Training Program Evaluation of the Training Program

Training Program

Evaluation of the training program

The training of the sales person and the effectiveness thereafter can effectively be measured through various evaluation methods that are best fitted for the particular scenario. Since the training concentrated majorly on the application aspect of the sales procedures to increase sales, the evaluation can only be done objectively at the various branches as the sales team goes on to apply the acquired skills. There are some basic steps that will be followed in the process of evaluation of the success of the program. There are four steps that will be considered generally:

Evaluation design and plan

Here, the intended purpose and expected outcome of the program will be noted down and whether the report will be in the form of a report or series of recorded success stories, taking into account the training was on sales people who were to apply the newly acquired techniques.

The questions to be asked will be determined, the stakeholders in the entire cycle will be determined such as the stakeholders, clients, other sales executives and even managers at different branches. These are people who will provide crucial information to the evaluation process.

Various sources of data are to be identified. The approaches most suitable for the training program outcome evaluation will be identified. The evaluation team will also have to come into agreement on the evaluation procedure, the indicators as well as the timeframe for the exercise. The evolution materials will be prepared and sent to the various branches across the world where the various branches are located.

II. Information collection

Taking into account the distance between one branch and another, some of which are located abroad and the variance in the market structures for these diverse regions, the collection of information is key to getting true reflection of the influence of the training. The collection of data will actually star during the training and will be an ongoing process.

III. Information/data analysis

This will be done by the three facilitators based at the headquarters in Texas and will be as comprehensive as possible. The analysis will involve preparation of reports by the three facilitators which will be sent to the respective heads of sales department in the various branches.

IV. Use of the conclusion

Once the collected data has been analyzed and sent to the various branches with recommendations and observations that are custom made for the specific branches, it will be imperative to share out these reports with the sales executives so that they can use it to improve their skills as well as constantly evaluate themselves against such results.

Evaluation methods

There are various types of evaluation methods and approaches that will be used in this context, the qualitative and the quantitative methods.

Qualitative method

This will form the larger part of the data collection and information gathering since sales has more to do with public relations that merely making money flow into the organization. Here the following will be employed;

Structured interviews- these will include both closed and open ended questions that will be used to get information from the representatives who attended the training as well as the managers back at the branches. These will be done by the respective branch managers and the responses noted down then sent back to the headquarters.

Semi-structured interviews-these are not fully structured and are informally guided with some questions predetermined yet others develop as the discussion goes on. The advantage with such, according to Coastal Planning and Management Manual (2012:P4) is that the interviewer will get more information outside what they were targeting at and also gives the respondent the room to respond appropriately.

Questionnaires -- these will be used on both the sales executives and the clients who will be picked at random from the contacts they leave behind. They will be conducted through sending the questionnaires to the respondents and receiving the results. To make the process anonymous hence more credible and objective, there will be a group mail formed for the questionnaires and sales executives encouraged to access them from there and upload the response as well in an anonymous way. The advantage of this method is that there is a standardized way of data collection hence more objective data that in the interview method, it is faster than other methods and has the potential to cover a large group within a limited time frame (LTDI, 1999).