April 9, 2007
For many years, industrial organi-
zations have used statistical meth-
ods and disciplines such as Six
Sigma to identify the root causes
of problems and to achieve con-
tinuous improvement goals.
Training departments can adapt
these methods into a model for
learning improvement, if they also
implement a learning intelligence
system. Such a system expands
the traditional reporting and data
management strategy beyond the
LMS and into a cross-functional
corporate reporting and data
management strategy. Read this
week’s article to find out how!
Evaluating Training ROI with a
Learning Intelligence System
By Mark Place
Training is a critical component in any organiza-
tion’s strategy for innovation and continuous im-
provement. Yet, training is an area where the actual re-
turn-on-investment (ROI) is uncertain.
Given the large expenditures for training in many or-
ganizations, it is important to develop tools that will help
companies answer the following questions and improve
the measurement of training effectiveness. These tools need to provide a method-
ology to measure, evaluate, and continuously improve training, as well as the
organizational and technical infrastructure (systems) to implement the method-
ology. We would like to know:
• Is the training program effective?
• How can we improve the program?
• Did the program achieve the desired results at the lowest possible cost?
The emerging body of knowledge on transfer of training suggests a number
of important propositions and conclusions. For example, the transfer “climate”
can have a powerful impact on the extent to which people use newly acquired
competencies back on the job. Delays between training and actual use on the
job directly relate to skill decay. Social, peer, subordinate, and supervisor sup-
port all play a central role in transfer. And finally, it is possible to design inter-
vention strategies to improve the probability of transfer. All four of these inter-
vening factors affect the results of any given training program, and there