Evaluating a Training Development Program (TDP) can provide the management with abundant information on the extent to which learning has bridged the gap between intended and actual output accrued through the application of learning, the short falls of the training, etc. This article showcases the importance of the evaluation phase of a TDP which many companies ignore. It also cites a few evaluation models that companies have adopted to understand the benefits reaped out of their TDP's.

It is quite common that training activities of any organization are largely measured by number of training programs conducted per year or number of training programs per employee per annum which does not reflect quality of the training program. In addition to quantity, quality needs are to be taken as a measure of evaluating training activities of any organization. Theoretically, there should be proper matching between the training output and expectations from the training, which yields benefits to the organization. But various studies showed that there is always a wide gap between these two. As the gap widens, effectiveness of the training decreases. This gap is mainly because in many organizations training is imparted routinely and also for the fulfillment of the fancy figures only without proper assessment of its impact on the organization. It is commonly believed that nicely executing a function is taken much significantly than evaluating positive impact of the training program.

Many organizations do not realize the need to evaluate the training development programs once the session ends. The most probable reasons any management cites for ignoring the crucial "evaluation" stage are lack of time, resources or tools. As organizations are increasingly adopting training development programs, there is a pressing need for evaluating the same. The process of examining a training program is called training evaluation. Training evaluation checks whether training has had the desired effect. Training evaluation ensures that candidates implement their learning in their respective workplaces, in the regular work routines. Training is a transforming process that requires some input and in turn it produces output in the form of knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA's).

HRM Review Magazine, Training Development Programs, Globalization, Lliberalization, ROI Assessments, Kearns' Baseline Evaluation Model, Productivity Model, Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation, Organizational Productivity, Organizational Levels.