Three Reasons You Should Be Evaluating Your People Programs
Corporate and non-profit organizations regularly design and implement programs in order to close gaps and meet the needs of their people (e.g., employees, clients). These programs integrate services and resources to accomplish a specific goal or set of goals. For example, an organization may offer a program to improve employees’ leadership skills or a non-profit may provide after-school programming aimed at improving students’ school performance.
Many programs are operating without the critical information they need to guide program improvements, align program development with its objectives, and prove program impact.
Organizations can only ensure that their programs are maximally effective if they evaluate them. Program evaluation refers to the systematic collection, analysis, and use of evaluative information to determine a program’s impact, improve program effectiveness, and make decisions about program development. Evaluation is an integral component of well-run, impactful programs.
Well-designed evaluations provide program managers with valuable information about the program’s impact as well as opportunities for improvement. This information is critical for improving program implementation and outcomes. In short, the purpose of evaluation is to ensure the program is the best that it can be.
Despite its value, program managers often view evaluation as an added activity that is external to the program itself and not as an important step within the program. Practitioners may also view evaluation as a determination of whether they succeeded or failed with program development and implementation. Considering these reasons, it is not surprising that program managers are often hesitant to include evaluations in their programming plans, and often fail to do so sufficiently or at all.
However, the benefits of a well-designed evaluation that is appropriately scaled to the size of the program far exceed the potential drawbacks. These benefits cascade to many groups including program managers, program participants, and stakeholders (e.g., leaders, funders). Here are three reasons you should be evaluating your people programs.
To have a better program!
Many practitioners believe that the sole purpose of evaluating a program is to prove its ultimate success or failure. This belief is based on the assumption that if a program is to be considered successful it must be implemented perfectly and immediately achieve all of the goals it set out to. This assumption is simply not realistic. In both corporate and non-profit settings, programs must operate in complex environments, with many factors that influence program success. In addition, most programs set ambitious goals for themselves, goals that may be difficult to achieve immediately. Thus, it is unlikely that a program will be completely “successful” the first time it is implemented.
Instead, successful programs are ones that collect evaluative information to improve the way it is implemented and increase its impact. Without this intentional collection, analysis, and use of information, it is impossible to determine whether a program is working and where it could be improved. If practitioners want to have the best programs possible, with the best outcomes, they must evaluate them.
To ensure the program is designed to meet its objectives
The benefits of program evaluations are typically thought to come after the program has been implemented, when it provides insights on program outcomes. However, the evaluation process can also benefit the program on the front-end as well, during the program design phase. A critical first step to program evaluation is clearly defining the program’s objectives and then, determining which metrics will be gathered and analyzed to track progress on those objectives. For example, an after-school program aimed at improving school performance may track a measurable outcome like student grades to determine if they changed over the course of the program.
This evaluation step of explicitly defining objectives and metrics helps to ensure that the program design remains focused and is aligned with reaching program objectives. It ensures that the program objectives and goals stay front of mind during each stage of program development. In addition, knowing that the objectives will be assessed, helps to ensure they remain realistic and attainable. For these reasons, it is essential that evaluation be considered and integrated into plans at the beginning of program development, not at the end when many opportunities have already been lost. When evaluation is not included as part of this program development, the true purpose of the program is likely to get lost during planning.
To prove the program’s impact
In the past, participant satisfaction surveys completed at the end of a program were typically considered to be sufficient for program evaluation. If participants were happy with the program and rated it highly, it was considered to be a success.
Now, however, program managers are being asked to go beyond satisfaction and provide evidence of program effectiveness and impact to ensure a return on investment is obtained. Leaders in corporate settings and funders in non-profit settings want to be sure they are allocating money and resources toward programs that are well-run and effective. In addition, participants will be more willing to devote their time and attention to programs they know are going to meet their needs. Finally, for a non-profit, evidence of an impactful program may help to gain support and promote services in the broader community. No matter the audience, well-designed evaluations are the only way to provide the level of evidence needed to prove program impact.
Conclusions
Evaluation is critical to having a well-run, impactful program. Despite this, it is very common to see programs without well-designed and appropriately scaled evaluative components. Many programs are operating without the critical information they need to guide program improvements, align program development with its objectives, and prove program impact to leadership, funders, participants, and the community. Wondering where to start? There are many great resources available online that provide practical guidelines to conducting program evaluations in organizations, for example, this one by the CDC.
If you find yourself needing additional information, we’d love the opportunity to help. Check out Category One Consulting’s approach to evaluation and feel free to reach out!