When business leaders look at their training programs, a few thoughts will naturally come to mind:
- Can workplace training be validated by knowledge retention? Are employees retaining the information and gaining knowledge?
- Is training having a clear beneficial effect on employee behavior?
- What is our ROI when it comes to training expenses?
- Beyond ROI, what other collateral benefits is the company receiving through its training programs?
Assessment provides the key element to validate training success on all levels.
For today, we will focus on knowledge retention. Over the next few days, we will follow up with a discussion of assessing behavior changes, ROI, and other benefits.
Knowledge Retention
The primary objective of most training programs is to impart knowledge and influence behavior. In a best-case scenario, assessments are used to promote learner engagement and help learners understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Building feedback loops into training—whether through quizzes, peer assessment, or mediated dialog—can help learners gain awareness of progress and areas that require more work.
Spaced repetition can provide a way to regularly assess learning progress while encouraging engagement.
Spaced repetition helps transition learned concepts from short-term to long-term memory. By integrating space repetition into training, companies provide learners with a useful tool for increasing retention.
In summary, the key is to place feedback loops throughout the process, not just at the end of the training module. A more continuous feedback process keeps learners on their toes and motivates them to stay engaged in their learning.
