It’s time for L&D to ditch the dull reports, and instead, start delivering powerful insights that build skills, change behaviors and drive real results. They must rethink the way they approach learning measurement.

Except — why is learning measurement so hard? Learning measurement tends to get a lot of flak for being unnecessarily challenging. Learning trends and technologies may come and go — however, measuring the impact of training and communicating results to stakeholders remains to be a common struggle.

Why L&D Needs Better Learning Measurement Skills

Learning and development (L&D) teams have slowly dug themselves into a measurement rut that grows deeper with each program. They’re so focused on tracking learning metrics that they fail to see how disconnected they’ve become from the business. Before they know it, they’re stuck at the bottom, wondering why no one is listening to them.

The outcome of a training program cannot simply be learning — it just can’t be. While completions and learner satisfaction are important data points, on their own these metrics do not unlock any real insights. Given the significant time, money and energy spent creating learning programs, the ultimate goal cannot be for people to merely finish them. Just because someone enjoyed the learning experience doesn’t mean they’ve gained the skills or knowledge they actually need.

Learning isn’t an isolated event existing in a vacuum, it’s a means to a business outcome. L&D teams must refocus on their true purpose and measure what truly matters.

The biggest issue is that there just isn’t enough communication between learning and other parts of the business. No one party is to blame. When it comes to what should be measured, sometimes learning leaders aren’t asking, and sometimes business leaders aren’t telling. Many times, it’s both.

The question to ask, then, is, “What should be measured?”  There is a laundry list of generic metrics, such as:

• Time to productivity.
• Sales/revenue.
• Employee engagement
• Individual performance metrics.

However, these are not enough. Each of these means something different to every organization. So, they need to be looked at through the lens of the organization. Then there are countless other metrics that are unique to how each company does business.

Even the most plugged-in chief learning officer (CLO) can’t know precisely what is needed to make people better/faster/stronger unless key stakeholders articulate what that means. In return, L&D teams must be able to articulate how learning can (or can’t) make these things happen.

L&D usually defaults to reporting on completion rates because they are easy to capture — it takes minimal effort. However, when it comes to learning’s impact on performance and the business, it gets much more difficult, especially because L&D doesn’t usually have access to the required information. Yet, this information exists within the organization — whether in individual performance metrics, sales targets, accident reports or compliance records. It’s time for L&D to tap into and leverage that data effectively.

L&D should stop treating measurement as the endpoint on the learning process flow chart and instead incorporate it into all aspects of the learning process:

1. Prior to developing the training program, measurement can set clear goals and outcomes for your learning programs. For example, learning leaders can use data from skills assessments to highlight areas of improvement and where they should invest their efforts.
2. In the development phase, you can use feedback from beta testing and engagement surveys to help them better design the training program to meet both stakeholder and learner needs.
3. While facilitating the training, you can use data from knowledge check scores and clicks/interactions in eLearning to measure engagement and learning retention.
4. Once the training is complete, you can use post-training assessment scores and peer/supervisor feedback to measure performance and business impact.

Despite the intricacies of the process, it’s essential to clearly demonstrate the business impact of training to stakeholders. Most importantly, training measurement can give stakeholders tangible data and results to latch onto. For example, a visual chart can highlight pre- and post-training assessment scores alongside recent success stories to illustrate how the training led to measurable improvements in behavior.

Often, the challenge isn’t a lack of knowledge about how to measure training but rather bridging the gap between showcasing training’s value and speaking the business’s language.

Adopting an approach to training measurement can:

• Elevate the kinds of conversations learning leaders can have with their business partners.
• Drive continuous improvement in program design and help resolve the ongoing ROI challenge by proving value beyond learner satisfaction.
• Encourage greater investment in L&D by involving stakeholders in the outcomes — and show learners exactly why the training matters and what’s expected of them.

With these benefits, it’s clear to see why skipping training measurement isn’t an option for the modern L&D leader. Here’s how to adopt a streamlined approach to training measurement:

1. Start at the beginning. Goals and outcomes need to be the genesis of any learning endeavor, no matter how small the scale. What are we trying to do, and how does learning get us there?
2. Focus on behaviors and outcomes. Yes, it’s important that people complete your learning programs, but so is whether they enjoyed the course or not. Training programs with clearly defined outcomes, communicated to learners in advance, tend to achieve high completion rates and strong net promoter scores (NPS) scores with minimal additional effort.
3. Involve stakeholders. Business leaders know far better than most L&D teams what they need from their people. Establish relationships with them and leverage their expertise and insights to determine goals while using your expertise to make them happen.
4. Adopt continuous iteration. Measuring learning by completion rates alone rarely leads to meaningful improvement. Too often, companies continue investing in popular programs just because learners enjoyed them — even when those programs have little to no impact on performance. Real measurement goes beyond satisfaction scores and enables L&D to refine content, adjust delivery, and invest in the programs that actually drive business results.

To ensure training makes a measurable impact to the business, you must focus on the outcomes. This requires adopting a measurement-focused approach for every learning program.

Moving forward, L&D leaders must stop asking themselves, “How will I know this is successful?” But instead, focus on this key question: “How will the business know this is successful?”