Does Anyone Look at Those End-of-Course Evaluations Anyway?
When you complete an evaluation, do you ever wonder if anyone actually looks at your responses? Do companies take your feedback seriously and make changes based on what you have to say? If they are asking for your feedback, they should review it and take action when warranted.
Anyone who has taken one of Management Concepts training courses knows there will be an end-of-course evaluation to complete. Why? It’s good practice to collect students’ feedback on courses they’ve just taken.
We collect feedback about the learning experience including the quality and usefulness of the course materials, the instructor’s facilitation skills, and the extent to which the facilities were an appropriate learning environment. In addition to getting feedback on various aspects of their experience, the end-of-course evaluation serves another purpose. We can collect information such as:
- How confident students are that they can apply what they learned back on the job
- The degree to which the training will improve their job performance
- The degree to which the training was a worthwhile investment in their career development
In case you’ve wondered if anyone at Management Concepts actually looks at your completed evaluations, the answer is yes.
Actually, lots of people at Management Concepts read the evaluations and it drives much of the work we do to create professional development programs. Of course we love hearing about positive student experiences, but we also need to hear about the negative ones. How else can we improve?
We use both the quantitative and qualitative feedback you provide to make informed decisions about possible improvements.
Here is a sampling of how different stakeholder groups within our organization use your feedback to improve your learning experience:
- Instructional Designers who create the courses and are always looking for ways to improve the experience
- Instructors/Facilitators who look for ways to improve their delivery and teaching approach
- Resourcing Staff who schedule the instructors/facilitators and want to ensure the best delivery of each course
- Logistics Staff who coordinate the course delivery and want to ensure the course materials are complete and where they need to be when they are needed
- Learning Technologists who produce online courses and materials and are looking for ways to improve the online learning experience
- Facilities Staff who want to ensure a clean and inviting environment
- Customer Service Staff who help students with registering for courses and want to ensure a positive experience
- Administrators who review the data to ensure we are in compliance with Continuing Education requirements
- Executives who oversee all these areas and use the information in short- and long-term planning and want to ensure we meet needs and exceed expectations
All of these groups work together to ensure your learning experience is valuable and enjoyable. Your responses help us know when to update courses, what new courses are needed, which instructors are most effective, which technologies add the most value, and what types of learning environments are most effective. So, next time you are asked to complete an end-of-course evaluation, make sure you do. We want to hear from you!
I never thought of this regarding Management Concepts, but used to wonder in general about feedback forms and if anybody really looks at them. But when I came to work where I am now, feedback data is highly valued; it is very important. We’re constantly thinking of ways of evaluating how we do things and feedback data is a big part of that. We routinely look at them as standard business practice, and in some areas, executive management will request specific metrics regarding customer satisfaction. It’s all about process improvement, and making sure we’re doing the best and meeting customer expectations. I do not always fill out surveys when I am a customer, but when I do, I provide honest, authentic responses. I know they this type of feedback is valuable, and doesn’t just go down a black hole the way many people think that it does.
The first time I heard the phrase ‘Customer Feedback’ it was difficult for me to grasp it, since I’d always thought a customer was someone who paid for goods or services. But customers include anybody who is a beneficiary of ‘something’ whether or know they paid for it. I understand that clearly now.
Will, thanks for your comment! It’s great that your organization values feedback and uses it to make changes. More and more organizations are relying on this type of information to drive change. If organizations are asking for feedback, then they should be using it to make improvements. Like you, when I’m asked for feedback as a customer, I try to provide constructive responses because I know someone on the other end will read it!