Measuring the Success of Your Talent Development Programs

We get a lot of questions about how to determine the effectiveness of learning, how to measure progress, and how to tie that to ROI for the business. I'm here to talk about how we do this and how some of our different clients think about measurement and ROI.

To best determine effectiveness, you first have to know what you're trying to achieve. Why are employees taking part in the learning program, and how is it expected to impact them in their role? What behaviors are critical for them to embody in order to show competence in the areas critical to getting their job done? Without this baseline, there's nothing to measure against.

From there, focus on behaviors that drive specific outputs. Skill development is really a fancy term for behavior change. When you’re putting employees through a learning program, you’re looking to change the way they do things - whether that’s the way they communicate, manage their time, inspire their team, or anything and everything in between. The behaviors will only be clear if the outputs are clear. Remember, employees need a “why,” not just a “what.” Measure their change in behavior based on the impact on their specific job outputs. For example, if their work is getting done in a more desirable amount of time because they improved their time management and prioritization skills, show them how that positively impacts the business. Give feedback early and often so they know what they’re doing is being recognized and celebrate and reinforce the behaviors that drive those desired outputs.

Now let’s talk about measuring the business impact. Every HR person needs to know their business. They need to understand how the company makes money, how it stands up against competition, what it's looking to achieve, and what goals are the most important. Break this down by department - if your company has KPI's or OKR's, this is the place to start. Then work with your leadership team to understand the biggest opportunities and threats that impact those goals. Assess the talent at each level and identify where your skills gaps are. Then build your learning content to close those skills gaps. As those skills are attained, measure how they impact those departmental goals and ultimately the business goals.

Ultimately, success lies in utilization. You can create the most sophisticated learning program in the world with clear ties to ROI for the business, but if employees are not engaging and participating in a meaningful way, it won't have the desired impact. This is why engagement is also an important success metric for learning programs. We recommend setting a goal for the number of employees you want to go through a learning program in a given year. We partner with our clients to achieve and exceed that number together. When a company invests in GoCoach, it's not just about having another offering on the "shelf" for employees to use - it's about implementing the right communication and engagement plan together that drives learners to the platform and through their personalized learning experience. The more learners you have on the platform, the more data you have to measure meaningful business ROI - and the more access you provide, the more you contribute to a more inclusive workplace where every employee has equal opportunity to succeed.

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