What Do Business Managers Want to Know?
Business managers regularly select and purchase training opportunities for themselves and their employees. A market exists for high-quality training, but Extension is not the only provider; private organizations are rapidly emerging to meet the need (King & Boehlje, 2000; Stup, Van Saun, & Wolfgang, 2002). There are risks associated with sending employees to a training program. The business manager must pay the registration fee and often the employees’ wages while they attend the program. With such a substantial investment, managers want to know that the training will be worthwhile. One of Extension’s advantages over private competitors in the information marketplace is the ability to use evaluation techniques to demonstrate program effectiveness. Evaluation data that shows a connection between Extension training and improved individual or organizational performance can be a powerful marketing tool. Therefore, Extension professionals should prepare evaluation information for business m
