Training and development opportunities at work are highly beneficial to both employers and employees. From an organizational perspective, offering professional development helps you ensure your workforce acquires the skills and knowledge needed to continuously improve their performance.
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From an employee’s perspective, training sessions provide added confidence and even boost job satisfaction. In fact, employees value professional development opportunities at work so much that it actually factors into their decision about whether to stay in a job or more on — companies that create a strong culture of learning see their retention rates improve by 30–50 percent.
However, it’s not enough for your organization to simply offer learning and development opportunities. Those opportunities must match the needs of both your employees and your business. How can you ensure the training you’re offering will help you reach your company objectives while supporting employees in the way they want?
It all starts with pre-training survey questions. Organizations need to assess what their employees already know and what they need to learn in order to create and offer training that makes an impact.
Below, we take a closer look at what pre-training surveys are all about and why you should consider using them. We’ll also provide tips for creating an effective survey, share some sample pre-training survey questions, and introduce a survey software you can use to enhance the survey-making process.
You can create a pre-training survey with the top 20 questions with Jotform!
Top 20 Questions for Pre-Training Survey
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Top 20 Questions for Pre-Training Survey
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Useful pre-training survey questions
As the name suggests, a pre-training survey is a survey an organization gives its employees in preparation for creating or selecting the training materials for a professional development session.
One of the main reasons to conduct a pre-training survey is to assess employees’ prior knowledge. This can help you determine what material the training needs to cover — without being redundant for the employees. It’s also a good way to determine what employees are expecting to learn from the training.
Pre-training surveys pave the way for creating better training opportunities — those that are highly relevant and focused on future growth. From an employee perspective, a pre-training survey offers them a way to voice any concerns they may have about the proposed training and its content, as well as its structure, location, and schedule.
To ensure your pre-training survey succeeds in gathering the data your organization needs, follow these survey best practices:
Here are some examples of pre-training survey questions to consider, broken down into four categories.
These types of questions are designed to ascertain how much employees already know about the training topic. With this information in hand, you can design your training to fill in the knowledge gaps without being repetitive. Here are some knowledge-based pre-training survey questions to consider:
These types of pre-training survey questions help you understand your employees’ expectations. While you can use this information to cater to your employees’ needs, you can also use it to set new expectations if their requirements aren’t aligned with organizational ones. Here are some examples of expectation-based pre-training survey questions:
There are many different learning styles in the workplace. Some employees learn better with visual aids, while others prefer to listen to instructions, for example. Before you design training, it’s beneficial to find out the different ways your employees learn so you can present the material in formats that are easy for everyone to understand. Here are some learning style-based pre-training survey questions to ask:
The date, time, and location of a training session is as important as the material or format. If employees can’t attend, then the material itself is irrelevant. So it’s vital to check in regarding any logistical issues or hurdles before scheduling a training session. Here are some examples of logistics-based pre-training survey questions:
Whether you need to develop pre-training surveys, post-training surveys, or other types of surveys, you can do it with Jotform.
Online form builder Jotform ensures that the process of creating and distributing surveys is easy and simple. Jotform comes with hundreds of survey templates, such as training consultation forms, training signup forms, health questionnaires, fitness questionnaires, informed consent forms, and more. You can fully customize each template down to its text, structure, and design, so you can be sure your pre-training survey meets your exact standards.
All Jotform surveys and survey data are also highly secure, which means that any personal or proprietary data remains safe and confidential.
Not only does Jotform support survey creation and distribution, but it also makes analyzing the results easier as well. With Jotform Tables, a no-code spreadsheet-database tool, you can collect, organize, and manage the data you gather. Jotform Report Builder helps turn that data into attractive and clear visual reports that make insights easy to act on.
Get started designing your organization’s next professional development training session today with Jotform.
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Training programs can have different outcomes, and the key to success often lies in thoughtful planning and a clear strategy. Well-planned programs are more likely to achieve positive results for both the organization and its employees.
Creating an effective training program, like everything else in the business world, requires having a vision, setting clear goals, and following through.
Here are a few steps to start implementing a training program that will last and succeed.
The first step in developing a training program is identifying and assessing your employee training program requirements. A needs assessment helps you determine which teams or employees need training, what training they need, and the best ways to deliver it.
Employee training needs may already be established in the organization’s strategic, human resources, or individual development plans. However, if you’re building the training program from scratch (without predetermined objectives), you must first assess which areas to focus on.
There are several critical steps involved in assessing your organization’s training needs.
Begin by conducting a thorough assessment of the organization’s training needs. Identify skills gaps, job-specific requirements, and areas for improvement. Gather input from employees, supervisors, and HR professionals to determine the training priorities.
Here are a few questions you can start by asking:
Data points you can look at to answer these questions include CSAT surveys, employee performance reviews, sales goals vs. achievement, employee engagement surveys, and exit surveys. These data points touch on most organizations’ primary areas of concern: customer satisfaction, profitability, and employee experience. Once you have determined your current needs, it becomes easier to set your training objectives.
The training needs assessment (organizational, task & individual) will identify gaps in your current training initiatives and employee skill sets/knowledge. Understanding these skill gaps allows instructional design teams to tailor employee learning objectives effectively.
A training objective should:
Remember, any training program aims to set the employee up for success. Establish clear and measurable objectives for the training program. Define what skills and knowledge employees should acquire and outline the expected outcomes. These objectives will serve as a roadmap for designing the training content.
The next step is to create a comprehensive action plan that includes learning theories, instructional design, content, materials, and other training elements.
Start by designing relevant training modules that are engaging and aligned with organizational goals. Incorporate various instructional methods, such as workshops, e-learning platforms, and on-the-job training, to cater to diverse learning styles. By tailoring the content and delivery to the needs of the employees, you can maximize engagement and knowledge retention.
Next, assess the resources required to implement the training program effectively. This includes identifying trainers, developing training materials, securing technology tools, and arranging appropriate facilities. Proper resource allocation and budgeting are crucial to delivering a high-quality, seamless training experience.
Create a timeline that outlines the sequence and duration of each training module. Consider factors such as employee availability, work schedules, and organizational priorities to ensure smooth integration into daily operations. Clearly communicating this timeline to employees and stakeholders helps manage expectations and ensures everyone is on the same page.
Many companies pilot their initiatives and gather feedback to make adjustments before launching the program company-wide. This allows organizations to identify potential issues, refine the content, and optimize delivery methods. Incorporating feedback early on ensures the program is more effective when fully implemented.
The implementation phase is where the training program comes to life.
Program implementation should consider:
Participant progress should be monitored throughout the training lifecycle to determine if and how the program is effective. Use training evaluation metrics such as knowledge retention, behavioral change, and ROI to assess overall training effectiveness.
The last segment mentions that the training program should be continually monitored. Ultimately, the entire program should be evaluated to determine if it was successful and met training objectives. Assess the effectiveness of each training module through learning evaluations like Explorance Metrics that Matter (MTM). MTM offers best-practice KPIs, Smartsheet evaluations, and measurement strategies, as well as the world’s largest validated source of learning effectiveness benchmarks (1.5 billion data points).
The training program or action plan can be revised or reassessed if objectives or expectations are not met.
Training programs are crucial for an organization’s success. They help employees gain the skills and knowledge needed to perform their jobs well, leading to better productivity and job satisfaction. Investing in training also shows a commitment to employee growth and helps the organization stay competitive.
To create an effective training program, start by assessing training needs and setting clear objectives. Develop a training action plan, implement the training, and regularly evaluate and update the program to ensure it continues to meet your goals.
Also, incorporating a continuous feedback loop into your corporate training program will go a long way to strengthening ongoing talent development and supports long-term organizational growth.
With a well-executed training program supported by MTM, your organization can drive success and foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
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