Applies To: 

• KnowledgeSmart Administrators
• Content Managers
• Learning Managers

Common Causes/Issues:

• In this document, you will learn the value of survey questions, how a KnowledgeSmart survey can be appended to a test or skills audit, how you can send out a survey post-live event, and some valuable question examples.

Solution Overview:

Types of survey questions explained

There are two types of survey questions: objective and subjective.

• Objective questions are factual by nature and their answers can, in theory, be independently verified. An example of an objective question would be: “Over the past year, roughly how many training sessions have you attended?”The answer doesn’t need to be precise; you could offer a range of rough answers, such as 0, 1-2, 3, or more. However, the answers should be factually accurate.
  
  
• The other type of question is a subjective question. The answers to these types of questions will be based on what the survey-taker thinks or feels. A good example of subjective questions would be: “Did the training meet your expectations?” Even if you pose this as a single-choice or multiple-choice question with a range of answers (such as below expectation, met expectations, exceeded expectations), the respondent’s answers couldn’t be factually verified. It’s their opinion, based on what they think, feel or believe.

Tips for writing your own post-training survey questions

1. Be concise.
   State your questions in the simplest possible way, with the fewest number of words.
2. Write in a simple, conversational tone.
   How would you phrase the questions during a conversation?
3. Consider the mandatory setting carefully
   Inside the KnowledgeSmart platform, it is possible to make a survey question mandatory and therefore users will not be able to skip to the next question without completing the current one first. Let most of your questions be optional to answer. We’ve found that forcing respondents to answer your questions makes them more likely to quit your survey or select an answer at random.
4. Test your survey
   After writing your questions, test them out on a colleague or focus group first. This helps you identify and address any problem areas.
5. Ask more closed-ended questions than open-ended questions if you are looking for data that is easy to view, interpret or analyze.

Types of responses to post-training/assessment survey questions explained

• The KnowledgeSmart general survey platform can be used to append survey questions to a test or to send out an independent survey to gather subjective feedback from your employees
  • The KnowledgeSmart platform offers the following question types as part of the general survey platform:
    
    
    
    
    
    
• There is also a Pinnacle Series live event survey feature that can be used after live events:

• You can also opt to use another external survey tool such as Survey Monkey or Microsoft Forms if sending out a survey link independently of a KnowledgeSmart test. There is a lot of value in centralizing your skills data so if possible make use of the KnowledgeSmart general survey tool.
  • A useful survey tool or platform should help your organization measure and adapt to the skill needs of your human capital throughout the entire employee lifecycle.
  • Your internal team will find that aligning data together is more robust with one data structure.
  • It allows you to cross-reference survey insights. Having centralized data lets you mine deeper into feedback.
  • With one platform, it’s easy to manage and adjust the permissions of who can send out surveys, who can see data, or what insights they can see… all based on your preferences.
    Data in isolation is valuable, but much more powerful when layered onto engagement insights.

The main reasons you might use a survey as part of your training program are:

• Before the course – Find out what your participants are hoping to learn and how they rate the pre-course process
• During the course – Get an evaluation of your course design, including content, structure, and delivery
• After the course – Receive feedback on the course overall as well as learner satisfaction and your follow-up process

The main reasons you might use a survey as part of your assessment plan are:

• Before the test – To pulse-check the employee's sentiment about taking a test or being assessed and how they rate the pre-assessment process
• After the Assessment – Get an evaluation of your test design, including content, structure, delivery, timing, difficulty level as well as any other information that would be helpful to analyze as part of the assessment data.

Tactical Rundown:

Survey Question Types Summary:

• Single-choice and multiple-choice questions (Multiple Choice-Single, Multiple Choice-Multiple)
• Likert scale/Rating questions (Rating, Multiple Choice)
  • It is now possible to append a KS general survey to a KS skill audit.
  • If you plan to incorporate a lot of rating questions the skill audit platform might be a better fit with some general survey questions appended.
  • You can define the rating scale on per-skill audit bases.
• Closed-ended questions (Yes/No, True/False) 
• Open-ended questions (Text, Free Comment) 

An Appended vs an Independent General Survey

• A general survey can be appended to a KnowledgeSmart test or delivered independently.
• In the case of the former, the user is prompted to answer some survey questions as soon as they have submitted their test for marking. The user is best placed to provide accurate and reliable feedback having completed the test only moments ago.

Here are some examples of types of questions that you may find in a post-assessment survey:

Closed-ended post-assessment question examples

• Do you use XXX (Name of software) in your current role? (Yes/No)
• Do you think a refresher course would be helpful? (Yes/No)
• Have you completed any XXX (name of product) course on Pinnacle Series? (Yes/No)
• Do you think this type of test is positive for you and your own technical development? (Yes/No)
• Do you think this type of test is positive for XXX as a company and its general technical development? (Yes/No)
• Would you prefer more frequent assessments? (Yes/No)
• Multiple-Choice post-assessment question examples
• How long have you been using XXX? (Less than 6 Months; 6 Months - 1 Year; 1 Year to 2 Years; More than 2 Years; Not Applicable (Multiple-choice single)
• How frequently do you use XXX? (Daily; 2-3 Times/Week; Weekly; Bi-Weekly; Monthly; A few times per year; Never) (Multiple-choice single)
• How useful was the training in enhancing your awareness/knowledge? (scale of 1-5, 1 being very poor and 5 being excellent).
• Are you aware that you have access to the Pinnacle Series E-Learning Platform?
  (Yes, I am aware of and using it.; Yes, I have not logged in as yet.; No, I was not aware.;)
• Please let us know what type of training did you receive? (Select all that applies) – (External Training Workshops; Internal Training Workshops; E-Learning;) - Multiple Choice-Multiple
• Which of the following XX assessment sections (modules) were most challenging for you? (select all that apply) - Multiple Choice-Multiple
• Which of the following XX assessment sections (modules) were easiest for you? (select all that apply) - Multiple Choice-Multiple
• Please give us your feedback regarding the difficulty level of the assessment questions. (Too Easy; Right Difficulty Level; Too Challenging) - Multiple Choice-Single
• If you skipped some of the assessment questions, please select the reason for skipping. (It was not relevant for my job role; I did not understand the question; I was running out of time) - Multiple Choice-Single

Free Comment or Open-ended question examples

• What year did you last receive formal training on XXX? (Free comment – year)
• If you selected yes in the previous question please give us more detail. (Free comment)
• Were there any factors that you feel impacted your assessment result that you want to make us aware of? (If nothing, just skip the question)
• Here are some examples of each of these types of questions that you may find in a post-training survey.

Single-choice and Multiple choice question examples

• “Which characteristic should employee goals NOT have?”
  • A. Challenging
    B. Specific
    C. Attainable
    D. Realistic
    E. Don’t know
• “Employees should be guided to pick goals that have which of the following characteristics?” (choose all that apply)
  • A. Specific
    B. Attainable
    C. Measurable
    D. Realistic
    E. Time-Based

Post-Training Likert Scale Questions

• Likert scale questions are a popular alternative to single-choice and multiple-choice questions. This format asks respondents to assign a number (usually out of 5) to each question.

Examples:

• Assign a number between one and five to answer the following questions with one being the lowest score and five being the highest.
• How engaging was the course?
• How relevant was the training?
• How useful was the training content?
• How would you rate the quality of the video voiceover?
• How would you rate the length of the course?
• Rate the usefulness of the course
• Did the course meet your expectations? (No, To some extent, Yes, Unsure)
• “How would you rate the pace of learning on the course?”
  (Single-choice: Slow, Medium, Fast, Don’t know)
• “Did the training cover the content you were expecting?”
  (Single-choice: No, To some extent, Very much so, Don’t know)
• “Please rate your overall experience on the course”
  (Likert 5-scale)
• “Please rate the collaborative working opportunities on the course”
  (Likert 5-scale)
• “How would you rate your experience with multimedia on the course?”
  (Likert 5-scale)
• “How helpful did you find the multimedia on this course?”
  (Likert 5-scale)
• “Please rate the quality of the multimedia (audio, video, and animation)”
  (Rating question)
• “How engaging was the course instructor?”
  (Rating question, out of 5 stars)
• “Did the course delivery meet your expectations?”
  (Rating question)
• “Did you find the content easy to understand?”
  (Likert 5-scale)
• How would you rate the course’s overall design? (Rating question)

Post-Training Closed-Ended Questions

Closed-ended questions include yes/no or true/false questions and any question with one definite right answer. They help you gain specific data about the participants or certain areas of the course.

Examples:

• Was this the first time you attended this training (Yes/no)
• Was the font size easy to read? (Yes/no)
• Did you complete the course? (Yes/no)
• How old are you?
  (Response options: 18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, 56 or older)
• How many years of professional experience do you have?
  (Response options: 1-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years, 16 years or more)
• “Was the content clearly presented?”
  (Closed question, yes/no)
• “Did the course have a clear structure?”
  (Closed question, yes/no)
• Was the platform easy to get familiar with? (Closed question, yes/no)
  Was the interface intuitive? (Closed question, yes/no)
• Did you receive clear directions on how to navigate through the platform? (Closed question, yes/no)
  Was the layout cluttered? (Closed question, yes/no)
• Did you feel that learning to use the platform stole valuable time off your training? (Closed question, yes/no)
• During the program, I came across a lot of new ideas, which are useful to me.

Post-training Open-Ended Question Examples
Open-ended questions are an important part of any post-training survey. They let you gain valuable feedback from the participants and understand whether the training was successful.

Examples:

• Did the course meet your expectations? Why? Why not?
• What additional learning modules would you like to see included in the course?
• Do you plan to engage in further training in this area? Why? Why not?
• How do you think the course could have been improved?
• What parts of the course were lacking? Please provide details.
• “Was there any content you were expecting but was missing? If so, please elaborate.”(Open-ended question)
• “Did you find any aspect of the course unclear or confusing? Please elaborate.” (Open-ended question)
• "Did you experience any technical issues? If so, please explain.”
  (Open-ended question, provide space for an answer)
• What did you like the most about the design?
• What would you change in the course’s design?
• How did you feel while walking through the course?

More Post-Training Question Examples:

• What do you hope to learn and take away from this training?
• What are the key specific topics you want to learn more about?
• Tell us about your professional goals and development.
• Was the training material and content helpful to you?
• Was the training program interactive and engaging?
• Was the study material personalized enough to help you solve problems specific to your job requirements?
• Was the training relevant to your job or potential job?
• How would you rate the quality of this training session?
• Were you able to get all of your questions answered during the training?
• How would you rate the teaching quality of the instructor?
• Was the training at a comfortable pace?
• Was the trainer engaging and supportive?
• Were you satisfied with the learning content and material?
• Do you feel you were given enough time and resources to complete the training?
• Was the material easy to understand?
• Did you think the content in the training material was sufficient? What could be added or improved?
• What did you like the most about the training?
• Did you get a chance to collaborate with your team members during the training? If yes, was it effective?
• Did the training meet your expectations?
• Do you have any suggestions that can help us improve the training program?
• Do you feel competent and confident at the end of the training program? Please share any concerns or knowledge gaps.

Pre-Training Examples

• How easy was it to enroll in the course?
• How would you rate the pre-training process?
• What was missing from the process?
• How could the preparation process be improved?
• Was the course description easy to understand?
• Were the learning goals clearly stated before the start of the course?
• Was it clear what the course included?
• How would you rate customer service communication before the course?
• How would you rate the course onboarding process?
• How could the pre-course communication have been improved?

Environment Examples

• Where were you when you took the course?
• Were there any external distractions while taking the course?
• Would you take the same course on a mobile device?
• Would you take the same course on a computer?
• Would you feel comfortable taking this course while commuting?

Technical Question Examples

• How satisfied were you with the technical delivery of the course?
• Did you experience any problems with the course log-in?
• Were you aware of any technical faults or bugs during the course?
• Did all the external links work?
• Were you able to access the course via your mobile or tablet?
• Did you notice any delay or lag in the delivery of the course content?
• Did the video content load on your device?
• Were you able to download the resources?
• Were you able to view all the images and graphics in the course?
• How satisfied were you with the quality of the technical troubleshooting?

Learning Experience Examples

• Do you feel that your knowledge or skills have improved by taking the course?
• How would you rate your overall learning experience?
• How could we improve the learning experience?
• Do you feel that online training is more effective?
• Name the things you enjoyed the most in this course. (can also make this one a multiple choice-multiple questions - Content, Instructor’s knowledge, Delivery by the instructor, Structure of the training program, Examples provided, Interactivity)
• Do you feel the course workload interfered with your everyday tasks at work?

Over to you

We hope that our guide to writing effective post-training survey questions will help you write some of your own.

Perhaps one of the most important elements of a survey is to analyze the responses effectively and develop an action plan to show responsiveness and drive continuous improvement.

View this article inside Pinnacle Series:

The Value of Survey Questions (With Examples)

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