Measurement of Business Impact

Experience, also known as informal learning, accounts for 70 percent of the knowledge we bring into our careers. The remaining 30 percent is comprised of our training and education - formal learning. The challenge for CLOs is how to integrate the convenience and flexibility of informal learning with the expert-selected content and measurement value of formal learning - targeting our learning investments and taking advantage of the full potential of both.

Learn how to isolate the business impact of your human capital investments and apply analytics and key measurement steps to implement in your organization today! Learn how an array of Fortune 500^® companies have used proven methodologies to measure the impact of learning and development investments to take their intelligent talent strategies to the next level - Optimization.

In addition to downloading a PDF of the presentation below, you can watch the video.

Organizations have a strong need for better skills to make analytic decisions on human capital issues. Learn about the three types of data and analysis that can be conducted to empower HR professionals with the data they need to support their decision making as well as the changes in structure and work design organizations must undergo for these decisions to be effective and sustainable.

With an informal, user-generated approach to developing content for learning, Sun Microsystems has created a delivery platform, the Sun Learning eXchange (SLX), that delivers timelier, quality content with drastically less expense than instructor-led and web-based training. The development costs are so much lower for SLX, the ROI versus web-based training is 7,505 percent. As impressive as that is, perhaps most encouraging about this new delivery platform is the high, and growing rate of user acceptance.

When Sun Microsystems measured the impact of their mentoring program they discovered some of the positive business results they expected to see (i.e., positive retention rates, salary grade increases, etc.), and a few they did not. The most dramatic finding was the difference in retention among participants over non-participants - a difference that translated into savings of $6.7 million.

Even as the feverish cost cutting that accompanied the recent financial meltdown has subsided, the call to arms with regard to corporate learning programs remains the same: Innovation. Specifically, innovation in terms of rethinking outdated notions of learning interventions as "soft costs." Learning can be measured in dollars, and innovation is the key to accomplishing this shift in perception.

For Chrysler, and all auto brands, a dealership selling one or two extra cars a month can make the difference between running a business or closing one. The Sales Manager Training program at Chrysler Academy has produced staggering ROI and gross profit margins at dealerships employing the program.

The evolution of the global economy has elevated human capital management to an essential organizational core competence. However, training and HR professionals are challenged to work with fewer resources, less budget, and an increased emphasis on measuring the business impact of their programs. Learn the steps can you take within your organization to change this dynamic.

Gathering and analyzing data is merely the first step in determining the ROI of your human capital investments. When you apply advanced analytics and predictive modeling to this collected information, you are better prepared to make decisions that can successfully impact business outcomes.

When every budget dollar counts, it's imperative that you're able to demonstrate the impact of human capital investments on your company's strategic KPIs. Learn more about performance metrics that can isolate the impact of your learning interventions. Then, discover how you can utilize that data to develop models of variables to predict success and affect organizational performance.

The evolution of the global economy has elevated human capital management to an essential organizational core competence. However, training and HR professionals are challenged to work with fewer resources, less budget, and an increased emphasis on measuring the business impact of their programs. Learn the steps you can take within your organization to change this dynamic.

Propel HR to a new level of effectiveness. The use of capital analytics can help you measure and improve the impact of your corporate learning initiatives. Learn how to overcome the barriers that keep you from implementing effective measurement programs.

When budgets are tight, you need to be able to substantiate your human capital investments to the C-suite. Learn the right tools and techniques to build a measurement plan that aligns your corporate learning programs with the organization's intended business outcomes.

Despite a tough economy, organizations can function effectively, by tying human capital investments into the company's KPIs and strategic goals. The newly published results of an HR practitioner series provide talent management best practices, from mentoring and succession planning to retention and re-recruiting that can be implemented now.

Why has it proven so difficult to implement measurement and innovation in the face of entrenched organization cultures? Getting to the bottom-line ROI of learning programs takes more than measurement of business impact. Leaders must integrate learning with work design and organization design frameworks to maximize value creation and business impact.

Critical priority areas have been viewed as unmeasurable and learning organizations have been reluctant to measure even quantitative outcomes, which is why it it's difficult to implement measurement and innovation in well-established organization cultures. To produce the measurement of business impact wanted, investment in a different delivery model than training is needed. Training is about "how-to," which are learned capabilities related to education.

Using the power of statistics to isolate the ROI and impact of human capital interventions takes measurement strategies to the next level – optimization. Mutual of Omaha, Sun Microsystems and Chrysler leverage predictive analytics to answer tough questions: Are my investments improving some KPIs and not others? Are they more effective with certain delivery methods? Are they benefiting some employees more than others? Are they helping to retain some employees and not others? Asking – and quantifiably answering – questions like these empowers learning leaders to make informed human capital investment decisions.

What's the connection between a strategic business agenda and a learning agenda? Understanding the ROI of a learning program and the value of the learning allows for measurement of business impact. Learn how to move from "who" and "what" metrics to measures that are effective, impactful, and optimize human capital investments.

What's the connection between a strategic business agenda and a learning agenda? Understanding the ROI of a learning program and the value of the learning allows for measurement of business impact. Dr. Alec Levenson of the Center for Effective Organizations at USC explains how to move to measures that improve organizational development and function.

Organizations cannot compete effectively - at least for long - without aligning their people with results and measuring business impact.  And yet the decision-making processes for optimizing the people side of the business remain rudimentary in most organizations, often amounting to little more than guesswork and gut feel. When critical human capital decisions are made without the benefit of analytics, it’s a disservice to the organization and its shareholders.

There are three widely held myths that often block the innovation required to remain competitive. Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., offers advice to help leaders begin to dispel the myths, ultimately leading to value creation: invest in highly motivated employees, base ROI of learning on hundreds or thousands of employees – not one, and educate engaged employees equipping them to be better at their jobs and they’ll stay at the company longer. – Chief Learning Officer, August 2009

It’s no secret that corporations’ investment in human capital is a key indicator of their success. Yet, the value of that investment and how it is shown, resourced, and leveraged remains a mystery for many training professionals. Jennifer A. Murnane, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Bellevue University and Nancy Maresh, Founder of Brains at Work make the case for new methods and measurements, tactics, and strategies for leveraging value in a global knowledge economy at Training magazine’s Training Leadership Summit. The presentation is capped off with metrics on how well this learning mode works at Verizon Wireless.

The ability to measure the impact of training is the Holy Grail for learning organizations. Yet learning leaders lack confidence in their ability to attribute key sales and performance indicators to specific learning programs.

Training experts share their insights on the use and measurement of sales readiness initiatives, based upon the findings from studies administered across a number of industries including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and construction. Armed with this information, experts explain why gaining knowledge from measurement and analysis can create confidence when reporting to senior executives on the comparison of learning to outcomes.

According to the 2008 American Society for Training and Development yearly report, organizations across the U.S. spend an estimated $134 billion on developing their workers. Yet, fewer than five percent attempt to measure the business impact of these learning interventions. This study explores the question: Why is measurement of this intangible asset not occurring?

Sun Microsystems saved $6.7 million – correlating to employee retention rates – by introducing a mentoring program. Additional benefits of the program: participants were promoted five times more often than non-participants, mentors themselves were promoted six times more often compared to employees who were not in the program, and Sun Microsystems saw a return of $29.50 for every $1 invested in the program.

This groundbreaking study demonstrates how Chrysler Academy isolated the impact of learning on its business outcomes, and redefined the importance of Chrysler's learning interventions on staff retention, customer satisfaction, and new vehicle sales volume.

"We are at a tipping point – a shift in the measurement of value, and the even more fundamental conversation about what value is." Listen as Dr. Mike Echols discusses the struggling economy's impact on stock prices and executive salaries, and why those figures weren't rooted in reality. Echols calls for a broader approach to determining "value," and to bridge the gap between HR and accounting when it comes to value measurement.

Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPI), applying a "Performance Mapping" methodology to help you ascertain gaps in desired performance, understanding the strengths and limitations of existing evaluation tools, and determining a measurement approach that shows both business impact and isolates the contribution of learning to the bottom line. These are some of the tools you'll discover within this report detailing Chrysler's interaction with BBDO Detroit's Retail Performance Solutions.

One of the challenges faced by organizations today is the impending leadership gap – the difference in sheer numbers of millennials entering the workforce to take the place of retiring baby boomers. To prepare for this future, training and learning efforts must accelerate the development of leaders who can innovate in the face of rapid change. Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., suggests that the only way to prepare for the uncertain future is to manage expenditures targeted at human capital as investments – not current-period expenses, and this will require the measurement of value being created by training and e-learning programs.

Are you prepared to defend your learning budget request to C-suite executives? Illustrate the comparative value of learning and development programs to their potential impact on business outcomes by presenting statistically proven measurement methods.

Intangible assets - not buildings and equipment - are the building blocks for future value creation. Review survey results conducted by a global HR research and consulting firm that demonstrates how an intangible asset such as engaged employees (those who believe in the values of the company, take pride in their work, and are motivated to perform beyond expectations) can dramatically impact business outcomes. Download study »

Chrysler's learning leaders identified Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and built a comprehensive, quantifiable curriculum for several of its sectors - service, parts, technicians, and field personnel - to prove the positive impact of training on business results.

Budget discussions between learning leaders and financial execs can be frustrating if neither party is speaking the same language. The Human Capital Lab provides an accounting "Rosetta Stone," preparing you to translate the value of human capital investments to business outcomes, in a way that makes sense to corporate decision-makers. Read how Chrysler's bottom line is positively impacted by additional employee training implemented with senior management's approval.

Fear, real or perceived, may prevent you from delving into the ROI of your learning interventions. Learn to overcome measurement anxiety, and substantiate your company's investment in human capital.

Learn how a Fortune 500® company created value on many levels because of its proactive approach to measurement. Sun Microsystems conducted a study of its multiple training delivery systems, discovering redundancies and inconsistencies. By implementing a centralized system, Sun Microsystems increased enrollment efficiencies and cost savings, and created a baseline for other decisions concerning similar systems issues.

Triple-digit ROI results: U.S. Bank's innovative training intervention - the Branch Manager Toolbook - exceeded expectations and demonstrated significant value across all benchmarks, from increased demand deposit activity and employees who reported they were more effective leaders to higher consumer loan activity and the opportunity to deploy this effective learning program organization-wide.

Applying basic business practices, such as discussing organizational goals with senior executives and the importance of writing a business plan for learning initiatives - David Vance, former President of Caterpillar University, provides his expertise on these and other topics within this straightforward presentation that covers everything you've always wanted to know about developing an effective employee training program.

It is critical that you start with a solid definition of your organization’s goals, before you can measure the impact and value of your learning programs on the bottom line. With this information, you can explore which outcomes you should measure, the variables that may affect your metrics, and how to determine the percentage of budget needed for accurate measurement and analysis.

This landmark study done for Chrysler provided hard data isolating the positive business impact of their sales consultant training on sales volume and customer satisfaction. The data also provided a solid platform for guiding future changes in the content of curriculum and for measuring the business impact of those changes.

A Sun Microsystems study reveals how advances in statistical methods and technology permitted learning leaders to isolate complex multiple variable interactions, measure ROI, provide detailed analyses of specific business outcomes, and create the data required to improve the productivity of learning investments in the future.

To stay competitive in a global economy, it is necessary to move beyond the outdated accounting differentiation between the value of labor and capital. Create future value for your organization by implementing best practices detailed in this report - including data from Pelco, a video security supplier, that details how the organization was able to show a direct bottom line relationship between training and revenues - and by managing learning as an investment.

Universities have considerable learning expertise that can be transferred to the corporate level. However, learning leaders have long overlooked institutions of higher learning for the delivery and development of curriculum to train their employees. Discover how Nelnet, a leader in the education finance market, successfully tapped into university resources to maximize the value of its human capital investment.

Faced with skepticism that learning can provide solid, tangible value to the bottom line, Caterpillar learning leaders established new foundations for their employee learning interventions. Determining the organization's highest priorities and focusing resources to those needs resulted in double- and triple-digit return on learning.

Without measurement, it is nearly impossible to determine whether or not any dimension of a business is improving. Employee engagement is no exception. And employee engagement is crucial to effective corporate learning.

Use our free, online Intangibles Calculator to determine the percentage of costs associated with non-capital expenditures, such as training, tuition reimbursement, hiring, and other human capital-related activities.