Common Pitfalls When Preparing Evaluations

One of the most common struggles which happens when you are playing in a sports team, is to properly execute the strategy that the coach has drawn up. Even when you have tried to put your best efforts in, it’s not uncommon for your team to still lose the game. Surely it’s frustrating, but losing and making mistakes is a way for you to learn and avoid making the same mistakes. One of the ways to actually do that, is by conjuring up the proper evaluation process, in which your team could analyze what went wrong and what to do in order to perform better in the future.

There is never a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to preparing an evaluation strategy. Especially when it comes to training, doing an evaluation is the necessary  last step to truly find out whether or not a training was impactful. Unfortunately, the process of preparing an evaluation process does not always happen smoothly. There are always issues and pitfalls that we could encounter during that process.

Why Preparing Evaluation is Important?

Evaluation can help you identify areas for improvement and ultimately help you realize your goals more efficiently. With a well-prepared evaluation program, it will help you meet what you aim to get.

What Do We Need to Prepare a Proper Evaluation?

Program planning and evaluation go hand-in-hand. There are several steps that can help put your organization on the right track for continuous quality improvement. Step one is defining your stakeholders, and then it is followed with describing the program, focus on the design of your evaluation, gathering evidence, drawing a conclusion and presenting findings and ensure use.

Common Pitfalls When Preparing Evaluation

However, based on FLIP’s experience, there are five most common pitfalls when preparing for an evaluation:

1. Learning Objective Is Not Clear

For instance, when the learning objective is “how to be a better employee”, it is too generalized and not clearly stated. Unfortunately, just to say that someone is a ‘better’ employee, is not a clear indicator of whether or not someone has improved from the training that they have endured. If the learning objective has no clear indicators, the participants will go into the training without knowing what they should gain after the training process has been done, as well as the purpose of the training itself.

2. Evaluation Tools are Created After Training is Done

This one is a very common mistake happens in a training program. The right time to do a training evaluation is after the training has finished, though the tools and way to do it should be created and considered before the training is conducted. Typically, the tools is created after the purpose of the learning process has been determined.

3. Lack of Abilities to Develop Evaluation Instruments

Instruments are an integral part of evaluation. Moreover, the ability to develop the instrument is important as well. For example, when the trainer wants to measure a participant’s presentation skills, and they do not have the proper instruments, or worse, they are lacking on developing the presentation evaluation instruments, it would be a pitfall to the training process itself.

4. Trainer’s Lack of Skills

Even the instruments are there, if the trainers don’t have the proper skill sets as to interpret, optimize and draw conclusions from the instruments that they use,  the training program will not proceed as smooth as desired.

5. Trainers Are Not Able to Convince Relevant Parties In Terms of Data Collection

Most of the time, trainers need the company’s stakeholders to help in doing further evaluations after the training has been done. In order to do that, trainers need to convince relevant parties in terms of data collection, as well as explaining the importance of the evaluation to the stakeholders involved.

Therefore, as a trainer, you need to find the best staff with a proper skill, a legitimate source of funds, tools and equipment to conduct the proper evaluation program.  Furthermore, you need to conduct it periodically and make a good story to present in the evaluation. Last but not least, to make a wholesome evaluation you have to make sure that the data and information you have gathered and submitted in the evaluation program are complete and valid. Learn more about the world of training through flip.co.id and PLAYbyFlip.

 

Sources:

1. Building Changes. (2018). Evaluation challenges and tips. Link: https://buildingchanges.org/coordinated-entry-toolkit/evaluation/evaluation-challenges-and-tips
2. Mulrine, L. (January 8, 2016). Evaluation challenges: Discussions from program evaluation for youth wellbeing. Link: http://youthrex.com/evaluation-challenges-discussions-from-program-evaluation-for-youth-wellbeing/
3. My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant (MEERA). (2018). Evaluation: what is it and why do it? Link: http://meera.snre.umich.edu/evaluation-what-it-and-why-do-it
4. University of Washington: Northwest Centre of Public Health Practice. (2019). Six steps of program evaluation. Link: https://www.nwcphp.org/evaluation/tools-resources/program-evaluation-tips