Recognizing the importance of training in economic competitiveness, a lot of attention is being paid to the question of return on investment for training. This question of How to Measure Learning Impact to Employees is important because it relates to competitive economic pressures and the need for increased efficiency and effectiveness in training. Companies are now focusing on the importance of evaluation up to the ROI level.
A cost-effective, rigorous ROI system that applies business strategic planning and evaluation to training can significantly improve the quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability of training.
CLOs believe it is crucial to show the value and impact of training by understanding how to measure learningimpact in their organizations. But, only 5 percent of CLOs feel confident that they can do this.
How to Measure Learning Impact: The most important components of measuring learning
Five critical components are required for learning organizations to succeed in measurement.
Create a measurement strategy that is consistent with the business.
Use a measurement framework that is compatible with the strategy
Align the right resources
Choose the right measures to fit the needs of your organization
Make sure the organization is culturally ready for change
Why is ROI important?
How to measure learning impact is a question that every organization is trying to answer in terms ROI.
Every learning professional wants to demonstrate the value of their programs – that “Holy Grail”, ROI. It is often difficult to do so in practice. This is a practical way to start addressing ROI of training. It starts in areas where the learning professional is driving.
You taught a class. It went well. Or it didn’t. It was liked by all participants. Or they didn’t. The coffee was hot. Or it wasn’t. It didn’t matter how it ended, you will likely hear about it in some post-event feedback.
According to the Association for Talent Development, over 90% of learning organizations conduct these surveys in order to calculate the ROI of training. However, their existence should not be taken to mean that they are useless.
How to Measure Learning Impact – Top 10 Ways
1. Learning progress report
It allows you to collect, store, and communicate instructor ratings of learner success, as well as individual recommendations for additional learning activities.
Field line managers should be involved in the learning process. This helps with the transfer of learning to the field.
Completed reports are stored in the LMS history of a learner. Only the immediate manager and learner have access to the report. An email with a link to the report is sent to them.
2. Practice and skill checks
Allow learners to practice the actual task they will be performing and check for skill development.
This demonstrates that learners can do the task rather than just have knowledge.
Provides criteria for the skill checker/practice partner to help them evaluate how to measure learning impact by checking whether the learner performed the task to a desired level. It also provides a way to provide great feedback for coaches/supervisors!
Ask yourself if you are only interested in the knowledge or if you are really after the performance. Learning impact is not about quantity but quality.
3. Final test – Mastery
Continue the practice and skill checks but check for mastery
The final integrated skill test measures the learning. A salesperson might model a sales conversation. This includes the greeting, the conversation, the systems used, and closing the sale.
This skill check criteria list will help you provide very specific feedback to your skill-checkers. The learner should be ready to go by the time they reach the final.
4. Transfer of learning techniques
Pre- and Post-Training Discussions with Supervisors and Employees – Most courses include a discussion guide that allows these two parties to discuss their expectations about what the learner will know before and how they will apply the lessons learned after training.
Accountability cards – These cards can be printed or made from 3×5 index cards. They allow the learner to list specific behavior they have pledged to follow after training. An individual can use the cards with a partner, direct supervisor or team member.
Accountability partners – Used to coach and observe specific behaviors. As they work to improve performance, partners can act as sounding boards.
These tools can be used by companies to keep track of their skills development initiatives.
10 ways to measure the impact of learning for the ultimate ROI
