Today’s ultra-lean restaurant training departments tend to spend most of their time on creation and delivery of outbound training programs, but they rarely focus enough time on obtaining feedback about program effectiveness.  We have seen well-crafted blended learning programs that include an artful mix of e-learning courses, videos, exams, reference materials and confirmation checklists, but these are primarily one-way communication activities.  While exams, checklists and completion rates can provide some feedback about the effectiveness and utilization of training programs, they only go so far in helping trainers get to the heart of what they need to do to improve.  The trainer needs to analyze the data in detail to infer what might need to be done to improve comprehension and effectiveness, and that can be a tricky and time-consuming task.

Now, with the release of DiscoverLink Talent 3.6, training departments have a new tool to close that feedback gap.  The new survey feature is completely integrated into our hospitality-specific learning management system (LMS), so giving and getting feedback can become a regular part of the learning process.  From one-question “Did this help?” surveys, to evaluations of in-person instructors, to GM polls about training effectiveness, to full employee engagement programs, this new tool can help trainers drive continuous improvement of their training programs.  And, it has the added benefit of enhancing learner engagement, because we know how much learners love to express their opinions and provide input about their experiences.

Armed with the knowledge gained from survey responses, training departments can finally close the gap and get the direct feedback they need to take action on improving their training programs.

Question Types

In DiscoverLink Talent, surveys are a content type like courses and exams and can be combined with other types of content in a learning program. Survey assignments and completions can be reported on in the same manner as other content items because they are fully integrated into the learning program.

DiscoverLink Talent offers eight types of questions for creating surveys plus an Instructions/ Background screen:

1. Yes/No: An either/or-type question that you can customize to use any two words as options
2. Date: A calendar tool for single date or date range selection to easily capture when the subject of the survey took place
3. Multiple Choice: Choose one response
4. Multiple Choice (Multi-Select): Choose multiple responses
5. Pick List: Choose from a list of stores in the LMS or manually enter a custom list
6. Rating: A Likert scale with customizable labels and an N/A option
7. Rank Order: Drag and drop ordering of items in a list with a choice of label types
8. Open-ended: An essay-type question, with a definable character limit
9. Instructions/Background: Use for opening instructions, for context about a group of questions, or for closing comments

Reporting

Surveys are only useful if the feedback gathered is readily available for action.  This release also includes two new reports focused specifically on surveys to facilitate that access.

The Individual Survey Report shows all of the responses to a survey for a selected individual.  In addition to providing great insight about the learning program itself, this report can be an important tool in understanding how prepared the learner is to perform the competencies they were trained on. For example, if a learner responds that he did not think his training was adequate, that could indicate a need for supplementary training for that individual.

The Survey Statistics Report shows aggregated responses for a survey. For each survey question, each aggregated response is linked to a list of the names of those who gave that response.  This is an outstanding tool to assess the overall effectiveness of a training program and can help zero in on problem areas or deficiencies that need to be corrected.

And, because DiscoverLink Talent treats surveys just like other content types, all of the other standard reports available in the LMS automatically include surveys as well.  One new standard report, the Training Status by Course Summary Report, provides overall completion statistics by store for a specific course or content item. This report, combined with the new survey feature provides even more visibility into the quality and utilization of your e-learning program.

Take a look at the release notes for more details on these exciting new features, and contact us today for a free demonstration.