ASSESSING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS

ASSESSING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS often entails using the four-level model developed by Donald Kirkpatrick. According to this model, evaluation should always begin with level one, and then, as time and budget allows, should move sequentially through levels two, three, and four. Information from each prior level serves as a base for the next level's evaluation. Thus, each successive level represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of the training program, but at the same time requires a more rigorous and time-consuming analysis.

Level 1 Evaluation - Reactions

Just as the word implies, evaluation at this level measures how participants in a training program react to it. It attempts to answer questions regarding the participants' perceptions - Did they like it? Was the material relevant to their work? This type of evaluation is often called a “smilesheet.” According to Kirkpatrick, every program should at least be evaluated at this level to provide for the improvement of a training program. In addition, the participants' reactions have important consequences for learning (level two). Although a positive reaction does not guarantee learning, a negative reaction almost certainly reduces its possibility.

Level 2 Evaluation - Learning

Assessing at this level moves the evaluation beyond learner satisfaction and attempts to assess the extent students have advanced in skills, knowledge, or attitude. Measurement at this level is more difficult and laborious than level one. Methods range from formal to informal testing to team assessment and self-assessment. If possible, participants take the test or assessment before the training (pretest) and after training (post test) to determine the amount of learning that has occurred.

Level 3 Evaluation - Transfer

This level measures the transfer that has occurred in learner's behavior due to the training program. Evaluating at this level attempts to answer the question - Are the newly acquired skills, knowledge, or attitude being used in the everyday environment of the learner? For many trainers this level represents the truest assessment of a program's effectiveness. However, measuring at this level is difficult as it is often impossible to predict when the change in behavior will occur, and thus requires important decisions in terms of when to evaluate, how often to evaluate, and how to evaluate.

Level 4 Evaluation- Results

Frequently thought of as the bottom line, this level measures the success of the program in terms that managers and executives can understand -increased production, improved quality, decreased costs, reduced frequency of accidents, increased sales, and even higher profits or return on investment. From a business and organizational perspective, this is the overall reason for a training program, yet level four results are not typically addressed. Determining results in financial terms is difficult to measure, and is hard to link directly with training.

For more information you can click this link...http://www.businessballs.com/kirkpatricklearningevaluationmodel.htm

Contributed by Arvee Veloso

Why Sleep Is So Important

by Anne Field

Many hard-charging managers pride themselves on their ability to work long hours and get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. But the truth is that they're shortchanging themselves -- and their companies.

"Sleep is not a luxury," says Dr. James O'Brien, medical director of the Boston SleepCare Center in Waltham, Mass. "It's a necessity for optimal functioning."

When you sleep, your brain catalogues the previous day's experiences, primes your memory, and triggers the release of hormones regulating energy, mood, and mental acuity. To complete its work, the brain needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep. When it gets less, your concentration, creativity, mood regulation, and productivity all take a hit.

How sleep works

To understand why the right amount of shut-eye is so important to performance, it helps to know how sleep works.

Healthy sleep is divided into four-stage cycles. As we progress through stages 1 and 2, we become increasingly unplugged from the world until we reach the deep sleep that happens in stage 3. In deep sleep, both brain and body activity drop to their lowest point during the cycle, and blood is redirected from the brain to muscles.

The fourth and final stage is named for the rapid eye movement -- REM -- that is its defining characteristic. Our brains become busily active in REM sleep, too, even more so than when we are awake. Dreaming happens during this stage.

In a full night's sleep, we experience three or four such cycles, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes.

The work sleep does

Different yet equally important restorative work happens during deep sleep (stage 3) and REM sleep (stage 4).

Deep sleep is crucial for physical renewal, hormonal regulation, and growth. Without deep sleep, you're more likely to get sick, feel depressed, and gain an unhealthy amount of weight. According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2008 Sleep in America poll, those who sleep less than 6 hours per night on workdays are significantly more likely to be obese than those who sleep 8 hours or more (41% vs. 28%).

In REM sleep -- stage 4 in the sleep cycle -- the brain processes and synthesizes memories and emotions, activity that is crucial for learning and higher-level thought. A lack of REM sleep results in slower cognitive and social processing, problems with memory, and difficulty concentrating. The same 2008 sleep poll found that people who sleep less than 6 hours per night during the workweek are twice as likely as their better-rested colleagues to report difficulty in concentrating.

A deficit in sleep leads to deficits in work performance

Performing complex tasks and navigating complicated relationships -- the heart and soul of a manager's work -- both become much harder to do when REM sleep suffers. And when you cut back on sleep, your REM sleep suffers the most.

There are two reasons for this:
Your brain, when confronted with sleep deprivation, opts for lighter sleep and hence less REM sleep.

Later sleep cycles tend to have longer REM periods than cycles earlier in the night. When you sleep through only one or two cycles instead of three or four, your REM sleep is disproportionately affected.

When your brain is starved of REM sleep, concentrating on a single activity is challenging. Multitasking -- an inescapable bane of managerial work -- becomes exponentially more so.

A deficit of REM sleep also makes it tougher to pick up on nuances in discussions or negotiations.

"When you're trying to understand the subtext of what someone is saying, your brain needs to use a bunch of programs at the same time," says Dr. Gandis Mazeika, head of Sleep Medicine Northwest in Seattle. "If you're sleep deprived, that's hard to do."

In addition, recent research shows that sleep deprivation takes a toll on decision-making ability.

Getting more from the sleep you get

Given the demands facing managers today -- working in a 24/7, always-on environment is a big one -- a full night's sleep is sometimes an impossible dream. Fortunately, there are ways to get more out of the time you do manage to spend in sleep:

Avoid caffeine. Cut out caffeinated coffee, tea, and soda ideally 10 hours before bedtime -- and chocolate, too. When you sleep, make it a commitment.

Try to nod off quickly. To fall asleep fast, you can occasionally use a sleeping supplement. But be careful. For example, the much-prescribed Ambien is specifically for sleeping seven to eight hours. If you don't have that much time, don't use it. Although some antidepressants can help you feel drowsy enough to fall asleep, they also tend to compromise REM, says Dr. O'Brien. A more healthful approach for some is to meditate a half-hour before hitting the bed.

Darken the room completely. Your brain creates a hormone called melatonin that senses when it's dark out and primes you for sleep. If you try to sleep amid too much light, your brain may decide you're not ready for bedtime after all. So turn off the TV, shut down the computer, turn the clock to the wall, and close the blinds tightly. Use an eye mask if you're sleeping during the daytime.

Sleep in a restful environment. Make sure the room is quiet and your BlackBerry is out of hearing range. Sleep on a comfortable mattress; Dr. Mazeika advises you get a new one every five to 10 years.

Exploit the power of power naps

Don't forget that brief day-time naps can be helpful. If at all possible, close your office door (if you have one) and try to doze for 10 to 20 minutes.

"Power naps are real and help you feel refreshed," says Dr. O'Brien.

But keep the naps short, he warns. With a longer nap, you're likely to wake up while in deep sleep and feel worse than before. It can take up to 30 minutes to feel fully alert after awakening from deep sleep.

By keeping your nap to 10-20 minutes, you should be able to achieve stage 2 in the sleep cycle and wake up energized rather than groggy. A short power nap should provide enough of a boost to keep your performance going strong the rest of the day -- and is more effective (as well as healthier) than a cup of coffee.

From: Harvard Business Publishing
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hmu/2009/01/why-sleep-is-so-important.html

Contributed by Cheq C. Navarro

Build Your Self Confidence Like a Leader

By Marshall Goldsmith

What can I do to build my confidence in my capabilities as a leader?

You won't get to the top without self-confidence; to build it, you have to believe in yourself. Don't worry about being perfect — put up a brave front and do the best you can. That's it in a nutshell.

Here are some suggestions about how you can build your self-confidence:




1. Don't worry about being perfect. There are never right or wrong answers to complex business decisions. The best that you can do as a leader is to gather all of the information that you can (in a timely manner), do a cost-benefit analysis of potential options, use your best judgment — and then go for it.

2. Learn to live with failure. Great salespeople are the ones who get rejected the most often. They just ask for the order more than the other salespeople. You are going to make mistakes. You are human. Learn from these mistakes and move on.

3. After you make the final decision — commit! Don't continually second-guess yourself. Great leaders communicate with a sense of belief in what they are doing and with positive expectations toward the achievement of their vision.

4. Show courage on the outside — even if you don't always feel it on the inside. Everyone is afraid sometimes. If you are a leader, your direct reports will read your every expression. If you show a lack of courage, you will begin to damage your direct reports' self-confidence.

5. Find happiness and contentment in your work. Life is short. Do your best. Follow your heart. When you win, celebrate. When you lose, just start over the next day.

Contributed by Mark Liwag

Stay Slim After Saying "I Do"

by Bing Bercades


"...In sickness and in health, till death do us FAT"...

June --- the much awaited month of the bride. Before the wedding, she tries to keep her hips as trim as they were when she first visited the couturier. After she sheds the lovely wedding dress, she still hopes to keep her stunning figure.

But in reality, brides --- and grooms as well--- put on weight after saying "I do". That's an average of 11 kilos for women, and nine kilos for men after 13 years of marriage. How does marriage make you fat? Let's look at the 5 common causes ,and discover the solutions :




1.You match your mate's every bite

Ms. Mary Lou Klem of the US National Weight Control Registry says, "Many women serve themselves the same amount of food as their husbands without thinking about it." Since women are typically smaller and have less muscle mass than men, they can gain more weight than men who eat the same amount of calories.

Next time you eat together, try these strategies:

Take smaller servings, (try using a smaller plate)and eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to know that you're full.

So that you'll feel full sooner, start the meal with a cup of low-fat soup or clear broth, or drink a glass of water.

2.Your kids are picky with veggies, and your husband/ wife is a meat lover

'Seems to be the end of your dream of being sexy again, huh? Relax. You may not be able to control your husband 's / wife's food choices (and sometimes, even your kid's), but you can definitely control your own. Make sure that you have veggies and fruits, and try to cook with low-fat oil and less sugar. Serve exciting and colorful veggies or salads --- add some raisins, apples, nuts, chips/cereals ---to convince your family that nutritious doesn't necessarily mean boring.

3.You eat out a lot

Couples enjoy dining out as a form of bonding --- you can talk and enjoy each other without the distractions. Unfortunately, this can tempt you to order high-fat dishes that are popular at restaurants. The solution is simple: you can either go to places that offer healthy foods, or you can eat anything in moderation. It's all about eating the right food at the right amount.

4.Your partner tempts you

You think that your decision to lose weight thrills your spouse. But according to a psychologist, Ms. Barbara Stuart, that isn't always true. Your partner may fear that if you look more attractive, you'll find someone better looking than he/she is. Or this might mean that you'll quit eating junk food, and expect your mate to do the same. So you grow suspicious when your honey gives you a box of chocolates or your favorite junk treat.

Try to discuss this issue with your partner by having a heart-to-heart talk. While you can't expect him/her to be honest about getting insecure, offer reassurance anyway. Emphasize that your goal with your new lifestyle is to make you feel healthier and more energetic--- not to attract the opposite sex. Who knows? He might just jog with you one day !

5.You are the family's "left-over disposal" unit

Because you feel guilty about left-overs, you feel that it's your responsibility to eat them. Unless you change your mind-set, you'll end up as big as your fridge ---and that's where the leftovers belong! Just say "no" to that compulsion, and set the food aside. You can develop your culinary creativity by "recycling" clean, unconsumed food into soups and side dishes . And perhaps training your kids to take only as much as they can finish will shape not only their self-discipline, but also your waistline.

data from "Why Marriage Makes You Fat" Reader's Digest, May 2003

Quick Fix Tips

by Ahlee Licarte with the help of Cielo Villaluna

As PAL Trainers, looking one’s best is not a choice, but a necessity! As we face a variety of participants at the PAL Learning Center, walking the talk in terms of appearance and grooming is a MUST!

Woke up late because of a late night party? What happens when accidental spills happen and mess up our outfits? For most Trainers, these spells “disaster”, but….not anymore!

Here are some helpful tips that will help us maintain the professional look:

Spills on clothes




Use Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover. Designed as an all-in-one stain removal system for fresh food and drink stains, it really cleans up. Use it on coffee stains, ketchup faux pas, and more. Without requiring water, this product can get stains out and let you get on with your day.

Puffy eye bags and dark circles

Use Garnier Light Brightening Eye Roll-on. This product is an eye innovation. It has refreshing caffeine gel that instantly deflate puffy eye bags and diminishes dark circles.

Oily face



Use Clean & Clear Oil Control Film, considered to be one of the best beauty products ever invented. You can instantly blot away the shine on your face with just one film.

Tired-looking face



Use Vitamin C Energizing Face Spritz from The Body Shop. This product works best if you want to invigorate your skin and senses with a refreshing, fragrant spray that tones and hydrates.

Zits and scars




Our female trainers recommend The Body Shop Concealer. It effectively camouflage blemishes, scars and redness. This product has light reflective particles that instantly brighten skin and reduce appearance of fine lines.

Frizzy hair



Try Bench Fix Shine On Anti-Frizz Hair Mist. It’s an anti-frizz hairstyling crème that contains protein ingredients which provide softness and shine. Apart from being easy on the pocket, it conditions dry hair and tames frizzy and fly-away hair.

Unpolished Shoes



Glide the Kiwi Express Shine Sponge on your shoes…a fast, no buff, no hassle way to shine your shoes. In less than a minute your shoes will be clean and you will be looking sharp before you know it.