In 2018, Azleen founded AMS Empire, a home growth financial consultant company based in Bangi, Selangor. She started as a part-time financial consultant as at that time she is still holding a job as an accountant in Kuala Lumpur. After two years, motivated by the growth and potentials that she saw in the unit trust and financial planning industry, she left her job and started her own firm together with her sister, Azreen, a business graduate from UNITAR and they have not looked back since.

Azleen recognized that the greatest challenge to the company’s growth is attracting and developing the best financial consultants. After doing some research and trials, AMS Empire developed the Green Leaf, a three-month training program for individuals who desire to be financial advisors but lack financial knowledge, experience, and confidence. Aspiring financial planners will participate in both online and face-to-face learning during the first four weeks of the program. In the classroom, instructors provide knowledge about finance, financial products, regulatory frameworks, and communication skills. Also, to enhance selling skills and customer service, learners engage in role-plays. The next two months of the program include mentoring and on-the-job experiences. Trainees work with established financial planners in their practices, providing real advice to clients. During these two months learners are provided with on-the-job coaching, professional development, mentoring and complete compliance training. After successfully completing the program, AMS Empire will sponsor them to take the requisite exams that will provide the paper qualification for the agents thus allowing them to join AMS Empire as a certified financial consultant.

The initial phase of the Green Leaf program proved to a be a success. However, as her agency grew and more aspiring consultants joined in, she began to notice a high number of dropouts and people who couldn’t pass the certification exams. She is worried. Not only the reputation of her agency is at stake, but she has also invested a lot of money into the Green Leaf program.

Her sister Azreen suggested that they take a step back and carry out a proper evaluation of the Green Leaf program. She remembered something called the Kirkpatrick’s Four Level Model back when she took the Training and Development course for her BBA. Azreen suggest that they use the model to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.

Question

Explain in detail how the two sisters can use the Kirkpatrick’s Model to assess and evaluate Green Leaf and how they can use the findings to improve the program. 

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

The first level of the Kirkpatrick Model is reaction The sisters can assess the reaction level by su... View the full answer