Kirkpatrick Level 3 Evaluation Questions and Checklist

A practical resource for L&D teams reviewing workplace application

Ask what people did differently after training

Use these original Kirkpatrick Level 3 evaluation questions to review whether participants applied a chosen skill at work, what support they received and what prevented practice. Copy the questions that fit your programme; pair participant accounts with observations or work examples where appropriate.

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What Level 3 evaluates

The Kirkpatrick Partners framework distinguishes workplace behaviour and its support from reactions to training, learning acquired and organisational results. A favourable workshop rating does not establish application. A practical review asks about the critical action, the opportunity to use it and the work environment.

The questions below are GWork’s own practical prompts. They are not an official Kirkpatrick questionnaire, a validated scale or a certification. Adapt them to the behaviour, work context and evidence you can reasonably collect.

Set up the review before asking questions

1. Name one observable behaviour linked to the programme’s intended outcome.
2. Record a starting example before training where possible. Label a recalled example as retrospective.
3. Agree who will provide support and when a real practice opportunity will arise.
4. Choose the review period, evidence sources and who may see the responses.
5. Explain how the information will be used and avoid collecting identifiable colleague or customer details unnecessarily.

Participant questions: application, opportunity and support

1. Which specific action did you agree to practise after the session?
2. During [period], did you have an opportunity to use it? Describe the situation without naming other people.
3. Which applies: no opportunity; opportunity but no attempt; tried once; tried more than once?
4. Describe one attempt. What did you do, and what happened next?
5. How does this example compare with your starting example? What is different, if anything?
6. What feedback or work example could help us understand the attempt?
7. What support did you receive from your manager, peers or work environment?
8. What got in the way: unclear action, workload, lack of permission, missing resources, no opportunity, or something else?
9. What will you repeat or adjust at your next opportunity?
10. What support and review date would make that next step realistic?

Add “prefer to discuss” or “not enough information” where needed. A missing response is missing information, not a zero-attempt score.

Manager questions: observation and follow-through

1. What action and work situation were agreed with the participant?
2. What opportunity and support did you provide during [period]?
3. Did you observe the action directly, review a work sample, or hear an account from the participant?
4. What specific example can you describe? If you did not observe an example, record that.
5. What differed from the starting example, and what remains unclear?
6. What obstacle can you help remove before the next attempt?
7. What next action, owner and review date have you agreed together?

Copyable observation checklist

For consistency with the free kit, repeated practice means at least two reported attempts in the review period. It does not establish habit formation. Define quality criteria for the particular skill rather than adding an unexplained universal rating.

Worked example: applying a feedback skill

Chosen action: describe an observation, explain its effect and ask for the colleague’s perspective during a project review. The participant reports two attempts. Their manager observed one and records the actual question asked. The starting example used general praise without a specific observation. The next step is to practise checking that both people understand the agreed action. This fictional example shows the structure of evidence; it is not a GWork customer outcome.

Report the denominator and the gaps

Report usable updates out of the full cohort. Then separate participants with no opportunity from those who had an opportunity. If calculating an attempt rate, use participants with a reported opportunity as the denominator and disclose missing updates alongside it.

Do not combine participant accounts and independent observations as though they were equivalent. Behaviour evidence can inform a programme decision, but does not by itself establish that training caused a financial or business result. Read the training-transfer measurement guide for a worked reporting example.

When should we ask these questions?

Agree an early check-in and review after a meaningful opportunity to practise. The kit suggests days 2, 7, 14 and 30 as a starting rhythm. Adapt the timing to the work rather than waiting for a fixed date while support problems go unresolved.

Turn the review into a supported next attempt

Use the post-training follow-up checklist and messages to organise the conversation. Download the free action plan and Excel tracker to keep the cycle together.

For help with your cohort, explore training reinforcement and learning transfer with GWork or discuss your learning programme. Share the training topic, cohort size, next session date and the application problem you need to solve.