As training professionals how often do we come across this situation:
» We have designed a focused course curriculum with well-designed content, achievable goals and measurable milestones.
» We have integrated the appropriate learning delivery channels.
» The internal marketing has identified a group of participants who are enthusiastic and committed, both before the course and perhaps also return excellent happy sheet feedback.
» The course may even have strong executive support and buy-in.
But after the course we notice:
» There is little or no evidence of the new skills and learning being applied back on the job.
» Quite a few last minute cancellations came in before the first session.
After the skills gap diagnosis when we select the course participants we sometimes overlook the influence of one of the four stakeholders. The support and buy-in of the participant's line manager is often the weakest link, and a principal contributor to the scenario described above.
TJ Taylor Training has designed a questionnaire and evaluation matrix for the participant's line manager that your Training Department can use to assess and quantify the level of managerial support and buy-in, either for a specific course or for training in general.
This evaluation tool can be used both in companies where the manager has a substantial say in the selection of course participants, and in companies where the manager's role is purely support of the participant's choice of training program.
The information can be used pro-actively in the marketing of the course, or of the benefits of training in general, and/or as a filter in the selection of participants in order to focus spending on the maximum impact.
The managerial support selection matrix was originally created for language training but can be modified and customized for any other area or focus. Details on how to use, modify, distribute and assess the information from the matrix are included on the first sheet of the Excel file, a basic version of which is available as a free download below.
If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement you are very welcome to contact us.
» Download
the Management Support Evaluation Questionnaire
File opens in a new window, size: 44 Kb, approximate download time: less than 1 minute
The file is in Excel format. You can view the file on your computer, print it out, or save a copy. To open the file you need a copy of Microsoft Excel.