Training Survey Questions: What to Ask Before, During, and After Training

We’ve all heard about the power of feedback and how impactful it can be for companies. When it comes to employee training, asking your learners for feedback is no less important. One of the tools for doing that is the training feedback survey. It can make employee training less of a one-way street, yield valuable insights, and lay a foundation for its success. 

In this article, you’ll read about the what and the why behind using training surveys and get a list of ready-made training survey questions to ask employees before, during, and after training. Let’s dive in. 

What Is an Employee Training Survey?

An employee training survey is the solicitation of employees’ opinions about an existing or planned training or training program. Its objective is to gain insight into how employees perceive training, what expectations and learning needs they have, and how it impacts their work. The ultimate goal of any training survey is to measure training effectiveness and see what can be done to improve it. 

Surveys vs. Questionnaires: What’s the Difference?

It should be noted that there is a difference between a training survey and a questionnaire, although many people use these terms interchangeably.

A questionnaire is simply a written list of questions; companies may have plenty of questionnaires and let them gather dust in drawers.

On the contrary, a survey is an entire process that encompasses the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data, making it a must for training program evaluation.  

Why Ask Training Evaluation Questions?

Employee training presupposes that management and facilitators, on one hand, and learners, on the other, contribute to the process and can share their feedback. Without asking employees about the way they view training and measuring their satisfaction, you risk missing something very important.

If asked properly, training evaluation questions enable you to walk a mile in an employee’s shoes and adjust processes accordingly.

Next, we’ll cover the ways in which training survey questions can be structured to serve a particular purpose that you may have for them. 

Survey Question Types

Survey questions can differ in form and substance, but can be divided into three categories: stage of training, type of question, and level of evaluation. 

Stage of a training program

Your training survey can have different questions, depending on the phase in which the training program evaluation is conducted.

• Pre-training questions. Surveys can be a part of formative assessment and help you learn about employees’ needs, wants, and knowledge gaps. 
• Post-training questions. You can conduct surveys after a training program has concluded in order to evaluate its impact.
• Questions to ask during training. Training surveys can be used as interim check-ins to see what is working and what needs revision.

Type of question 

There are objective questions and subjective questions that you can use to collect quantitative and qualitative feedback. You can find various types of questions listed below and create a balanced survey by combining them.

Multiple-choice. A multiple-choice question presupposes that a learner will choose one answer option that most resonates with their opinion.
Multiple response. More than one response can be given.
Likert scale. The learner will be prompted to evaluate a particular statement by choosing from among 5 response options.
Ratings questions. This type of question is similar to the Likert scale, but only offers stars/emojis as response options.
Close-ended questions. This type of question prompts learners to give only one answer to a question, like Yes or No.
Open-ended questions.  Also known as an essay question, it prompts learners to elaborate on their opinion by providing a more detailed response.

Nowadays, paper-and-pencil surveys are less common, and companies increasingly opt for online survey tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey. But training professionals may find the functionality of these resources quite limited for creating training surveys.  

It’s much more convenient to create training surveys with iSpring Suite – a PowerPoint-based authoring tool for designing eLearning content. Unlike other tools, iSpring Suite allows you to embed a training survey in the online course itself, which makes it so much easier to collect feedback on many different courses at once. 

Plus, you can enjoy 14 types of question templates that you can easily fill in with questions and answer options and save huge amounts of time on survey preparation.  

Also read: 14 Types of Quiz Questions to Use in Your eLearning Course

Level of evaluation 

Survey questions can uncover different ‘layers’ of how employees perceive the various aspects of training and how it impacts their work. This is specifically relevant to post-training surveys.

Perhaps it’s reasonable to start with more general questions and then move on to the quality of the accomplished training. You can layer your training survey questions in this order:

• A learner’s expectations
• Knowledge
• Learning experience
• Content
• Instruction and delivery
• LMS experience (if the training takes place on a platform)

Structuring your training survey this way has a lot to do with the four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model – one of the most trusted ways to assess eLearning effectiveness.

The model gradually explores the effect that training produces through learners’ reactions, learning, behavior, and results. The table below presents possible questions to ask at each of these levels of evaluation. 

With all the points above, it can be challenging to come up with ideas and create training survey questions from scratch. For this case, we’ve prepared a list of training questions that you can plug into your surveys right away. 

Pre-training Survey Questions to Ask Beforehand

Pre training surveys will help you measure employee expectations, learn more about preferred learning styles and articulate training needs, which will help to shape your future training programs. These are the questions worth asking in a good pre training survey. You can paste them into your pre training survey template and use it prior to major training events.

1. When was the last time you received training and what kind of training was it?
2. How would you rate your current understanding of / proficiency in [the topic]?
3. What level of expertise do you expect to achieve from this training session?
4. Have you taken any course with a similar topic prior to this one?
5. What other courses have you taken, or trainings have you attended this year?
6. Which courses that you have taken did you like the most? 
7. What do you want to take away from this training?
8. Are the training objectives clearly defined for you? 
9. Do you think the topic(s) of the training program is relevant to your job tasks?
10. Do you have questions about the upcoming course?

Also read: How to Create a Training Plan for Employees

Evaluation Survey Questions to Ask During the Training

These are the questions that will help you have a clear picture of how the training sessions are going and what can be adjusted.

1. How would you rate the training instructor?
2. Did you face any difficulties when taking the course?
3. How much of the information is actually new to you?
4. What’s your opinion on the content that we’ve covered so far? 
5. Are there any areas or topics that might require further clarification?
6. Do you expect any difficulties in implementing the knowledge you’ve gained?
7. How often do you get assigned with knowledge checks?
8. Do you have suggestions on how we can improve knowledge checks?
9. What additional support or resources would be helpful to reinforce the knowledge?

Also read: How to Run an Employee Engagement Survey 

Post training Evaluation Questions to Ask Afterward

Post-training survey questions can shed light on a lot of things. The list of questions below is worthwhile and will help you cover a wide range of aspects. We’ve supplemented some of them with notes on what type of question would better suit the occasion (e.g., closed-ended, open-ended, Likert scale)

Grab them for your post training evaluation survey.

Expectations

1. Please rate the training program on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is least satisfactory and 5 is most satisfactory.
2. Did the training/online training course meet your expectations?
3. What were your expectations?
4. What do you think could be improved?

Knowledge

1. During the program, I came across a lot of useful new ideas (Likert scale, closed-ended question) 
2. Was the training relevant to your job? If yes, how do you think you can practically use it in your job? (open-ended question)
3. Do you feel you had sufficient time and the appropriate resources to complete the training?
4. Do you feel the knowledge you obtained will make you better prepared for your job tasks? (Likert scale)
5. Do you think you’ll implement the new knowledge and skills in your job? (closed-ended question)

Experience

1. What did you like the most about the training? (multiple-choice, multiple response, or open-ended question)
2. Were the learning objectives clearly defined before the course began and throughout the course? (closed-ended question)

Content

1. Please rate the quality of the training content (Likert scale) 
2. Was the overall training material interesting, engaging, and did it meet your expectations? (closed-ended question) 
3. Did you find the course content easy to understand? (closed-ended question) 
4. Was any content missing that should have been included in the course? (open-ended question)
5. Which of the following multimedia elements used in the course did you like the most? (multiple-choice, multiple response)

Instruction and delivery

1. Do you think that training was well-structured and there was enough time for each topic/session? (Likert scale) 
2. How engaging was the instructor? (Likert scale, rating question)
3. Did the instructor make time to answer your questions and give answers patiently? (closed-ended question)

LMS experience

1. Did you encounter any technical difficulties when using the training platform? 
2. Did you have any difficulties signing in to the platform? 
3. Did you need to contact the platform’s tech support for help?
4. Was it easy to navigate the system? 
5. Did you take a course on a smartphone or a desktop computer? 
6. Would you prefer to take the training in the LMS or just in a browser? 
7. Did you try to contact a course expert via an LMS? 

Using an LMS for training evaluation is particularly important if you want to establish a streamlined training for the sake of better business performance. With a learning platform like iSpring Learn, training evaluation surveys can really contribute to the data-driven development of the business.

iSpring Learn features powerful reporting that enables L&D teams to collect and analyze training and survey data on a single platform. 

Answer breakdown in iSpring Learn

With detailed reports on survey results in iSpring Learn, you can create a convincing picture of training in the company and measure its ROI in the future.     

Also read: Successful LMS Implementation: How to Launch Online Training and Not Get Fired

Training Survey Template

If you need to carry out a training feedback survey like the one from yesterday, here is a free grab-and-go template. You can put it into use immediately in written form or make an online survey based on it. This will be delivered to your email box instantly. 

Download the template

Tips for Writing Training Feedback Survey Questions

Stick to your goals. All of your questions should be purpose driven. It’s advisable to evaluate each question from the perspective of what you expect to assess with it, the goal of the question, who the stakeholders are, and what decisions it can lead to. 

Prepare a strong introduction. Explain why you need to get employees’ opinions on the training and provide clear guidance for filling out a survey.  

Don’t include too many questions. Chances are your employees won’t be ready to spend more than 15 minutes on the survey. Having only 5–10 questions will be a safe choice and make further analysis easier. 

Make it quick to answer. It’s great if your employees can navigate the survey form easily. Make sure you chose a 12pt or larger font size, and made answer options clear and concise (it’s preferable to use scales, points, or emojis).  

FAQ on Training Survey Questions

Here are the questions that people commonly ask about training surveys. Check them out if you need some more clarification. 

What is a training survey, and why do you need it?

A training survey is a way to collect learners’ opinions on upcoming or completed training and evaluate its effectiveness. Organizations need to carry out training surveys to make informed decisions regarding future skills training. 

How can I create effective survey questions?

The key is to make your survey balanced in terms of the number of questions, answer options, survey structure, and purpose behind every question. Following the KISS principle (keep it short and simple) and asking direct questions will certainly help. 

What questions should I ask an employee after a training?

Basically, you need to learn people’s reactions to a training, ask them about the learning process, quality of content, and the delivery method, and collect their opinions on what could be improved. Getting sincere answers will help you make training as impactful for them as possible and boost training effectiveness in the long run. 

Are surveys worthwhile?

Employee training surveys are definitely worthwhile if you approach them with due attention, carefully analyze the responses, and arrive at conclusions that will allow you to amend the training process and/or content. 

Why do you need to conduct a training evaluation? 

Evaluation is an indispensable part of any effective training program launch. You need to conduct it in order to understand the reactions of learners to the training and its impact on their behavior or performance. 

Conclusion 

Preparing training survey questions isn’t rocket science, yet it can be cumbersome. Hopefully, this article has provided you with everything you need to improve the credibility of training evaluation and build trust with your learners.

To ensure your success with course design and training delivery, try iSpring Suite and iSpring Learn LMS today!