Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Learning & development

Measuring the impact of learning: quick-fire links

by Martin Couzins 23 Apr 2012
by Martin Couzins 23 Apr 2012

At the Learning Technologies conference in January 2012, delegates were asked to share their priorities for the year. Alongside aligning learning and development (L&D) activity with the business, one of the major priorities was evaluation.

There seems to be some way to go on measuring the impact of learning initiatives, however. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) 2011 “Learning and talent development report”, 48% of organisations surveyed measure return on expected outcomes.Martin Couzins

To measure or not measure?

The debate around training return on investment (ROI) has rumbled on for some time. Back in 2007, for example, Personnel Today ran a piece on the pros and cons of evaluation.

In the same year, TrainingZone (free subscription required) ran two articles reflecting both sides of the debate, Why training ROI doesn’t matter and ROI is not the enemy, which both generated plenty of debate in the comments section.

And, in his post The fallacy of ROI in L&D?, L&D manager Sukh Pabial brings the debate back to the present day. In so doing, we see that the issue is now not only about the return on investment of training but the relevancy of the L&D team as well.

Where next with ROI?

Kenneth Fee and Dr Alasdair Rutherford have written a useful article on navigating the learning evaluation maze (free registration required) that provides a look at the main concepts in evaluation, from goal-based evaluation to system-based evaluation. It also includes a list of the key measurement tools available.

Make sure you read the comments, as they feature a good discussion of other forms of measurement and evaluation, including Brinkerhoff’s success case method and Dave Basarab’s predictive evaluation model.

In Analytics beyond Kirkpatrick (free subscription required), Alan Bellinger moves beyond the Kirkpatrick view of training as an event, which many see as a weakness in the Kirkpatrick model. He argues that L&D needs to view learning as a process and focus on how that affects performance.

The theme of performance is picked up by Al Bird in his blog post on evaluating performance. Bird argues that L&D impact needs to be aligned with business impact so that everyone is talking the same language: “As L&D professionals, we need to look at the way our companies or clients are measuring business success, so that similar terminology can be used in training evaluations.”

Evaluating learning

Richard Paul Griffin, associate director at the Institute of Vocational Education at London South Bank University, presents a new way of approaching evaluation based on a review of how organisations currently evaluate learning in Workplace learning evaluation: a conceptual model and framework (registration required).

His model of workplace learning is based on five elements: a pre-learning stage; the “trigger” (need) for learning; the learning event; application of learning; and the impact of learning.

His aim is to provide what he calls a “scientifically robust but practitioner-friendly framework for workplace learning evaluation”.

Griffin’s approach may provide some new focus on the best ways evaluate the impact of learning interventions.

In the meantime, if you are at the CIPD’s HRD conference this week and want to find out more about ROI, then you might be interested in attending the proving the ROI of L&D session on Thursday.

Avatar
Martin Couzins

Martin is an experienced business-to-business journalist who has spent many years covering the HR and L&D sectors. As well as writing and curating content on these topics, he runs Massive Open Online Courses through MOOC Pro as well as a digital content and communications agency Itsdevelopmental.

previous post
‘Context is everything’ when determining discrimination claims, EAT rules
next post
Top ten regulations deterring businesses from taking on staff

You may also like

Give wellbeing a board seat: Prof Sir Cary...

30 Jun 2022

What has cyber security got to do with...

29 Jun 2022

Young people need more guidance over ‘green jobs’

24 Jun 2022

Three in 10 workers’ skill sets not being...

23 Jun 2022

CIPD Festival of Work: ‘Push the boundaries’ with...

17 Jun 2022

MPs threaten supply chain levy if HGV driver...

1 Jun 2022

Would a general training levy solve the UK...

1 Jun 2022

Age remains a barrier to upskilling finds research

27 May 2022

‘Inequality is embedded in our labour market’ says...

27 May 2022

Davos 2022: Upskilling workers necessary to overcome business...

26 May 2022
  • The ultimate guide to payroll for small businesses PROMOTED | You’ve started a business that has expanded to the point of requiring more staff to meet demand. Congratulations!...Read more
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+