Level Three Kirkpatrick Evaluation Tips

Like many a learning professional, I was familiar with the Kirkpatrick Model, but had never ventured further than a Level Two evaluation. And like many others, I had plenty of excuses, from "I have no time," or, "There’s no data," to, "I don't need a 30-page report." In reality, what made me hesitate the most was fear of the unknown. I hadn’t done one before, I had no idea where to start, and no one to guide me. I wasn’t sure what it should look like or how to structure it.

I soon learned that a Level Three Kirkpatrick evaluation can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. More importantly, it's a valuable tool for gathering the kind of data that can help you make your training more effective at creating behavior change back at the office--which is why we're all here, right? So here’s some encouragement and a few tips to get you started on the road to successful Level Three Kirkpatrick evaluations.

• Do some reading. That’s right, you’ve already started your evaluation by reading this article on how to put one together. Congrats! Read as much as you can to give yourself a foundation. Check out what your L+D colleagues at work are doing. Network on LinkedIn, or at your local ATD meeting.
• Create your survey questions and get feedback on them. To learn if there’s been a behavioral change you’re going to need two surveys; one for your managers and one for your learners. If this is your first Level Three evaluation, start simple. Think of just a few new behaviors that would indicate your training is having an impact once people are back in the office. What behaviors did you set out to influence when you created your training? Is there a new procedure or process people should be following? Should your learners be involving more or different people at the start of a project? These goals should inform your survey questions. Now, share them with a group of peers to learn if the questions are clear and concise. Tweak your questions until they are.
• Set up your survey. Survey Monkey offers free and paid accounts, both of which will enable you to create sophisticated surveys in minutes. Test your survey repeatedly to ensure it opens well on a variety of computers, including mobile devices. That’s right, depending on your audience, many folks may use their phone to respond to your survey. Again, ask for help from your peers to ensure your survey works well.
• Build a communication plan. Reach out to your survey participants ahead of time and let them know you will be sending out a survey and interviewing a few folks. Let them know the purpose behind your survey, and promise you’ll share the final results.
• Book your interviews. In addition to emailing surveys, book interviews with a sampling of participants and schedule them to fall after you receive the bulk of your surveys back. In interviews, people tend to be more nuanced in their description of the training and its impact, and it’s a great opportunity to jot down a few quotes you can use later in your written report. Interviews also allow you to probe on certain questions. For example, if learners are overwhelmingly responding that they are NOT following the new process, ask why. Does the training need to be clearer?
• Send your surveys and conduct the interviews. Gather your data and organize it.
• Create your report. Clear, concise, and actionable is what you're aiming for with your report. Write a brief introduction that talks about the training you did, who took it, and the reason behind it. Survey Monkey creates some nice looking charts so add them in. Stakeholders love charts :-). Discuss the successes and the areas for improvements that the interviews and surveys point out. Add your interview quotes. Draw some conclusions and outline a few recommendations. 
• Share your report for feedback. Now, draw on your trusted colleagues again to review your report prior to releasing it to your stakeholders. They may ask clarifying questions, or have good ideas on how to tighten up your work. Repeat this process until you feel the report is the best it can be.
• Share the final version with your manager. Now that your Level Three evaluation is the best it can be, share this version with your manager, and after they have made any last-minute tweaks, share it with your stakeholders.
• Gather feedback on your report, and think about how your next Level Three evaluation can be even better.

A few closing thoughts:

• Getting started is the hardest part. Do your research, and start writing your survey questions. The rest will flow. Don’t fear making mistakes. You probably will make one or two, but you’ll learn from them and move on.
• Be prepared for some survey surprises, good and bad. Although you put your heart into the training you gave, you might get some negative feedback. Don’t hide from it, it may be the most constructive thing you’ll learn from the evaluation. And certainly share both the good and bad with your stakeholders, there will always be a solution you can recommend for the next training.
• Start planning your next Level Three evaluation as soon as possible. Thinking about how you want behavior to change, and how to evaluate it will benefit you at the very start of any training you are building. These evaluations can be a lot of work, but the most important thing you will learn from these evaluations is how you can be even more effective in the future.