“What am I doing here?” said the participant!
Learning and development budgets are under the
microscope and training and development departments are under
pressure to deliver interventions that make a real
difference. Why then is it still common to find participants attending
training courses without knowing why they are attending or
what they expect to achieve at the end of the programme? Asked
why the particular course was selected, the reasons can often
be surprising; they can be as simple as the following:
- The boss went on it ten years ago when he joined the
company and it worked for him, so everybody is sent.
- The line manager selected the course from the options
provided on the annual development review form without
discussing it with the participant.
- All our new managers go through the foundation
management programme, regardless of need.
- The programme selected depends on grade or status in the
company not by ability or potential.
The above reasons are common, easy to action and relatively
safe, nobody ever got sacked for sending someone on a
management programme! However, does this approach deliver?
Well, in most cases the answer is only marginally. Happy
sheets are scored ‘Fairly Good’, participants leave the
training room feeling they have developed one or two new
skills and have a few ideas to try back in the workplace. But
did the programme address specific gaps in their identified
skills or knowledge? The answer is almost definitely not.
For some time Personal Development Plans (PDP’s) have been
used to identify specific objectives that can be highlighted
prior to attending the course, focused on during the programme
then built on after the course ends. The problem is the
objectives tend to be relatively unstructured, are often not
aligned with the business’s needs, sometimes don’t match the
course content and are based on either the participants, or
the line manager’s view of what is needed, which can be biased
or not reflect what is actually required.
Using 360° Feedback To Support Dynamic Course Assessment
It is in this area that 360° Feedback has started to
develop a reputation as an effective and integrated pre and
post course assessment and evaluation tool. 360° Feedback’s
ability build awareness and a deeper understanding of the
participants development needs in a way that is easily
understood and just as importantly measurable, means the
participant starts the course with a clear understanding and
acknowledgement of their objectives for attending.
So how do you use 360° Feedback to ensure your participants
get the most from their training. The following approach is
typical, and in our experience, delivers the best results.
1. Pre–Course Assessment
The process starts by each participant undertaking a
‘Pre-Course 360° Assessment’ about one to two weeks
prior to attending the first session of the training course.
Feedback can be obtained from their line manager, direct
reports, peers and key colleagues. The preferred method is to
base all questions on observed behaviour in the workplace,
with the questions being aligned to the specific skills or
competencies required for each individual’s job. The selection
of the reviewers is at the discretion of the participant and
all feedback is highly confidential, only being available to
the individual and the Training Consultant, who will then use
the information to ensure the proposed programme addresses the
key issues highlighted from the questionnaires. In addition
extra benefit can also be gained when the participant chooses
to discuss the feedback with their line manager.
Once all the feedback has been obtained each participant will
then receive an individual report which shows (graphically)
how the participant was rated in each area (and question) by
the different groups. Comparisons with the organisation’s (or
groups) average rating in each area can also be included.
Ideally this feedback should be delivered by the Training
Consultant who will ensure the feedback is fully understood
and support is provided if required. The participant is now
fully aware of which areas they need to develop and by how
much prior to attending the course.
2. Integration With Course Delivery
The feedback from the Pre-Course Assessment can then be used
within the course itself. The Training Consultant can use the
aggregated information to help inform content design, delivery
methods and the streaming of participants into groups to help
address specific identified issues. This takes place in an
environment where each participant now fully understands their
strengths, weaknesses and areas where they need to develop
additional skills or build knowledge. This awareness is
particularly relevant in role plays or exercises where the
participant may wish to share some of the feedback obtained
from the Pre-Course assessment with their fellow participants
to obtain more insightful feedback from within the group.
3. Post–Course Evaluation
Undertaken between 3 and 6 months after attending the course,
this 360° is used to track changes and
improvements since the Pre-Course Assessment. The review is
repeated with the same question sets, responding individuals, and any changes
are then identified.
At an individual level this not only shows where skills have
been developed but also identifies outstanding areas for
development that should be picked up in future development
reviews or training initiatives.
When the feedback is looked at from an aggregated (group)
perspective, the effectiveness of the course and the resulting
improvements to the way participants have performed or behaved
back in the workplace can be clearly identified. This is the
‘Holy Grail’ of any course assessment process, demonstrating
the training works! As the feedback is detailed, specific and
unbiased, it is invaluable for informing ongoing modifications
to the course structure or content.
4. Ongoing Assessment Of Learning & Development Needs
When used in isolation to help a participant get the most from
a training programme 360° Feedback can be a very
effective tool. However, when the feedback from several
assessments over a number or training initiatives is combined
and used to help inform annual development reviews the results
can be outstanding. Not only the effectiveness of the training
undertaken can be evaluated but the progress the individual
has made in developing their skills or competencies can be
accurately plotted and even projected in some cases, thereby
supporting wider resource and succession planning
requirements. Thereby what starts as a tool that helps the
participant understand why they are attending a training
programme and how to get the most from it, can ultimately help
inform the future direction of your organisation.
360° Based Course Assessment - Delivering Excellent Results
360°’s ability to provide objective feedback from a wide base
of reviewers produces excellent data on which to base your
assessment of your development needs. The following reasons
help explain why it is proving to be such a powerful tool.
- It Increases Personal Ownership – as the
participant invests in the process of identifying potential
areas for development as part of the 360° Feedback process.
They are far more likely to ‘buy into’ any resulting
training and development solution.
- It Increases Group Ownership & Support – as
reviewers contribute feedback as part of the process of
identifying potential areas for development in others, it is
highly likely that they will be far more willing to support
any resulting training by providing further coaching,
support and help than if they were isolated from the
process.
- It Validates Your Training Requirements – any
training and development needs identified by the individual
can be validated by the group through using 360° Feedback.
This ensures the outcome is not biased towards an
individual’s perspective but is validated by people who
observe on a daily basis the behaviour of the potential
trainee.
- It Provides Balanced Feedback – the more feedback
the better, in the case of 360° this enhanced feedback leads
to far more accurate and balanced data on which to base your
training and development strategy.
- It Clarifies Priority Setting – sometimes it is
difficult to see the wood for the trees and identify which
skills gap or learning requirement should be done in which
order. The highly accurate data produced by the 360°
Feedback process enables learning and development needs to
be prioritised clearly and simply.
- It Can Bring The Feedback To Life – a picture is
worth a thousand words. The graphs and diagrams produced by
today’s online 360° systems can help pinpoint development
needs in a way that pure data struggles to match.
- It Can Simplify The Decision Making – the
accurate data produced as a result of the 360° Feedback process can also be used to match the individuals needs
directly with available profiled training and development
resources. This can simplify the process of identifying
suitable personal development initiatives.
- It Can Identify Cause & Effect – when used as
part of an ongoing process of assessment, the 360° Feedback process can demonstrate through cause and effect, when your
training and development initiatives are working or not.
- It Can Identify Group Learning Needs – aggregated
reports generated from the 360° Feedback process can be used
to identify group training and development requirements.
These requirements can also be cross referenced against
role, function, location etc to produce highly focused
learning initiatives.
You can see why 360° Feedback is such a powerful development
tool. Implemented well it can prove to be transformational in
how people behave and work with each other, and can provide a
platform for enhanced personal and organisational development.
In response to this potential, Predaptive has developed
360°Insight™ which goes beyond
the simple mechanics of 360° review to ensure that the process
matches your organisational context and engages employees to
provide a safe and developmental environment.
If you would like to discuss whether 360°Insight™ can help you
get more from your training and development initiatives please
contact:
Lynn Joy
e:
lynnj@predaptive.com
t: +44 (0)1789 734333
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