Evaluation of Speakers by the Participants at a Training Academy in Bangladesh: Issues, Insights and Recommendations

Consistent evaluation of speakers is an integral part of any training program. Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy imparts training primarily for newly recruited administrative civil servants. Depending on both primary and secondary data, this study examines various issues related to the lack of credibility of the speaker-evaluation by the participants to provide deep insights and potential solutions. Secondary data was collected from 300 evaluation forms and the academic backgrounds of 20 regular speakers. A questionnaire-led survey was conducted among 36 participants of a training program to obtain primary data. Although the regular speakers are usually highly educated and professionally experienced, the one-sided subjective feedback remains critical to this evaluation process. The statistical analysis of both primary and secondary data shows that the participants do not invest enough time and thought for completing the evaluation. A reluctance to put descriptive observations makes the outcome of the evaluation lose some of its credibility. Participants have also pointed out a few critical limitations of the form. Findings suggest that adding qualitative measures to the form can be useful to provoke qualitative views from the participants and to obtain constructive suggestions for the speakers. Further insights from the speakers can be valuable to complement the outcome of this study. This study concludes that the Academy must combine planned and incidental evaluations to revitalize the effectiveness of the process.