Employee Training Progress Tracking

Measuring Success: How Competency-Based Assessments Can Accelerate Your Leadership If it’s you who feels stuck in your career despite putting in the effort. To help you gain measurable progress, one can use competency-based assessments to track skills development over time. 💢Why Competency-Based Assessments Matter: They provide measurable insights into where you stand, which areas you need improvement, and how to create a focused growth plan. This clarity can break through #career stagnation and ensure continuous development. 💡 Key Action Points: ⚜️Take Competency-Based Assessments: Track your skills and performance against defined standards. ⚜️Review Metrics Regularly: Ensure you’re making continuous progress in key areas. ⚜️Act on Feedback: Focus on areas that need development and take actionable steps for growth. 💢Recommended Assessments for Leadership Growth: For leaders looking to transition from Team Leader (TL) to Assistant Manager (AM) roles, here are some assessments that can help: 💥Hogan Leadership Assessment – Measures leadership potential, strengths, and areas for development. 💥Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i 2.0) – Evaluates emotional intelligence, crucial for leadership and collaboration. 💥DISC Personality Assessment – Focuses on behavior and communication styles, helping leaders understand team dynamics and improve collaboration. 💥Gallup CliftonStrengths – Identifies your top strengths and how to leverage them for leadership growth. 💥360-Degree Feedback Assessment – A holistic approach that gathers feedback from peers, managers, and subordinates to give you a well-rounded view of your leadership abilities. By using these tools, leaders can see where they excel and where they need development, providing a clear path toward promotion and career growth. Start tracking your progress with these competency-based assessments and unlock your full potential. #CompetencyAssessment #LeadershipGrowth #CareerDevelopment #LeadershipSkills

I can vividly remember racing across campus to sign up for tutorials, hoping to snag a spot in the timeslot that best suited my schedule. These were the days of paper sign-up sheets pinned to faculty corridor walls, live lectures only, and the goal of cramming everything into one or two days to maximise study time in the campus library. Fast forward to today, and it’s no surprise that student attendance patterns have shifted. Technological advancements, rising living costs, and the lasting impact of the pandemic have all contributed to students spending less time on campus - often despite good intentions at the start of semester. A recent study featured in the Student Success Journal explores the experiences of first-year students and highlights a familiar trend: while many students begin with strong intentions to attend tutorials and lectures, actual participation drops significantly after just one semester. Some key insights: 1️⃣ Students are strategic: Tutorials and practicals are prioritised over lectures due to their interactive nature and stronger links to assessment. Lecture recordings have reduced the perceived need for in-person attendance. 2️⃣ Barriers persist: Long commutes, part-time work, and the rising cost of living continue to limit students' ability to be physically present on campus. 3️⃣ Social connection matters: Peer networks, friendships, and timetable design play a crucial role in supporting student engagement. Interestingly, the gap between intention and participation wasn’t unique to equity cohorts, but international students showed particularly strong alignment between their understanding of expectations and their own goals for engagement. So, what’s the opportunity here? Rather than aiming to 'return to normal,' universities have a chance to rethink what on-campus engagement looks like and why it matters. How can we better design for connection, flexibility, and purpose? How might we create spaces (both physical and virtual) where students want to show up, not just because they have to, but because it adds value? 🔗 Read the full study: https://lnkd.in/gJaNsEcE

Nationally, 2M+ high school students take dual enrollment college courses each year-- How many are enrolled at your local schools, and what are the gaps in access? In my latest Community College Research Center blog post, I present a set of dashboards showing disaggregated results by state, district, and school on participation in #DualEnrollment and #AdvancedPlacement nationwide. You can see the dual enrollment and AP hotspots in your state using the map feature, hover over districts to see detailed, school-level results, and view disaggregated trends in both state- and school-level participation in these early college courses (which we an others have shown to reliably provide a boost for students into and through college). Here's the post with the dashboard: https://lnkd.in/e3pzMuAd Here are some takeaways from the analysis: 💡 States differ quite a bit in terms of the overall dual enrollment participation rate: Nationally 10.6% of high schoolers took a DE course but in Washington, Indiana, and Iowa it's more than 25% and in 6 states it's under 5%. And differences state-by-state varies even more for specific subgroups of student (see the second tab). 🔎 Within states, there are substantial differences across school districts in the level of dual enrollment and AP participation-- and in many states these two programs serve geographically different areas (as you can see from toggling between DE and AP in the first tab) 🔍 🔍 Within districts with multiple high schools, there are key differences school-by-school both in overall participation as well as disparities by student subgroup (hover over the district in the map or view school-level results in the third tab) 📈 📊 Dual enrollment has steadily grown in the past 5 years -- even through the pandemic years -- but gaps in access for students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities remain in essentially every state and the vast majority of districts. These tools are meant to inform efforts to expand access to dual enrollment and other early college opportunities as an on-ramp into college and career opportunity after high school. They utilize federal data which is incredibly rich and actionable (e.g. each school is a principal or counselor that colleges can reach out to!) -- we need to ensure continuity in collection and access to the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights data into the future! I'd love to hear how these tools can support your work and what you have learned about effective strategies for increasing access and broadening the benefits of dual enrollment 🙌 National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships

How do you help SDRs track what skills to develop? Here’s what I’ve seen the best managers do: Build a sales competency framework Here’s how it works: First, define 3-4 core skill categories you think all reps need to build in order to do the next role up e.g. Account Executive or Senior SDR As an example, this might look like: 1. Sales Technique 2. Sales Operations 3. Commercial Acumen 4. Leadership & Stakeholder Management Under each category, list out the specific skill competencies expected e.g. Objection Handling, Pain Discovery Then, build a Google Sheet scorecard and for each competency, ask the rep to score themselves from 1-5 For each skill, encourage them to document example(s) of how they’ve demonstrated it Review this with them to modify any numbers, and identify 1-2 skills at a time to focus on developing For the target skills identified, give them a specific list of improvement actions to take in order to grow those skills Create a regular career development ritual to revisit this scorecard e.g. one a month and reflect on progress + define focus for the month ahead The beauty is twofold: 1. This keeps reps accountable in consistently developing desired skills 2. This also helps reps feel clarity in what they need to demonstrate to progress to the next level Curious to hear how different tech sales teams out there approach this! #sdr #bdr

WHAT IS A SKILL MATRIX? A Skill Matrix is a structured visual tool used to map and assess the skills and competencies of employees against the tasks or operations required in their roles. It helps organizations understand the current capabilities of their workforce and identify skill gaps that need training or development. Purpose in Manufacturing: In manufacturing, a skill matrix serves several important functions: It shows which employees are trained and capable of performing specific tasks, operating machines, or handling processes. It identifies gaps in skills where training is needed. It ensures the right person is assigned to the right job. It supports workforce flexibility, job rotation, and succession planning. It helps maintain production continuity during absenteeism or peak loads. How It Works: A skill matrix typically includes a list of employees and a list of required skills. Each employee is rated on how proficient they are in each skill, often using a scale from 0 to 3 (or 0 to 5). These scores represent the level of expertise, ranging from no knowledge to expert who can train others. Common Skill Levels: 0 – No knowledge: The employee is unaware of the task or has never performed it. 1 – Basic: The employee has some knowledge but needs supervision. 2 – Competent: The employee can perform the task independently. 3 – Expert: The employee is highly skilled and can train others. Benefits of Using a Skill Matrix: Improves visibility into team strengths and weaknesses. Supports training plans by clearly showing who needs development. Helps with compliance for audits and certifications (ISO, IATF, etc.). Aids in planning for job rotation, workload balancing, and cross-training. Enables better decision-making in assigning work or promotions. Applications in Manufacturing: Assigning machine operators based on their skill levels. Ensuring only qualified personnel handle critical or high-risk tasks. Supporting TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and lean initiatives. Building multi-skilled teams to increase flexibility and reduce downtime. Maintaining audit readiness by documenting workforce capability. Best Practices: Review and update the matrix regularly (e.g., monthly or quarterly). Use input from supervisors, trainers, or certification results for accuracy. Visualize with color coding (e.g., red for 0, green for 3) for easy understanding. Integrate with performance reviews and training plans. Use it as a living document — not just for compliance, but as a driver for development.

The fastest way to improve customer service training is through measurable learning objectives. Use the A-B-C-D framework to write them. One of the original objectives for a training program was "product knowledge." This wasn't really an objective. It was too vague. How do you really know if someone has the right product knowledge? A-B-C-D can make objectives clear and measurable. It works by asking four questions about the training. Let's use "product knowledge" as an example: A = Audience. Who is being trained? In this example, we want customer service specialists to increase their product knowledge. B = Behavior. What do we want them to do? For this client, they wanted customer service specialists to give the correct answer to customer questions. C = Condition. How will we verify the behavior has been trained? In this example, we opted to test product knowledge through in-class simulated phone calls where employees would have to answer questions a customer might ask them. D = Degree. How proficient must the participant be? Some skills come with a bit of latitude for beginners. This element allows you to adjust for that. In this case, we wanted customer service specialists to use a knowledge base so they always shared the correct answer. We decided each person needed to correctly answer five questions in a row. The finished A-B-C-D objective transformed "product knowledge" to this: "Customer service specialists will correctly answer customer questions during in-class simulations five times without error." Use A-B-C-D objectives to transform your customer service training. Move from vague to clear and specific. Get the ABCD worksheet: https://bit.ly/4d7QJQG

Various aspects to measure to what extent the employees are agile to learning in an organization-------------- To measure the extent of employees' learning agility in an organization, several aspects and metrics can be evaluated. Here are the key areas to focus on: Key Aspects to Measure Learning Agility Assessment Tools: Utilize scientifically validated learning agility assessments, such as the Korn Ferry Learning Agility Tool or the Mettl Learning Agility Assessment. These tools evaluate various traits associated with learning agility, including adaptability, curiosity, and problem-solving skills. Learning Preferences: Identify individual learning styles and preferences through assessments that analyze how employees prefer to acquire new skills (e.g., self-learning, classroom training, mentorship). Performance Metrics: Monitor performance indicators such as time-to-competency in new roles or tasks, and the speed at which employees can adapt to changes in processes or technologies. This can provide insights into their learning agility in real-world scenarios. Feedback Mechanisms: Implement regular feedback loops where employees receive constructive feedback on their adaptability and learning efforts. This can include peer reviews, manager evaluations, and self-assessments. Training Participation and Outcomes: Track participation rates in training programs and subsequent application of learned skills on the job. Evaluate whether employees are able to transfer knowledge effectively into their roles and how this impacts team performance. Engagement in Continuous Learning: Measure engagement levels in continuous learning initiatives, such as workshops, online courses, and cross-training opportunities. High engagement may indicate a proactive approach to learning. Problem-Solving Abilities: Assess employees' ability to solve complex problems by presenting them with real-life challenges and evaluating their responses and solutions. This can be indicative of their capacity to learn from experiences. Adaptability to Change: Evaluate how quickly employees adjust to changes within the organization, such as new technologies or shifts in strategy. This can be assessed through surveys or direct observation during transitions. Retention of Knowledge: Assess how well employees retain information over time through follow-up assessments after training sessions or workshops. This helps gauge both initial learning and long-term retention capabilities. Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: Measure participation in collaborative projects and knowledge-sharing initiatives within teams. Employees who actively engage in sharing insights and learning from one another typically demonstrate higher learning agility. By focusing on these aspects, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of their employees' learning agility levels, which is crucial for fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.

❗ Only 12% of employees apply new skills learned in L&D programs to their jobs (HBR).  ❗ Are you confident that your Learning and Development initiatives are part of that 12%? And do you have the data to back it up?  ❗ L&D professionals who can track the business results of their programs report having a higher satisfaction with their services, more executive support and continued and increased resources for L&D investments.    Learning is always specific to each employee and requires personal context. Evaluating training effectiveness shows you how useful your current training offerings are and how you can improve them in the future. What’s more, effective training leads to higher employee performance and satisfaction, boosts team morale, and increases your return on investment (ROI). As a business, you’re investing valuable resources in your training programs, so it’s imperative that you regularly identify what’s working, what’s not, why, and how to keep improving. To identify the Right Employee Training Metrics for Your Training Program, here are a few important pointers: ✅ Consult with key stakeholders – before development, on the metrics they care about. Make sure to use your L&D expertise to inform your collaboration. ✅Avoid using L&D jargon when collaborating with stakeholders – Modify your language to suit the audience. ✅Determine the value of measuring the effectiveness of a training program. It takes effort to evaluate training effectiveness, and those that support key strategic outcomes should be the focus of your training metrics. ✅Avoid highlighting low-level metrics, such as enrollment and completion rates. 9 Examples of Commonly Used Training Metrics and L&D Metrics 📌 Completion Rates: The percentage of employees who successfully complete the training program. 📌Knowledge Retention: Measured through pre- and post-training assessments to evaluate how much information participants have retained. 📌Skill Improvement: Assessed through practical tests or simulations to determine how effectively the training has improved specific skills. 📌Behavioral Changes: Observing changes in employee behavior in the workplace that can be attributed to the training. 📌Employee Engagement: Employee feedback and surveys post-training to assess their engagement and satisfaction with the training. 📌Return on Investment (ROI): Calculating the financial return on investment from the training, considering costs vs. benefits. 📌Application of Skills: Evaluating how effectively employees are applying new skills or knowledge in their day-to-day work. 📌Training Cost per Employee: Calculating the total cost of training per participant. 📌Employee Turnover Rates: Assessing whether the training has an impact on employee retention and turnover rates. Let's discuss in comments which training metrics are you using and your experience of using it. #MeetaMeraki #Trainingeffectiveness

“Show outcomes, not outputs!” I’ve given (and received) this feedback more times than I can count while helping organizations tell their impact stories. And listen, it’s technically right…but it can also feel completely unfair. We love to say things like: ✅ 100 teachers trained ✅ 10,000 learners reached ✅ 500 handwashing stations installed But funders (and most payers) want to know: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? That’s the outcomes vs outputs gap: ➡️ Output: 100 teachers trained ➡️ Outcome: Teachers who received training scored 15% higher on evaluations than those who didn’t The second tells a story of change. But measuring outcomes can be 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲. It’s easy to count the number of people who showed up. It’s costly to prove their lives got better because of it. And that creates a brutal inequality. Well-funded organizations with substantial M&E budgets continue to win. Meanwhile, incredible community-led organizations get sidelined for not having “evidence”- even when the change is happening right in front of us. So what can organizations with limited resources do? 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: That study from Daystar University showing teacher training improved learning by 10% in India? Use it. If your intervention is similar, cite their methodology and results as supporting evidence. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀: Baseline and end-line surveys aren't perfect, but they're better than nothing. Self-reported confidence levels have limitations, but "85% of teachers reported feeling significantly more confident in their teaching abilities," tells a story. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Universities need research projects. Find one studying similar interventions and collaborate. Share costs, share data, share credit. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Can't afford a 5-year longitudinal study? Track intermediate outcomes that research shows correlate with long-term impact. 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Let beneficiaries help design and conduct evaluations. It's cost-effective and often reveals insights that traditional methods miss. For example, train teachers to interview each other about your training program. And funders? Y’all have homework too. Some are already offering evaluation support (bless you). But let’s make it the rule, not the exception. What if 10-15% of every grant was earmarked for outcome measurement? What if we moved beyond gold-standard-only thinking? 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 “𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹”. We need outcomes. But we also need equity. How are you navigating this tension? What creative ways have you used to show impact without burning out your team or budget? #internationaldevelopment #FundingAfrica #fundraising #NonprofitLeadership #nonprofitafrica

Too many learning designers obsess over learning goals. But learning goals alone don’t drive results. A goal without a plan is a wish. A plan without habits is a dead end. If you’re not designing for execution, you’re designing for failure. What you need is a GPS. 📍 Goal = Your Destination (Where are we going?) 🗺 Plan = Your Route (How do we get there?) 🔁 Systems = Your Driving Habits (What keeps us moving forward?) Without all three, learning gets off track. Here’s how to make them work together: STEP 1: Set a Clear Goal 📍 A goal defines success. It answers: What should the learner achieve at the end? What doesn't work: ❌ "Improve digital literacy" (What does that even mean?) ❌ "Complete compliance training" (Nobody cares) ❌ "Learn leadership skills" (Too vague to be useful) Instead, give your learners real destinations: ✅ "Build and launch a working website for your side project by next month" ✅ "Prevent a data breach by identifying the top 3 security risks in your daily work" ✅ "Lead your first team meeting using our new decision-making framework" 👉 WHAT TO DO: Write your learning goal using this formula: "By the end of this course, learners will be able to [specific skill or outcome]." STEP 2: Create a Realistic Plan 🗺 A learning plan without milestones is like a road trip without rest stops – it leads to burnout and abandonment. Your plan should include: - A structured learning path (What concepts come first? What builds on them?) - Delivery methods (Instructor-led, self-paced, hands-on?) Milestones & check-ins (How do you track progress?) 💡 Example Plan for a Web Development Course: Week 1: HTML Basics (text, images, links) Week 2: CSS Fundamentals (styling, layouts) Week 3: Hands-on Project (Build a personal site) Week 4: Peer review & iteration 👉 WHAT TO DO: Start with the final assessment or project, then reverse-engineer your learning plan. Plan for failure. Build recovery routes and alternative paths. Your learners will thank you. STEP 3: Build Supporting Systems 🔁 Here's where the rubber meets road. Systems aren't sexy, but they separate success from wishful thinking. 💡 Example Habits for Learners: Reflect after each lesson (Journaling habit) Apply skills in small, real-world tasks (Practice habit) Engage in discussion forums (Community habit) 👉 WHAT TO DO: Pick 2–3 small habits to reinforce learning effectiveness. STEP 4: Track & Adjust 📐 A great plan still needs real-time tracking to adjust the course. - Completion Rates – Are learners dropping off? Where? - Knowledge Checks – Are they grasping key concepts? - Engagement Metrics – Are they interacting with content/peers? - Post-Course Outcomes – Are they applying what they learned? 💡 Example: If learners struggle in Week 2, add a quick video explainer or hands-on exercise before moving forward. 👉 WHAT TO DO: Use a simple feedback loop: Observe → Adjust → Test → Repeat. So before launching your next course, ask yourself: "Is my GPS in place?"