Human Resource Management

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TITLE-
THE CIRO APPROACH TO EVALUATE TRAINING IMPACT
By
Deepak Roy

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THE CIRO APPROACH TO EVALUATE TRAINING
IMPACT
The CIRO Model is a training evaluation model
that is used to evaluate the effectiveness of
management training course. It was developed by
Peter Warr, Michael Bird, and Neil Rackham, who
published the book, Evaluation of management
training, in 1970. The CIRO Models offers
businesses an effective way of evaluating their
management training needs and results.

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What are the levels of the CIRO Model?
‘CIRO’ is an acronym that stands for the four
levels which make up this approach to
learning evaluation:
• Context
• Input
• Reaction
• Output

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A fuller description of the CIRO Model is as
follows:
Stage 1: Context Evaluation
Stage 2: Input Evaluation
Stage 3: Reaction Evaluation
Stage 4: Outcome

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How does the CIRO Model work?
Stage 1: Context Evaluation
At this stage, the CIRO Model is used to assess the operational
situation that a business or organization finds itself in. This provides
useful information that can be used to determine the training needs
and objectives.
During this first stage, a training-needs analysis is conducted, based
upon the conditions in the organization. The context evaluation
helps to flag up any factors that may have an impact on the effect
of the training.
The context evaluation also helps identify and evaluate the training
needs. In the CIRO Model, needs are based on collecting
performance-deficiency information, ie. what the organization is
lacking. The identified needs are set at the following three levels:

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• The ultimate objective
The goal of the ultimate objective is to eliminate an organizational deficiency such
as low sales figures, low productivity or poor customer service.
• Intermediate objectives
Intermediate objectives are those that aim to achieve an ultimate objective but
may require a change in employee’s work behavior.
• Immediate Objectives
Immediate objectives cover things such as acquiring new skills and knowledge as a
result of the training. It can also include changing employee’s attitudes, which
leads to them changing their behavior.

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Stage 2: Input Evaluation
During the second stage of the CIRO Model,
practitioners must gather information about possible
training techniques and methods. This is known as the
‘input evaluation’ and helps identify the best choice of
training intervention.
This stage also addresses design, planning,
management and delivery of the training course. It
analyzes the organization’s resources and determines
how these resources can best be used to achieve the
desired objectives.

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Stage 3: Reaction Evaluation
The third stage of the CIRO Model involves gathering
the views of the participants and collecting suggestions
about the training they received. The trainees are
asked to give their reactions to the following aspects:
• Program content
• Approach
• Value-added
Information gathered at this stage is used to find ways
to improve the training program. As this evaluation is
subjective, it must be collected in an objective way.

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Stage 4: Outcome
This stage of the CIRO Model involves
presenting information about the results of
the training. The results are presented at
three different levels;
• Immediate
• Intermediate
• Ultimate level

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The immediate results include how the
trainees got on and whether they managed to
complete the training successfully. The
intermediate outcomes are those that may
take some time to implement, such as
changes to the course design, or acquiring
new training resource. Outcomes at the
ultimate level are the main goals for the
organization, ones that have a far-reaching
impact on the organization.

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As outcomes are evaluated in terms of what
happened as a direct result of training, they can
be measured on the following four levels:
• The learner level
• The workplace level
• The team or department level
• The business level
The chosen level will depend on the purpose of
the evaluation and the available resources.

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Key differences between the CIRO Model and
Krikptrick’s Model
The four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model are:
Level 1: Reaction
Level 2: Learning
Level 3: Behavior
Level 4: Results

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• You’ll notice that Level 1 (Reaction) in the Kirkpatrick
Model is similar to stage 3 of the CIRO Model: Reaction
Evaluation. However, there are a number of key
differences between the way that each Model assesses
participant reaction and what it does with that
information.
• With the Kirkpatrick Model, you are gauging the
participants’ reaction to the training for the sole
purpose of identifying whether the conditions for
learning were met. You’d want to find out how the
trainees reacted to aspects of the training such as the
trainer, the venue and the resources provided.

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In the CIRO Model, a greater emphasis is placed
on gathering suggestions for how to change
aspects of the training. The goal is to find out
whether the format could be changed, and which
parts of the training the participants thought
could be improved.
Another key difference between the CIRO Model
and the Kirkpatrick Model is the ‘Outcome’ stage.
In the Kirkpatrick Model, you will receive
outcomes in three of the four levels: Learning,
Behavior and Results.

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Example of the CIRO Model in action
No definitive guide would be complete with
an example of the CIRO Model in action. For
this example, let’s imagine that a software
company specializing in management
software is looking to find ways to boost their
sales. They decide to use the CIRO Model to
develop their plans, set their goals and choose
the right training course.

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Stage 1: Context Evaluation
The management would begin by determining the training needs and then
developing objectives that help the company meet its goal of improving
sales. By conducting a training needs analysis, the company identifies that
the product knowledge of their sales team is lacking. They set their
objective as follows:
• The ultimate objective: To help improve software sales.
• Intermediate objectives: To encourage sales staff to research the latest
software updates and developments.
• Immediate Objectives: To boost product knowledge among sales team
members.

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Stage 2: Input Evaluation
During this stage, the company would analyze various training courses and
weigh up the costs and length of each one. They will determine which
course would best achieve their desired objective, based on their
budgetary constraints and other requirements.
Stage 3: Reaction Evaluation
After conducting the training, the company would ask the sales team
members to complete a survey or questionnaire. Data from this evaluation
would be used to help the company decide whether the training offered
value for money and what changes may be made to future training
sessions. The CIRO Model’s Reaction evaluation shows you whether the
conditions for learning were present in the training.

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Stage 4: Outcome
The fourth stage of the CIRO Model looks at what learning
took place and whether this learning made an impact on
the employee’s work. You would be looking at what
happened as a direct result of the training and whether the
managers were implementing the tools and techniques
they learned during their working hours. At a senior
management level, managers could investigate an
organization’s revenue to see whether the sales figures had
improved.
Lastly, the managers would present results from the
training and determine whether the ultimate level,
intermediate and immediate goals were met.

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Conclusion
The CIRO Model has many unique advantages
over other types of learning evaluation models
such as the Kirkpatrick Model. The data collection
requirements are simpler and therefore faster
and most cost-effective. However, the CIRO
Model is specifically aimed at evaluating
management training courses and is not designed
to evaluate the effectiveness of other types of
training or coaching programs.

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THANK YOU