Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2020 - 21

evidence for performance outcomes.
These three facts will inform decisions
for designing an impact-based training
or learning solution and will also satisfy
two of the five criteria for conducting an
impact investigation.

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS
GOAL?
This is the most important question to ask.
Learning fulfills the highest purpose when
it helps people use their performance to
achieve business goals. How can L&D
help people achieve business goals if we
do not know what the goal is?

answer questions regarding performance,
use a job or role description as a clue
to help the interviewee describe the
information you need.
The answer to this question is the
foundation on which impact investigations
are built. If you cannot discover specific
performance requirements for achieving
business goals, the impact investigation
will fail and there is no direction or
intention for training and learning.
Training and learning fulfill its purpose
when it builds or sustains performance
outcomes that help people achieve
business goals.

As an L&D detective, not collecting facts
about business goals leaves a hole in
the investigation. You need specifics, for
example:

I want to highlight that you are asking this
question and questions about business
goals and performance outcomes before
learning is delivered. You are not asking
questions about "training." The answers,
however, inform decisions for training
and learning with the highest potential
for impact.

L&D DETECTIVE WORK:
NOT EASY BUT POSSIBLE
Curiosity should drive L&D detective
work, and that is not simply curiosity
about how many people liked training,
the consumption of learning by modality
or the number of people who finished
the program. I'm talking about curiosity
regarding how a learning experience
influenced thought, how that influence in
thought triggered a change in behavior
or actions, how that change in behavior
or actions shows up in performance,
and how that performance measurably
impacts business goals.

* The business is pursuing 30% revenue
growth by expanding into new markets.
* The company wants to decrease
production errors 5% by investing in
new technology.
* Employees resignations are up 5%
and exit surveys show lack of manager
engagement is a contributor, so the
goal is to improve manager-employee
engagement scores by two points.
Collect facts about business goals - not
training goals. You cannot solve the
measurement mystery without knowing the
answer to this question. Understanding the
business goal connects the investigation
to performance.

business results. You will also need to get
agreement from business partners and
stakeholders on the facts and data you
will use as evidence for impact before the
training is launched.

WHERE AND WHAT IS THE
EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS
PERFORMANCE IMPACT?

WHAT ARE THE
PERFORMANCE
REQUIREMENTS FOR
ACHIEVING THE BUSINESS
GOAL?

This is my favorite part of the
investigation. This is where you discover
data and signals for the presence of
behavior, performance and actions that
achieve business goals. This is the part
of the investigation where you identify -
before the learning solution is launched
- the sources of evidence, facts and
data that reveal the impact of learning on
performance.

You will need descriptions of actual
performance, behaviors and actions that
move the business goal to target. What
does the behavior look like on the job?
How do you know it when you see it? How
does knowing or understanding show up
in performance, behavior and actions? If
the person you are interviewing cannot

Look for evidence like performance
ratings, customer satisfaction scores,
business
performance
metrics,
financial performance, production key
performance indicators, workforce data,
employee engagement, or anything
that gives signal to connecting the dots
between performance outcomes and

L&D detective work should be centered
on searching for facts, clues, evidence
and data that reveal learning's impact
on business goals. If you are conducting
an impact investigation that leads to
solving the mystery of how training and
learning influence performance and how
performance impacts business goals,
you are solving for the wrong mystery.
L&D detective work can be difficult,
but difficult does not mean impossible.
I challenge anyone engaged in L&D
detective work to be led by curiosity,
persistence, commitment and belief in
the possibility of using facts, evidence
and data to answer the question, "What
is the impact of learning?" There is
an answer.
Kevin M. Yates is widely known in the
L&D industry as the "L&D detective"
for his work in measuring efficiency,
effectiveness
and
outcomes
for
training using facts, evidence and data.
Email Kevin.

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Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2020

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