Overview of the RED Track Feedback process

Swick Learning
Dec 1, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Feb 12

RED stands for Real Evaluation Data, which is the essence of the process: to gather and organise feedback into information that is as close as possible to what people are really thinking.

When the opposite happens – when feedback is not credible – everybody loses. The learners won't feel heard. The commissioners of the training can't tell if the training worked. And training providers get no benefit from the positive feedback, because nobody believes it anyway!

RED Track is explicitly a process, not a project. While comprehensive program evaluations have their place, they're expensive, infrequent, and often only realistic for well-funded organisations.

We are determined to take the most valuable parts of independent evaluation (like unbiased surveys, professional data management, and objective reporting) and make these routine and affordable. Instead of being once-off tasks that feel out of reach, they become efficient business-as-usual activities that any organisation can use consistently.

And the best part: RED Track feedback doesn't replace formal evaluations when you need them. If anything, it makes them easier! Our users have clean, structured baseline data already in place, and a proven feedback infrastructure to build upon.

The two types of feedback in focus:

The core RED Track Feedback process collects two types of feedback on a learning experience:

Participant feedback Learners complete surveys using a largely standardised questionnaire with space for topic-specific questions. The default is immediately before and after training, though additional measurement points can be added during and after the program.
Buyer feedback When training is purchased externally, we collect confidential feedback from the decision-makers who commissioned it or most rely on its success. This occurs at least two months after training commences, with questions focused on ROI, lasting impact, and the business relationship. This perspective is difficult for providers to obtain directly from clients, who can (understandably) be reluctant to share it candidly. Once there is enough of this data to protect anonymity, we share this buyer feedback with providers in aggregated form.

Our feedback process at a glance:

Here is how the process works on any given training engagement:

Learner feedback is collected independently. Learners complete surveys directly with us using questionnaires designed to minimise bias and maximise honest responses. Because participants know their feedback is anonymous and going to independent consultants, we get better completion rates and more candid responses.

An objective summary report goes both parties simultaneously. We compile a structured summary report and send it to both the training provider and client at the same time. Then, with everyone working from the same trusted information, it is much easier to have productive conversations about what worked and what to adjust.

Buyer feedback is collected, anonymised, and shared. We gather confidential feedback from the organisation receiving the training program and share it with provider once there's enough data to protect anonymity. This buyer-side perspective is rarely captured systematically, adding another layer of credible information for improvement.

What else you need to know:

Consistency is the key – it builds very deep insights over time

Once you take a consistent approach to feedback, you can analyse results across lots of comparable situations to understand what works for your organisation. You can compare by topics, formats, delivery styles, and timing to see what resonates with your different audiences. This helps you make better investment decisions going forward.

There are many other benefits to using RED Track Feedback, which are outlined here: The power of independent feedback processes in training and learning programs

What is a LIFTER and how do they use RED Track?

Some training providers fall in love with the RED Track process because it gives them useful information to drive improvement, and credible information about their impact.

When a training provider fully commits to using our independent process everywhere possible, they can earn the 'LIFTER' designation under our LIFTER Program. This acknowledges their commitment to transparency and openness to improvement.

LIFTER stands for Listening and Improvement by Facilitators and Trainers through Evaluation and Research. There are four levels of recognition in the program, corresponding to how comprehensively they use independent evaluation on a continuous basis. Most providers in the LIFTER Program are Committed LIFTERs, meaning they collect both types of feedback described above — participant and buyer feedback.

For training buyers, the LIFTER designation is a signal that a provider has chosen to forfeit control of their feedback processes wherever possible. This makes their feedback data far more believable. Please refer to the program web page for more on the LIFTER Program by Swick Learning.

A note on terminology: evaluation versus evaluation data

The word "evaluation" can be confusing as it gets used in different ways.

Some people use it to describe a feedback form. Others only use the term for a comprehensive program evaluation with an evaluation framework, multiple data sources, and systematic assessment of impact.

When we talk about RED Track Feedback, we are not talking about a full program evaluation. We are talking about a systematic process for collecting one important type of evaluation data — feedback — in a very high-quality way.

This data is valuable on its own for understanding how training lands with participants. It's also an essential and powerful input if you later conduct a full-scale evaluation.

We can support comprehensive program evaluations when needed (either by conducting them or by providing evaluation data reports for others to use). But the RED Track Feedback service focuses on collecting and processing feedback data consistently and credibly.

The range of adjacent services we can easily wrap into our process, which spans both evaluation and procurement support, is outlined here: Flexibility of our Feedback Management Services