Formative Training Evaluation

There are many questions and concerns around training evaluations such as are they necessary, what is the purpose, are trainees or the organization benefitting, is the cost too much, and are the trainer doing what they supposed to be doing? There are several types of training evaluations that leadership for a financial industry can choose from. These training evaluations are formative and summative.

“Formative evaluation is an on-going process that allows for feedback to be implemented during a program cycle. Formative evaluations concentrate on examining and changing processes as they occur, provide timely feedback about program services, and allow you to make program adjustments “on the fly” to help achieve program goals. Summative evaluation

According to Saks & Haccoun (2013), “Evaluations are conducted when there is pressure from management to do so. In the absence of such pressures, many training managers would rather forgo the exercise. Evaluations can be threatening. These studies might conclude that part of a training program-or even an entire training approach-is not effective. Some trainers fear that this will reflect poorly on them, but without evaluations, managers are unable to demonstrate their value to the organization”.

Leadership has to determine if training and development are worth their time. Financial institutions have to set about six weeks aside for training of new employees and there have to be some type of justification for the training and what if anything is learned from said training. It would be easier for organizations to hire employees that have knowledge in the field, this will save time and money for an organization. On the other it does not always work this way, training and development can be for newly hired and employees and it can be needed for current

“Incorporating training that develops employees toward long-term career goals can also promote greater job satisfaction. A more satisfied employee is likely to stay longer and be more productive while on your team”. (Employee Training, 2017) Organizations lose tons of money when they have a high rate of employee turnover. Employee turnover means that an organization has to start for square hire and train again.

When an employee is unhappy and that includes with their training they will likely not stay with an organization. This is where leadership within a financial industry have to assure that new and current employees are comfortable in their job and the knowledge to do their job.

As for all organizations know that training comes at a cost and they would all like to know about the return on investment (ROI). “Organizations spend huge amount of money on employee development, it is therefore very important to ascertain the benefits of training. Different studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs. In one of the studies, it was found out that sales and technical training gave better ROI compared to managerial training programs”. (Cost Benefit,