Using a Survey Tool as a Completion Method in Competency Management

U.S. businesses collectively spend more than $80 billion every year on training their employees. Additionally, global spending on training and development has increased by 400% in 11 years. However, what is more important than how much money you spend, is how effective your training is and how well your employees receive it. Therefore, measuring training effectiveness is crucial for businesses of all sizes.

Training employees is an important component of any successful business. The goal of any training program is to improve competence, capacity, and performance within a workplace. It provides invaluable opportunities for employees to gain knowledge and skills. Effective training assists in the successful transfer and application of learning, which results in higher employee performance and satisfaction, as well as an increase in a company’s return on investment. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of feedback collection and how the use of a survey tool as a method of completion in any company can greatly improve its competency-based training program.

What are the benefits of collecting feedback on your training?

Feedback provides trainers the opportunity to determine if the intended outcome was met. Comprehensive feedback on the effectiveness in achieving business goals is invaluable to any business. They can also evaluate whether training materials and resources are successfully aligned with company standards. Feedback helps ensure that the training is delivered effectively and efficiently. In addition to determining if the training was useful, it identifies gaps in the training and discovers opportunities to improve it in the future.

When effective training and development for your organization is planned, it is expected that improved skills and productivity is the result. Informed decisions can be made regarding training initiatives and resources can be allocated more effectively.  Leadership also looks for greater retention rates and an improved brand. Therefore three important questions should be asked after any corporate training has been delivered:

  1. Were the participants in the training able to apply the new knowledge and improve their performance on the job?
  2. How effective was the training in assisting participants in gaining relevant and useful knowledge and skills?
  3. Were there any other benefits to the training program?

The answers to these questions should help you determine if the training was worth the investment.  In order to answer these questions, data must be collected so that the outcomes can be measured.  The more data you collect on measurable outcomes, the easier it will be to quantify a business’s return on investment.

How can using a survey tool as a method of completion provide effective competency-based training feedback?

It is important to plan what factors you will measure and how you will collect this data before the training even begins. Data collection is needed in order to gather quality information for informed decisions to be made. Employers are able to use the data to make predictions about future probabilities and trends.

Since data collection is such a crucial component in any successful training program, it is critical to choose the right data collection method. An online assessment tool for competency assessments can improve the training and feedback process. It makes the assessment process easier as it provides an online interface that guides a person through the assessment.

Using a survey tool as a completion method allows for effective and fair assessments to be applied consistently across the organization. It can help an organization screen a large number of candidates at once. Survey tools have the potential to objectively measure an individual’s competencies, skills, and knowledge while being managed securely. An effective competency assessment tool gives you the ability to look beyond individuals in an organization to understand the makeup of your entire workforce.

Survey tools allow competency assessments to measure an employee’s performance against a set benchmark. On its own, a competency-based assessment does very little. In order to be effective, individuals need feedback that informs their level of competence and training that allows them to achieve the desired skill level. Reporting helps individuals and organizations make sense of data gathered so that action plans can be formulated for future growth.

Measurement of training isn’t helpful unless you utilize what you have learned to improve the training. Training isn’t a one-time event. Learning paths should be continuously defined so that employees can stay relevant and informed.

How can CABEM’s Competency Manager help?

CABEM’s Competency Manager is a solution that allows for a multitude of confirmation methods and tracks everything in one system. We are a custom software company that provides sophisticated products, solutions, and technology services to a discerning client base. With expertise in custom development and cybersecurity, we provide solutions to a variety of markets including healthcare, government, manufacturing, financial, environmental, and more.

Leverage the competency manager’s built-in survey features to learn and adapt your learning and competency program accordingly. CABEM’s Competency Manager makes learning accessible to the entire workforce through its many options for implementing blended learning. With SCORM compatibility and a built-in LMS, the Competency Manager provides a central framework for all your content, no matter the source. Centralized learning materials allow your organization to stay organized and provide consistency, two essential elements of increasing learner engagement. Easily import existing training programs, build your own tests and assessments, track attendance, administer guided learning.

With the Competency Manager, there’s no single right way to offer learning options to your workforce! We believe that software should not dictate business processes, but that your software should be able to do business the way you want to. Our platform is flexible and allows you to recreate your organization and employee skills in any way you choose.