Back

Writing proper training objectives

You are here: Home / Free Trainer Tips Blog / Writing proper training objectives

Writing Proper Training Objectives

Why is it important to write good training program objectives?

Objectives give the first glimpse of your program content. Clear, concise objectives give specific focus on the desired outcomes and determine what the training participants need to know and do in order to meet those objectives and what they are expected to learn plus giving them a sense of direction at the start of the training. After assessing training needs, Objectives are the first steps and the basis of the design and development of any training program.

 

 

What are training objectives?

Training objectives are concise action oriented statements that describe training outcomes, they are the destination that your training program design should lead to.

The emphasis of a training objective should not be on what you want to cover but on what you want participants to understand, do or do differently with the skills, models and information presented throughout the training program.

Objectives are the benchmarks used to measure success of a training program as they accurately describe what participants should be able to do at the end of the training.

Based on training needs assessment, training objectives sell the program to stakeholders. People managers can understand exactly what your training program will do for their employees. Objectives help managers understand what the training will and will not do.

 

 

Types of training objectives:

Objectives fall into three areas of development called the ASK model – Attitude, Skills, knowledge

1-      Attitude/Affective/Feel

2-      Skill/Behavioural/Do

3-      Knowledge/Cognitive/Think

 

 

Attitude objectives:

These objectives are appropriate when you want to change people’s attitudes, values or feelings or increase their awareness of or sensitivity to certain issues or ideas.

 

 

Skill objectives:

A skill objective focuses on a person being able to perform a task or a specific procedure up to a successful level or not.

 

 

Knowledge objectives:

Knowledge objectives relate to the ability of demonstrating acquired knowledge, to comprehend information, and to analyse concepts. It has to do with the comprehension of content or cognitive learning

 

 

Good training objectives should be:

     Action statements that outline specific activities and its impact on performance

     Objective and measurable, describing exactly what participants will be able to do by the end of the training

     Focused only on important areas related to the job.

     Measurable with both qualitative and quantitative criteria

     Specific and clearly outline what the participants will be able to do rather than describing training content

     Written in terms of performance and outline exactly how performance will be improved

 

 

Components of a good training objective:

Writing good objectives is not as easy or straightforward as it may seem. A good training objective should tackle three main components: performancecondition and criteria and written from the participant’s point of view and at the same time as a performance outcome.

 

Example:

“Using open-ended questions to identify the customer’s needs (condition), the participant will suggest (performance) at least two additional products or services to every customer (criterion).”

 

 

The performance component:

It may not always be possible but ideally the objective should describe observable behaviour, that is, what the participant will be able to do differently as a result of the training. If the objective is not observable, specify the consequences of the learned behaviour that can be accepted as evidence of improvement or positive change. For example in a team building training initiative, an objective might be that “Participants will explore their feelings about working within a team.” Or for a sales training the objective can be “Participants will be able to upsell each customer and suggest additional items”

 

 

The condition component:

The objective describes the settings and circumstances under which the person will be performing the required tasks or activities. It also describes the tools and job aids that may be needed on the job. For example “Participants will use closed-ended questions with talkative callers to have better control over calls and reduce average call handling time”

 

 

The criteria component:

Finally, the objective specifies the standard or the level of proficiency needed to perform the task or job successfully. It should indicate the quality, speed, accuracy, productivity level or any performance standards required to achieve the objective which is usually determined by subject matter experts, line managers or direct supervisors.

 

 

More examples:

Using product mock-ups (condition), sales representatives will answer (performance) all customer questions about the standard products (criteria)

Agents will answer calls (performance) within the standard service level of 20 seconds (criteria) using the standard greeting (condition)

Sales managers will write down a complete (performance) sales plan and forecast (criteria) for the following quarter based on the steps introduced in the training workshop (condition)

36 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses.

34 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses

Get all available programs
& save ...!!

Price: $4499.95 $2995.95

Great Value For Money

Read More

Are You a
Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic ?

How well do you
cope under
pressure? .

Are You A
people person?
.

Forward looking, or
Stuck in a time
warp?

How content
are you?
.

How soft-centred
are you?
.

Find Out
Your Leadership
Style

How
Emotionally intelligent are You ?

Train The Trainer + Presenting With Impact

The Presenter-Trainer Package®

Train The Trainer

Presenting With Impact

Price: $359.95 $299.95

SAVE $59.95

Read More
Retail Excellence Series

Retail Excellence Series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Frontline Retail Selling Skills

Retail Sales Planning & Forecasting

Passionate Retail Experts

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Sales excellence series

Sales excellence series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Sales Management

Professional Selling Skills

Sales Territory Planning & Routing

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Call Center Excellance Series

Call Center Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Handling angry and difficult callers

Call control

Find a way to say YES!

Successful telephone debt collection

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Communication Excellence Series

Communication Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Communicating with clarity and impact

Negotiating for results

Conflict resolution

Presenting With Impact

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Customer Service Excellence Series

Customer Service Excellence Series®

5 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Vision, Energy & Passion To Serve

Pathways to service excellence

Find a way to say YES!

Passionate Retail Experts

Setting others up for success

Price: $899.75 $599.95

Pay for 3 Get 2 Free

Read More

Instant Download
Training packages

This two day training program is packed with techniques for improving the most essential basic business writing skills as well as both verbal and non-verbal communication in general in addition to proper time management and general office organization techniques that will help administrative assistants, secretaries and office managers in performing their day to day tasks more confidently and professionally.

Price: $199.95 $179.95

No matter who you are, we all have 168 hours each week. Your ability to best utilize those 168 hours will ultimately determine your success. Using self-discovery, hands-on activities and innovative concepts, throughout this high energy training program, participants will learn how to get better control of their time and their life in general.

Price: $199.95 $179.95

A highly engaging one-day training program packed with a plethora of fun activities and games focusing on the key characteristics of high performing teams.

Price: $199.95 $179.95

All you need
to deliver a great training!

Our training material packages come with all you need to provide
a professional and accelerated learning solution with

training-materials-slides2

High Impact
Power Point Slide Deck

To support immersive learning, a high impact professionally designed power point slide deck to engage trainees at all levels.

training-materials-student-workbook2

Student
Workbook

A comprehensive reference workbook you can give out to your class participants as a quick future reference.

training-materials-trainer-guide2222

Trainer
Guide

With step-by-step clear directions with tips and suggestions on what to say and how to present each slide.

excercise-sheets2

Activity
/Exercise Sheets

Various training material and support documents to help you both explain and debrief the different exercises, activities and games Plus a fun final Jeopardy style review game as a fun ending for your training program.

additional-documents2

Additional
Support Documents

To ensure you have all you need to deliver a complete and professional training program, additional supporting documents are included with each full course material package. From training evaluation forms to 5 different certificate templates that you can edit and hand out to your participants at the end of your training.

job_aid_forms2

Job Aids
& Forms

Specific forms designed to extend and reinforce the training that participants can utilize back on the job to help them apply the new learned concepts (Select training material packages)

Get all our training Packages
and Save!

Save over $1500 and Get each full program for under $99.00 & 6 Mini Courses free
Site Guarding