Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2019 - 31

ENGAGEMENT, EXPERIENCE, EFFECT
Richardson

Analytics are more than a way to verify outcomes at the end
of training. Effective measurement guides the training
process as it unfolds. Participants discover where they
need to focus their attention and where their blind spots
reside. Measurement is for the learner as much as it is for
the leadership.
Despite these benefits, many organizations fail to generate
and measure data. Often, the data sits in disparate systems,
making it difficult to connect the data to business impacts.
Moreover, the available data represents different levels of
accuracy, forcing the user to qualify the analytics first. Even
after meeting these challenges, it is difficult to know what
to measure.
Simplify the process by segmenting measurement into three
key parts:
1. Engagement: How are learners progressing through training?
2. Experience: How memorable is training, and how excited
are learners to participate?
3. Effect: How has training improved business outcomes and
skill adoption?

MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY ALONE
Explorance

The top performing corporate training organizations recognize
that learning analytics require more than technology alone;
it's a transformation process rooted in human cooperation
and geared toward business objectives. L&D leaders first
align with strategic business goals. Then, establishing a
common language is crucial when agreeing upon leading
indicators that describe how training results lead to
improved business outcomes. For a proven and accelerated
process, L&D professionals derive KPIs from a validated
learning impact model.
The right technology optimizes the transformation by
automating data collection and reporting processes,
allowing personnel to focus on analysis and actions. Internal
and external benchmarks enhance the credibility of measures
and shape performance expectations. These benchmarks
further reinforce business executives' confidence that L&D
programs function adequately and maximize impact.
Finally, this process results in building practical data
literacy skills at all levels in the learning organization,
so all stakeholder groups can effectively leverage rolebased reports, dashboards and data exploration tools to

monitor progress and transparently recognize the value of
training programs.

VALID & RELIABLE ASSESSMENTS

Kristin Bernor, Marketing Manager, Questionmark
With the growing demand to leverage learning data to
improve business outcomes, training organizations can
develop better measurement practices to prove the value
of training by implementing valid and reliable assessments.
Assessments are a valuable tool before, during and after
training that define learning success. Organizations can
gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of the
learning and make the appropriate adjustments to meet goals
and objectives.
Key drivers for measuring learning include improving
the effectiveness of learning and deliberately linking
learning programs with organizational performance,
individual performance and employee engagement. By
utilizing assessments and the analysis of those data points,
organizations can prove learning impacts these areas.
Observational assessments can also be used to check onthe-job performance. Valid and reliable assessments result
in meaningful measurement outcomes that prove the value
of training.

TURN AWAY FROM
EVENT-DRIVEN METRICS

Sam Shriver, Executive Vice President, The Center for
Leadership Studies
Old habits die hard, and learning professionals have long
been identified as event-driven creatures. As such, much
of our collective design and development energy remains
focused on the experience and the Level I reactions that
experience produces.
Developing better measurement practices begins with putting
those habits in the rearview mirror. The primary stewards of
your organization simply do not care what learners think or
feel about company sponsored training experiences. They
seek evidence of change tethered to training that positively
impacts the results they have responsibility to deliver.
The implications of that reality suggest that the target of
your measurement practices should be pretty much anybody
but the trainees themselves. What are those trainees doing
differently that is attributable to the experience, and what
impact is it having on the outcomes key executives have
invested interest in achieving?
Ken Taylor is president and editor in chief of Training Industry, Inc.
Email Ken.

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Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2019

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