Implementing the Four Levels: A Practical Guide for Effective Evaluation of Training Programs

The purpose of this book is to make it easy for you, the reader, to understand the four levels that I (Don) have developed, and to obtain practical help on how to apply any one or all of them. The book is intended as an addition to and not a replacement for the basic book, Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, third edition. We have added three chapters and taken the forms, examples, and approaches from the basic book and inserted them into the appropriate chapters. For example, Chapter 3, Evaluating Level 1: Reaction, contains select reaction forms and approaches from the case studies in the basic book. The first chapter suggests how you can decide what to evaluate and at what levels. The answer, of course, is by analyzing the available resources. The second chapter tells you why and how to get managers on board. They can be very helpful in developing curriculum and are needed to provide support and accountability when trainees move from the classroom to the job. Also, you will need their help when you evaluate levels 3 and 4, where you have no authority, only influence. Chapters 36 provide guidelines and practical help for evaluating at each of the four levels. Finally, the last chapter, Building a Chain of Evidence, explains why it is necessary to evaluate all the levels in sequence and not try to measure results without first evaluating at the first three levels. This is the best way to demonstrate the value of training.