Measurement at All Levels of Performance

Investing in your sales team’s effectiveness, like all significant business investments, needs to be monitored. We offer a systematic approach to measuring sales performance that creates visibility into the sales training’s value, uses data to guide decision making, builds momentum that keeps leaders, managers, and salespeople engaged in your sales effectiveness initiative and accountable for outcomes.

Our measurement approach is based on the Kirkpatrick Model, a globally recognized method of evaluating the results of training and learning programs. It assesses both formal and informal training methods and rates them against four levels of criteria: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

Level 1: Reaction

Time Frame: Immediately after training

Instrument(s): Post-training survey

Measuring reaction takes place immediately following completion of a workshop or online course in the form of an online survey after the training. This survey measures participant satisfaction with the program, relevancy of the content, quality of the training delivery, the extent to which participants feel they will use the training, and whether they would recommend the training to others. Additionally, we gauge commitment to change to give you the earliest indicators of your team’s willingness and plans to adopt the changes back on the job.

We deem the results of a Reaction survey positive if participants report that the training was highly relevant to the challenges that they face, that they developed key skills that will make them more effective, and that the training was deeply engaging. To ensure these outcomes, Richardson Sales Performance adheres to adult learning principles in the design of its programs and uses the Socratic method of facilitation in a way that builds upon participants’ prior experience.

Level 2: Sales Training Knowledge Retention

Time Frame: 1-3 months after training

Instrument(s): QuickCheck™

During a time period lasting one to three months after a sales training event, we track and reinforce knowledge gained from the training using QuickCheck™, our mobile knowledge mastery tool. This technology enables performance measurement and knowledge retention through e-mail-based behavioral scenarios in less than five minutes per day.

Typically, QuickCheck™ runs for 12 weeks and can be structured as a learning game to harness the competitive spirit of the participants and drive utilization. The QuickCheck™ program provides real-time, on-demand access to participants’:

1. Level of engagement
2. Knowledge retention
3. Performance on specific content through its easy-to-interpret administrative dashboard

The analytics provide actionable intelligence based on snapshots or trends over time. Data tagging allows you to analyze the data in ways that are the most meaningful to your organization. During the program, we will provide you with updates on the level of engagement and who, if anyone, from your team is falling behind in the program. After the first program, we will walk you through the results, providing you with insights into how your team has performed over time and how well they have mastered the key concepts from the workshops.

Real-Time Sales Manager Dashboards

QuickCheck® Analytics delivers standard weekly reports via e-mail to managers that showcase hierarchical management views with drill-downs on performance by individual, team, and region. The reports display performance and engagement summaries, as well as proficiency comparisons within and across groups. The dashboards have targeted sales coaching insights with integrated communication tools.

Individual performances can be scored as strong, medium, and weak, and managers can view this in addition to any other dimensions that the organization wishes to tag along with post-training data — for example, by product line, employee tenure, direct reporting relationship, and even previous employers.

The real-time performance heat map analyzes and presents data enabling a real-time understanding of what the field knows and where it needs help and/or coaching.

Level 3: Application in the Field

Time Frame: 6-9 months after training

Instrument(s): SkillGauge® Assessment (Measure Internalized Behavior Change)

Internalized change is measured six to nine months after the training. To measure the internalized change in your sellers’ behavior, we use SkillGauge®, a behavior-based skill diagnostic instrument. This tool enables participants to receive an unbiased assessment of their selling or coaching behaviors compared to their peers and to a benchmark. The difference in pre-, and post-scoring measures behavioral lift. The situational questions are written in a specific and nuanced manner and are scored using an advanced algorithm to ensure an accurate assessment of the participant's actual behavior change.

Level 4: Business Impact

Time Frame: 12-18 months after training

Instrument(s): Attribution Analysis, Impact Studies

Measuring the impact of training on business performance occurs 12-18 months after the training event. Kirkpatrick Level 4 measures business results in accordance with the performance objectives stated at the outset. We acknowledge that many variables can impact performance. Richardson Sales Performance supports customers in developing an ROI measurement strategy prior to training. We identify objectives and associated metrics for the training, isolate and validate the reliability of the customer’s internal metrics, pilot the training to a representative sample, capture and publish results, and adjust and enhance the training, as appropriate.

We believe that effective measurement is a continuous, real-time process and that your measurement plan should deliver actionable data that delivers increasingly valuable insights as the program progresses. We will continually analyze both leading and lagging indicators and report periodically to you on the impact of your sales training.