Effective training is vital for the success of your organization and employees, but how can you ensure your training program is up to par before rolling it out across the entire team? This article will guide you through the process of testing your training content, helping you gather actionable feedback and ensure successful engagement before a larger rollout.

Try to follow the steps in the order given, but feel free to adapt them to your company's specific needs. Remember, it’s important to gather feedback from people at all levels throughout the process. This simple guide will help you continue to evolve your training program and keep in mind that training programs can and should change regularly to adapt to your company’s and employees’ needs.

Why Test Your Training?

Before we dive into the how, let's address the why. Testing your training content is a critical step for several reasons:

  • Identify gaps and issues: Testing helps uncover areas of confusion or potential misunderstandings that might not be apparent without user feedback.
  • Validate learning objectives: You can check whether the content effectively trains people on the necessary knowledge and skills and whether these can be applied in real-world situations.
  • Get user feedback: Testing provides insights into how well the training is received, including the clarity of the content and how engaged people are with the content and format.
  • Increase employee confidence: Testing training can provide validation and boost confidence among your team that real user input was taken into consideration.

For restaurant chain Hopdoddy Burger Bar, the ability to personalize content for specific teams and get quick feedback from employees to create a better program are game-changers. Employees can comment on a course in Opus and Kim Evans, Director of Training at Hopdoddy, can make the change instantly. “If someone mentions that something didn’t make sense to them, I can change it like that and leave them a message saying ‘thanks for the feedback — we fixed this,’” Evans said. “It's an opportunity to make the team feel heard, and those little wins add up.”

What to Test

When testing your training program, focus on these key areas:

  • Reasonable outcomes and objectives: Are the learning goals achievable within the given timeframe? Do the objectives align with real-world job tasks?
  • Content and delivery methods: Is the content engaging and easy to understand? Are the delivery methods (e.g., in-person, online, hands-on) effective?
  • Actual content: Is the information accurate and up-to-date? Does the content cover all necessary topics?
  • Application of knowledge: Can employees apply what they've learned in real work situations? Are there opportunities for employees to practice and provide feedback?
  • Time and resource requirements: Is the training duration appropriate? Are the required resources (materials, equipment) readily available?

3 Steps to Pilot Your Training Program

1. Define Your Testing Group

Start by identifying the right group of employees to test your training. You’ll want the following for the test group:

  • 2-3 test locations and 1 non-test location for comparison
  • Locations that typically test other software, such as POS systems
  • A mix of tenured managers and newly promoted managers with a long company history
  • A diverse group of employees in various roles, both front-of-house and back-of-house
Questions to ask about this step:
  • Which employees are most representative of the group we’ll roll this training out to?
  • Which locations would provide the most valuable feedback?
  • How can we ensure a diverse mix of experience levels and roles in our test group?

2. Implement Data Collection and Feedback Processes

To gather meaningful insights, you need to know where and how you’ll gather and analyze the feedback. You should define what success would look like for the training test. It’s too early to set KPIs like an increase in sales, so instead consider leading indicators of success.

First, you’ll want to outline the data that you’ll collect in an e-learning platform like Opus, Here are some examples: 

  • Completed assignments
  • Content star ratings and written feedback
  • Accuracy rates
  • Management engagement (e.g., completion of check-ins)

Then, you’ll want to collect feedback in person with the test group. It’s a good idea to talk to people individually to get their candid experiences. You likely want to talk to managers at key locations, tenured team members, and new hires. 

Questions you could ask employees and managers:

  • How relevant was the training content to your day-to-day job responsibilities?
  • Were there any parts of the training that were particularly challenging or confusing?
  • Did you feel the pace of the training was appropriate (too fast, too slow, or just right)?
  • How engaging did you find the training materials and delivery methods?
  • What additional topics or skills do you wish were covered in the training?
  • How confident do you feel in applying what you've learned to your work?
  • Were there enough opportunities for hands-on practice during the training?
  • How would you rate the overall effectiveness of the training on a scale of 1-10?
  • What was the most valuable thing you learned from this training?
  • What was your least favorite part of the training, and why?
  • How could we make this training more engaging or effective?
  • Do you feel the length of the training was appropriate?
  • Would you recommend this training to your colleagues? Why or why not?
  • For managers: Have you noticed any improvements in employee performance since the training?
  • For managers: Are there any areas where you feel employees need additional support or training?
Questions to ask about this step: 
  • What specific metrics will best indicate the training's effectiveness?
  • How can we gather honest, unbiased feedback from participants?

3. Revise Based on the Findings

After the testing phase, it's important to measure its success and make necessary adjustments before a larger rollout. When evaluating the training, you should consider both quantitative and qualitative measures. Here are a few quantitative ways to measure on-the-job impact:

  • Overall completion rates
  • Average time to completion
  • Accuracy rates
  • Star ratings

It’s also a good idea to conduct check-ins with managers and employees to understand if practical skills are being applied regularly. Based on the quantitative and qualitative impact, you should adjust training content and delivery before rolling it out to the larger team. 

Questions to ask about this step:
  • How does the performance of the test group compare to the non-test location?
  • What unexpected challenges or benefits emerged during testing?
  • Based on the results, what specific changes should we make to the training program?

Effective Training Programs Start With a Pilot

Testing your training before a full rollout is an investment that pays dividends in the long run. By identifying issues early, validating your objectives, and incorporating user feedback, you'll create a more effective training program that truly resonates with your frontline employees. Remember, the key to successful training lies not just in its content, but in how well it's received and applied by your team. 

As you move through each phase of testing, continually ask yourself and your team critical questions. This reflective process will help you fine-tune your training program, so it drives real impact.