Prove it or Lose it in 2016!

09:21:00 Learning Boffins 0 Comments

Determining the impact of a training program in your organisation is a challenge. In 2016 it looks to be a key trend for learning and development professionals - because we need to prove the value of learning or face losing the budget for it.

But establishing the business benefit of learning is rarely attempted as it is deemed "too difficult", but just because it is hard to do doesn't mean it should be ignored and it doesn't make it wrong to do. So we need to move towards being more convinced by and committed to the business benefit of learning.

There is poor consistency of organisations establishing the return on investment and effective gains on learning activity(1). With budgets continuing to be squeezed - no wonder the issue has started to become a focus for many. Huge benefits can be achieved from effectively recording the impact of learning; we will discuss only a handful in this blog:

1. Show the contribution of selected programmes
2. Earn respect from senior management
3. Improve furture learning and development decisions
4. Alther or remove ineffective programmes

Lets explore them in more detail:

Show the contribution of selected programmes
Being able to show the value of selected training programmes gives your stakeholder's confidence that the budget you are given for learning is making a real difference to the business. Not being able to display benefit will give senior stakeholders the go ahead to cut the budget and chip away at your department. No benefit, no budget.

Gain respect from senior management

Going beyond just sharing the amount of learning you are shifting and proving exactly how it is impacting the business gives your stakeholders the confidence that the work done through L&D is giving organisational benefit. We see organisations that have lost confidence from their senior stakeholders and have therefore started to see their learning department diminish. Being confident for your stakeholders gains their respect, if marketing get their budget by confidently sharing their expected payback of activities, then L&D can and should do the same for learning spend!

Improve furture learning and development decisions/programmes

Evaluating programmes can inform future decision making for your organisation. Identifying the programmes that worked or didn't work allows you to know whether to repeat that programme or deliver something different.

Remove ineffective programmes
Good evaluations and identification of impact allows an organisation to identify and remove ineffective programmes, to stop them running again and end up being another wasted investment.


Cuts will happen in the learning department if the benefit of learning is not understood or collected. NO BENEFIT -  NO BUDGET!. And with budgets continuing to be squeezed it is vital that leaning and development consider and prove the benefit they are making.

We at KnowledgePool (part of Capita Plc) know how to do this; our experience can help you to prove the impact of your learning. Contact us through the blog, Twitter or LinkedIn.