The evaluation of training and development of employees: the case of
A national oil and gas industry
Aliya Mohammed Al-Mughairi
Brunel University, Business school

Abstract: With high levels of organisational investment in staff training (Salas et al., 2008), training evaluation is a key measure of its organisational contribution. Kirkpatrick’s (1959) model identifies four levels - reaction, learning, behaviour and result – and has been in use for more than 50 years to measure training effectiveness (Saks and Burke, 2012). However, this paper argues that the Kirkpatrick’s four levels fails to account for work environment, individual factors, design and delivery training factors, and their impact on training effectiveness (Bates, 2007; Homklin, 2013). For example, in the latter case, little research has focused on the design and delivery factors that can influence the achievement of Kirkpatrick’s four training outcomes (Iqbal 2011; Homklin, 2013). Training success as measured for example by improved employees performance is therefore omitted in training evaluation. This paper aims to investigate the influence of the following five proposed moderating variables on design and delivery training factors, namely: training environment, training methods, trainer performance and behaviour, training content and training objectives, and their subsequent impact on Kirkpatrick’s four training outcomes (reaction, learning, behaviour and result). The outcome is to identify those training variables that improve employee performance.

Keywords: training evaluation, reaction, learning, behaviour, result.