Section 1.3: Analyzing Learning & Development Metrics

Metrics are key to determining how effective a learning and development program is for a business (BasuMallick, 2019). If an organization has data; but does not analyze it in relation to the organization’s goals, metrics become meaningless, and the organization will not be able to identify whether the learning and development programs are contributing to the success of the business. This is why organizations need to implement and analyze relevant metrics to get valuable insights. The key metrics that could be included in the analysis are:

• What types of courses have been taken
• Whether different departments take different courses
• Courses that have been completed more than once
• How employees utilize the training programs
• Whether courses and outcomes are aligned with organizational goals (BasuMallick, 2019)

In addition to the above-mentioned data analytics, four other metrics are often ignored but are important to evaluating the effectiveness of a learning and development program. These four metrics  are:

1. The cost of training employees: Training investment per employee is one of the important metrics to calculate because it shows the efficacy of the training and development program. If a training session has been provided once, it is not advisable to provide the same training one more time because it could mean the training has not been as beneficial to the employees as expected (BasuMallick, 2019).
2. Increases – or decreases – in operational efficiency: By analyzing this metric, the organization should be able to identify whether employees are more productive than before because of the completion of certain training sessions (BasuMallick, 2019). To do this effectively, baseline metrics need to be set to measure increase or decreases in performance. Performance management reviews should also indicate whether employees have more skills and if they are applying them in their positions (BasuMallick, 2019). On other hand, if employees are not benefiting from the training programs and are spending time completing these training programs without any advancement, it indicates the provided programs are not effective or there may be no clear career path aligned with the training. (BasuMallick, 2019).
3. Benefits for both employees and the organization: The training programs should benefit both the organization and its employees. This means that employees will be able to acquire skills and knowledge and not only use and apply them for their job roles but convert them into “personal value-addition” (BasuMallick, 2019). Additionally, organizations must have to have a return on investment for the provided training programs because just like employees, organizations also have to benefit from the money they spend on training and development programs (BasuMallick, 2019).
4. The employees’ feedback on the provided training: Finally, organizations need to ask employees to evaluate the training sessions and instructors who delivered these sessions because at the end the training sessions have to be enjoyable and not simply an additional responsibility (BasuMallick, 2019). In addition, the skills acquired must be observable and measurable in the workplace.