss the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of training provided to their employees. This may be due to time and financial constraints.
It is important to evaluate all training programs as it will:
- improve the quality of training for future employees
- confirm that the training strategies used are beneficial
- add value to the business.
There are a number of approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs. In the past, a food business owner or manager would receive feedback through the trainer or from their employees to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the training.
A better approach is to include all participants involved in the training to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The evaluation should include:
- the business owner or manager
- the supervisor
- the trainer
- the employee (trainee).
Each of these have defined responsibilities in the evaluation.
Business owner or manager
- Wants to know if the training added value to the business
- Needs to determine the level of involvement of others in planning future training activity
- Will want a verbal or summary report from the trainer
- Confirm if the training met business goals and objectives and provides a return on investment.
The supervisor
- Needs of the business and the employee have been correctly identified
- Involved in the planning of the training
- Has discussions with employees post training to implement what has been learnt
- Monitors and reviews the implementation
- Confirm if the training provided a return on investment
The trainer
- Evaluates the quality of the training and learning resources to ensure the training objectives have been met
- Will want feedback from the employees (trainees) through assessment and evaluation processes
- Provide feedback to the workplace.
The trainee
- Actively participates in the training
- Works with the business owner or manager to develop an implementation plan for practising the newly developed skills
- Is involved in the evaluation of the training.
There are many indicators of performance. Training can be evaluated against such things as improved work flow, higher productivity, a better food safety record and reduced number of complaints.
Measurable behaviour changes on the job and performance results together validate the training undertaken. If you, as a food business owner or manager, witness positive change then your decision to train your employees was identified correctly. Training is only validated when the results can be seen on the job.
Think ST Solutions offers you practical solutions at a management level and to your staff whether you operate in hospitals, aged care facilities, restaurants, hotels or the food industry generally. We specialise in developing useful tools to assist you in the areas of food safety, strategic planning, business management, risk and compliance training and easy to implement business consultancy solutions.