Training, Development and Performance Appraisal
Training, Development and Performance Appraisal
This domain tests how organisations diagnose learning needs, deliver training, and judge performance fairly. Expect questions on methods and rating errors.
Core rules
- Training builds current job skills; development prepares for future roles. Needs assessment covers organisation, task and person.
- Methods include on-the-job (coaching, job rotation, apprenticeship) and off-the-job (lectures, case studies, simulation, e-learning).
- Kirkpatrick's evaluation levels are reaction, learning, behaviour and results.
- Appraisal methods include ranking, graphic rating scales, behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS), 360-degree feedback and management by objectives.
- Common errors: halo, leniency, strictness, central tendency, recency and similarity bias.
Worked example
Customer complaints rise because staff interrupt callers. A task analysis identifies listening and call-control skills. Training uses role-play and call recordings. Evaluation checks reaction scores, a listening test, supervisor observation of calls and complaint rates after two months. If complaint rates do not fall, the problem may be workload or scripts, not trainee motivation. The appraisal should rate observed behaviour, not personality.
Traps
Do not prescribe training for every performance problem; equipment or incentives may be the cause. Do not treat appraisal as a rating only; feedback and development matter. Do not ignore rater errors or use one incident to judge a year.