Our approach to evaluation
The answer to these questions rests in a range of evaluation techniques and guidance that Learning and Organisational Development, in conjunction with other University colleagues, are working to implement. These mechanisms will help us to make sure that L&OD activities do what they are set out to do, and allows participants to feedback what works and what doesn’t.
Our evaluation approach aims to ascertain:
- whether our learning activities have achieved the impact required;
- that set standards of service are being met;
- any potential changes required for continuous improvement and fitness for purpose, and
- the level of learning of the participant and how it has been transferred into action.
How we collect feedback
We gather feedback through three key routes to help us evaluate our offer
1. Our evaluation survey
This is the place to give feedback on all learning activities and resources offered by our team. When you open the survey, you will be asked to select what time of learning activity you accessed. This could be a LinkedIn Learning course, a facilitated workshop, information on our website or any other learning resource we offer. The feedback we gather from the survey helps us benchmark what we offer and assess overall satisfaction levels from staff, which we review on a regular basis and make improvements where needed.
2. Interviews with staff
We regularly undertake interviews with staff who have attended a development programme to provide feedback on their experience. We often do this 6-months or more after they have completed the programme to assess the longer term impact of the learning intervention.
3. Feedback from our stakeholders across the University
Our Learning & Organisational Development Partners work closely with Faculty and Central PS Leadership Teams to understand the impact of what we offer is having in different areas of the University. We understand that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and regularly develop bespoke learning resources or sessions based on client needs.
Evaluation methods
There are a number of methods that can be applied to evaluate L&D activities. One of the most well-known is the Kirkpatrick Model, which looks at evaluation activities on a number of levels and is reflected in our evaluation techniques. You can read more about this method here. We also use Success Case Methodology, which you can read about here.
We have a number of online resources to support with the development of an evaluation approach.
- Introduction to Evaluation article on the L&D Toolkit
- Measuring Learning Effectiveness course on LinkedIn Learning