Evaluation of Managerial Training Program Using Kirkpatrick's Model

The training program aimed to enhance managerial skills across various stores was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Model. Reaction levels were positive, as participants found the sessions valuable and applicable. Learning was evidenced by high test scores post-training. Behavioral changes included improved store management practices, resulting in increased sales and customer satisfaction. Results showed enhanced employee retention and morale. Recommendations for future improvements include optimizing training venues and further leveraging team-based learning activities.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY – PIETER VAN ELLEWEE – ELO3 – FACILITATE AND EVALUATE LEARNING
Introduction:
I am Pieter van Ellewee a Training and HR Manager for Rampar Trading. I have started with
the company in November 2013 and one of my main roles in my Portfolio is Skills
Development which include to be a Facilitator. I underwent the following two-unit stand
courses in 2011 before I joined the company namely 117871 Facilitate learning using a
variety of given methodologies well as 117877 Perform one-to-one training on the job. My
total years of experience in the Skills Development field is almost 9 years. I was tasked in
2014 by Management of Rampar Trading to conduct various Training programs for Rampar
Trading staff which were for Area Managers, Store Managers and Sales Assistant Staff.
My Training path started when at my first company where I had to teach the store staff in
various topics and became a national trainer for this organisation part of my HR duties.
My purpose as a facilitator is as follows
 Choosing the right training methods
 Improve productivity
 Reduce employee turnover
 Free up management resources
 Create new company leadership
 Gain a competitive edge
I believe I achieve this with a practical approach and not to throw the book at them with a
lot of theoretical work. I am a firm of leading by the front and where I was a manager it had
massive success in any situation.
I further believe a successful trainer consist of the following characteristics:
 Effective training begins with the capability to start an understanding with your
audience.
 As an effective trainer you must create yourself as a Subject matter expert early in
the demonstration.
 Know the material you are presenting and lay it out in sequence.
 Being able to think on your feet
 Be honest with the group.
 Have a purpose for your presentation.
 Keep your topics on track differ very little from the scope of what you are presenting.
 Use examples is very important
 In front of the class you must be able to direct each notion in terms learner can
associate with.
 Make a memorable close
In 2017 we decided to roll out the following course to our managers as a succession
planning training namely US114895 Define the core concepts of the wholesale and retail
environment. I look at the requirements of the Unit standard which is

 This unit standard is intended for new entrants into the wholesale and retail sector.
Persons credited with this unit standard will be able to describe the different market
segments, customer profiles and buying habits applicable to the industry.
 They will also be able to identify the target market of the organisation, in which they
work.
 These persons will also be able to identify the different functional departments in an
outlet and their main functions in respect of the flow of stock/cash through the
business.
 They will also be able to explain the environment in which business operates in
respect to applicable legislation and shrinkage and losses
I designed and develop the material for the course as well as the assessment criteria etc
further I rolled out the program and facilitated this to 32 Managers across South Africa and
Botswana. The training dates were planned and given through to the staff to attend the
training. I have decided this year to combine training in groups as the one on one training
takes much longer as we have 110 stores in 5 countries but some of the training I have still
need to do one on one as of the distance. Previous Training took 9 months to roll out as of
the one on one training and then we can only do one program in the year. This training
session consist of a day’s facilitation which is conducted in the back of the store in our shoe
store room. Training material consist out of
MATERIALS EQUIPMENT
For the Instructor:
 PowerPoint® Slides
 Participant Workbooks
 Course Evaluation Form
 Video
For the Instructor:
 Laptop
 LCD Projector
 Tablets
Elements of this Course
• Lecture videos. Each week your instructor will teach you the concepts you
need to know through a collection of short video lectures. You may either
stream these videos for playback within the browser by clicking on their
titles, or you can download each video for later offline playback by
clicking the download icon.
• Textbook readings. Assigned passages from the learner manual will
explore the topic in more detail or in a different light.
• Quizzes. Each lecture will include a quiz. You need to attain a minimum
score of 85% for each quiz. Each attempt may present a different

selection of questions to you. Your highest score will be used when
calculating your final score in the class. There is no time limit on how long
you take to complete each attempt at the quiz. There is a deadline for
each quiz; however, if you have not completed the quiz, you will not be
able to receive the new quiz
The course schedule was as follows
Tasks Expected Time
Module 1 - Segmenting the sector
 Learning outcomes
 Types of wholesalers and retailers
 The formal sector
 Retail locations
 Sector stakeholders
60 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
15 minutes
10 minutes
10 minutes
Module 2 - Identifying target markets
 Learning Outcomes
 The market
 Customer profiles
 Marketing the store
60 minutes
10 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
Module 3 - Stock flow and sales
 Learning Outcomes
 Business systems
 Core functions
 Support functions
60 minutes
10 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
Module 4 - The wholesale and retail
environment
 Learning outcomes
 Legislation
 Food safety
60 minutes
10 minutes
40 minutes
10 minutes
Module 5 - Shrinkage and losses
 Learning outcomes
 Understanding gross profit
 Effects of shrinkage
60 minutes
10 minutes
40 minutes
10 minutes
I made sure that I utilise my event plan and learning plan
The process of my training was as follows
Step 1: Plan and Prepare for Training

1. Identify training Needs -US114895 Define the core concepts of the wholesale and retail
environment.
2. Review Policy and procedures. We also updated and documented our Policy and Procedure
Manual and handed these out with the training
3. Review learner’s performance requirements-The purpose is to make sure that the manager
implements these tools and tricks to make sure that it simplified his / her day to day
managing of the store
4. Define and document training outcomes
 Identify different types of retailers in large, medium and micro enterprises
 Identify stakeholders within your organisation
 Identify the types of customers who shop in your store
 Describe different shopping patterns as occur in your store
 Understand what is meant by a market segment
 Identify your store’s target market
 Describe how your store markets itself to its target market
 Identify various departments in the store
 Explain how stock flows through the store from point of receiving
 Explain how cash is processed after it has been received as payment by
customers
 Identify the support functions of a large retail business
 Explain how different jobs affect others and the systems in the store
 Identify the important laws that affect the retail industry.
 Explain key aspect of these laws.
5. Consult with the relevant stakeholders -The main stakeholders namely Morney Greeff and
Anton de Beer consulted with me regarding the training and instructed that we roll out with
this training. The mandate was given for this training. We decided that we will have one on
one sessions with the store managers and staff because our stores are all over the country
and it is difficult to get them all to one centralized venue. After the training the learners will
be equipping to run better stores. The stakeholders agree to all outcomes
6. Identify learner’s needs -The learner’s needs came out of the analysis out of all the
interviews
7. Prepare venue -The venue will be the individual stores of all these managers- we use the
back office/ store rooms for these sessions
8. Prepare training material and handouts -Well the only training material is a manual as well
as the policy and procedure document which has all the necessary sections in

9. Selection of training methodologies
 Chat to learners – going through the theory
 PowerPoint presentation – on two tablets – see the slides in annexure which
was used in the training
 Training manual
10. Selection of assessment methods (monitoring learners)-The main assessment method was to
observe learners input and the questionnaire to staff on visit two
Step 2: Conduct the training
Branch Code Branch Dates Training Venue
182 Golden Walk 18-Sep Golden Walk
124 Lake side Mall
111 Jabulani 19-Sep Jabulani
149 Boulders
110 Park Central
144 Alex Plaza 20-Sep Alex Plaza
100 Alex Mall
119 Mabopane 21-Sep Mabopane
105 Mabopane
126 Jubilee Mall
134 Soshanguwe
181 Witbank 22-Sep Witbank
145 Louis
Trichardt
09-Oct Thohoyandou
148 Thohoyandou
164 Giyani
150 Musina
107 Musina
108 Polokwane 11-Oct Polokwane
166 Pietersburg
135 Potgietersrus
126 Jane Furse
157 Rustenburg 16-Oct Rustenburg
178 Kuruman 17-Oct Kuruman

173 Zeerust 18-Oct Zeerust
471 Gaboroane 19-Oct Rail Park
483 Rail Park
478 Palapye 20-Oct Francistown
482 Francistown
350 Francistown
163 Bloemfontein 23-Oct Bloemfontein
204 Maseru
175 Sterkspruit
I have trained 32 managers
Step 3: Monitor learners
11. Monitor learner’s performance in terms of agreed performance outcomes-Well the learners
were asses as follows
 The main assessment method was to observe learners input
Step 4: Review Training
12) Obtain feedback from learners-Reaction sheets were filled in and overall all the learners learnt a
lot – the review as per learners for suggestions for improvement is as follows:
 Manuals maybe printed in other languages – some staff doesn’t always
understand all the words
 Training implemented more practical
 Managers meets and discuss issues and challenges
 Course just on Dealing with difficult clients
 More regular training not just once a year
Strengths:
When looking at the training there is various advantages that can be listed. Some of them
are:
 Creation and development of the system of recognition of qualifications.
 The practices in the companies provide to the learner the practical learning of a job.
 The practices facilitate the labour insertion of the people titled in vocational training.
 Cater for the needs analyse
 Stakeholder consultation was clear
 Process from Plan to prepare, Conduct, Monitor and Review went very well and was
very successful and well organised

Weaknesses:
 Shortage of workers in companies prepared to attend learners during their training.
 The financing does not distinguish sufficiently between the most expensive
specialities and the least expensive, or between the territories with more and fewer
resources.
 Maybe centralized session in regions where staff Can interact with other staff
members if the one on one sessions is used
 Training Budget restraints doesn’t allow me to train all staff
 Communication methods limited Can either phone or need to drive to store – Email
is new to stores and not all staff is comfortable using it
 Well don’t just use PowerPoint
Opportunities:
 Having agreements with other companies allows the training of staff, getting low-
cost equipment, increasing employability, etc.
 Development of national catalogue of professional qualifications to be the basis for
organizing the training.
 Maybe a training School
 Do more Q & A training
Threats:
 Difficulties to combine work schedules with practices.
 lack of time
 modern training rooms,
 participation,
 different levels of competencies
Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model
Donald Kirkpatrick first published his Four-Level Training Evaluation Model in 1959, in the
US Training and Development Journal. The model was then updated in 1975, and again in
1994, when he published his best-known work, "Evaluating Training Programs."
This model Evaluate the effectiveness of your training at four levels. If you deliver training
for your team or your organization, then you probably know how important it is to measure
its effectiveness. After all, you don't want to spend time or money on training that doesn't
provide a good return. This is where Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model can
help you objectively analyse the effectiveness and impact of your training, so that you can
improve it in the future.
The Four Levels are
 Reaction.

 Learning.
 Behaviour.
 Results.
Level 1: Reaction
•Did the trainees feel that the training was worth their time? - In our training our staff Is so
hunger for training and they want to go to the next level
•Did they think that it was successful? - As per all reaction sheets they did feel that this is a
successful session and we can see improvement in these individuals store
•What were the biggest strengths of the training, and the biggest weaknesses? See the swot
analysis done
•Did they like the venue and presentation style? -Venues can improve as it is in store rooms
as most of our stores is placed in centres where there isn’t board rooms or training venues.
The training presentation was good
•Did the training session accommodate their personal learning styles? Yes, it did
accommodate
The reaction sheets were summarised and overall all the learners were happy
Level 2: Learning
To measure learning, start by identifying what you want to evaluate.
Once training is finished, test your trainees a second time to measure what they have
learned, or measure learning with interviews or verbal assessments. In this case all off the
individuals all got more than the 80% benchmark even one candidate that has special needs
Level 3: Behaviour
•Did the trainees put any of their learning to use? - These learners did apply it in their stores
you could see improvement in sales and managing their stores
•Are trainees able to teach their new knowledge, skills, or attitudes to other people? Yes,
they transfer knowledge to their sales staff
•Are trainees aware that they've changed their behaviour? Yes, very aware
I could determine it when the Area managers of these managers conduct observations and
interviews over time.
Level 4: Results
Of all the levels, measuring the final results of the training is likely to be the costliest and
time consuming. The biggest challenges are identifying which outcomes, benefits, or final
results are most closely linked to the training, and coming up with an effective way to
measure these outcomes over the long term.

In this training we have the following as results:
•Increased employee retention.
•Increased production.
•Higher morale.
•Increased sales.
•Increased customer satisfaction.
Critical Cross Fields outcomes:
After undertaking these courses I learnt to work effectively within a team comprised of
more than one members and this could be made possible after the interaction with the
learners and this promotes in the effective learnings gaining for me. I also understand the
facts related to the identification of the team members and my own roles and
responsibilities. I learn to manage and organise the activities of the individuals within the
team with proper roles and responsibilities through the demonstrations of the specific and
general activities. I learnt to analyse, collect, analyse, and evaluate the data or information
collected during the interview with the team. I also acquired the skills of effective
communication through mathematical, visual, and/or language skills through ensuring the
efficient learnings and establishing a cultural sensitive communication method while
communicating. I learnt the knowledge related to the unit standard CCFO working,
organizing, collecting, and communicating those are the beneficial factors for me in this field
of the line and thus will be ensuring the delivery of the effective and efficient deliverables
related to the objectives that I need to be covered during the whole process. I learnt to how
be prepared for one-to-one training on the job through individual learning and individual
task performance. I also get to know about the facts related to the training sessions
including the documentation and monitoring on the learning processes including reviewing
the training and various other beneficial factors. These facts are beneficial for me in all the
ways for the development and enhancement of my behaviour activities involved with the
Rampar Company.
Conclusions:
The training was successful, and all learners are equipped, and the outcomes was
successfully achieved
References:
1) Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model - MindTools.com. 2018.
Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model - MindTools.com. [ONLINE]
Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/kirkpatrick.htm. [Accessed
13 January 2018].