the importance of measuring the value of learning & development

The Importance of Measuring the Value of Learning and Development

“We accelerate growth”

Not all L&D requirements are the same – they vary and so measurement approaches have to vary too

No. of

“We accelerate growth”

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

We need to consider the nature of the requirement…

No. of

“We accelerate growth”

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

Is this something required to simply maintain performance, or is this

something required to deliver against an on going or new strategic aim?

…. and its scope

No. of

Is this something for specific individuals, a team, professional community or everyone?

“We accelerate growth”

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

The first quadrant represents Operational Readiness

No. of

These are requirements whereby a small number of people require relatively tactical interventions to do their jobs well. Needs might be identified at an individual or team level and have limited strategic connectivity.

“We accelerate growth”

Operational readinessOperational readiness

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

The next quadrant is organisational wide development

Organisational developmentOrganisational development

No. of

These are requirements whereby a larger number of people require relatively tactical interventions that keep the organisation

functioning and developing. Included in here are interventions that support employee engagement, personal development and

“We accelerate growth”

Operational readinessOperational readiness

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

engagement, personal development and company specific requirements such as

product and market awareness.

The next quadrant is about specified initiatives often ‘owned’ by a functional head or business unit leader

Organisational developmentOrganisational development

No. of

These are requirements that provide a targeted impact in a key business area, and are closely related to the achievement of strategic objectives. These may be growth strategy related programmes such as sales and marketing excellence, channel partner development, marketing, new product

introduction enhancements etc.

“We accelerate growth”

Operational readinessOperational readiness

Specified initiativesSpecified initiatives

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

The final quadrant is Business Transformation

Organisational developmentOrganisational development

Business transformationBusiness

transformation

No. of

“We accelerate growth”

Operational readinessOperational readiness

Specified initiativesSpecified initiatives

No. of people impacted

Strategic connectivity

These are requirements where a full organisational change is required, usually in response to external forces impacting

the value chain and focused on maintaining or improving competitiveness. These requirements tend to be multi tier and involve every business function and

level.

Level 4: Business Impact

Level 5: ROI

When applying a standard 5 level measurement model we need to decide what level of measurement is appropriate for what type of requirement

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“We accelerate growth”

Level 2: Learning

Level 3: Application & Implementation

Level 1: Reaction & Satisfaction

Operational re

adiness

Operational re

adiness

Organisa

tional

development

Organisa

tional

development

Busin

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Busin

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Specifie

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Specifie

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tives

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To guide this decision we need to consider who is really evaluating the impact of the investment we are making?

€?

“We accelerate growth”

€?

Is this about the individual perspective…?

€

Individual Is it the individual evaluating this in terms of a return on their effort, what it may

help them with immediately or what it may help them achieve in the future – and whether the learning experience really

worked for them?

“We accelerate growth”

€

Maybe it’s a departmental thing…

€Is it a team or departmental issue

“We accelerate growth”

€

Line / Dept.

Is it a team or departmental issue we are trying to resolve, and if so how would they measure the

effectiveness of the solution? Has it removed an operational barrier,

mitigated risk, improved functional performance or perception?

Maybe its all about HR/L&D proving their worth…

€

HR / L&D

“We accelerate growth”

€

Is it HR or L&D team measuring the effectiveness of interventions in order to

justify their role and value in the organisation? Does the data and results generated help to improve the internal perception of HR & L&D with the more ‘commercial’ parts of the organisation?

Maybe this is just stuff for finance to consider…

€

Finance

“We accelerate growth”

€

Is it finance evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to optimise spend on developmental activity across the

organisation? Do they want to scrutinise spend to identify what can be cut? Do

they want to compare ROI from different initiatives to better advise on where to

invest?

Or maybe its about where we are going, and how fast we are getting there…

€

“We accelerate growth”

€ C Suite

Are the executive team evaluating the developmental activities in terms of how much closer or how fast we are moving toward achieving strategic objectives?

In reality its probably a combination of some, if not all, of these things

€

Finance

HR / L&D

Individual

“We accelerate growth”

€ C Suite

Line / Dept.

So when planning interventions its important to communicate with the relevant stakeholder communities in language which reflects their interests and challenges

Finance

C Suite

Are we heading where we need to?

Are we spending wisely?

“We accelerate growth”

Line /

Dept.

HR

Individual

Are we delivering what is expected?

Are we adding value?

Am I progressing?

Why its important to measure Learning & Development?

• It may be important to different people in different ways

• Different stakeholders need different data and language

• Good measurement transforms L&D from a cost to an

“We accelerate growth”

• Good measurement transforms L&D from a cost to an investment

• Better upfront planning and closer scrutiny on levels 3 and above creates the conditions for sustained change

Contact details

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me directly

Thank you.

“We accelerate growth”