The five training KPIs worth tracking are knowledge retention and application, operational effectiveness, time to completion, employee engagement and stakeholder satisfaction. Together they show whether learners apply what they learnt, whether training supports business goals and whether it is delivered efficiently, which is the evidence you need to prove ROI.
Over the last few decades, the importance of employee training and development has become abundantly clear. What has become equally clear is that many diverse and far-reaching factors influence employee training: changes in the workforce structure from Gen X to Millennials, the diverse ways how people learn, the age of technology, and everything in between.
Employee training and development is undoubtedly important, but it is even more important to do corporate training evaluation to analyse the effectiveness of your training programme to ensure it offers a solid return on investment (ROI). The best way to evaluate the impact of your training programme is to identify meaningful and quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are, however, different for each industry and may even differ from company to company. Even so, KPIs should be able to demonstrate that (i) learners are retaining and applying what they have learnt to their jobs; (ii) the training programme contributes to the company's overall goals; and (iii) the training is conducted efficiently and cost-effectively.
1. Knowledge retention and practical application
Assessing learners before and after training can provide an accurate indicator of training effectiveness. Testing prior to the commencement of training provides a baseline of knowledge and highlights knowledge gaps. Post-testing scores should, then, demonstrate knowledge improvement as well as the degree to which learners retained the training material and were able to apply it directly to their jobs. This is particularly true for knowledge- and skills-based training such as compliance training.
2. Measure operational effectiveness
Operational effectiveness refers to the ability to link training objectives back to strategic business goals. If you are training to improve a particular skill, the effectiveness of that skill could be related back to specific business goals. If your training seeks to address, for example, performance gaps, your training KPIs should include operational metrics such as deadlines missed, product or service errors, etc. to determine if the training helped to increase competencies in key operational areas.
3. Time to completion
The time to complete training is a crucial KPI to measure as you can use it to improve your training programme and to obtain stakeholder buy-in. Using bite-sized yet still engaging content can vastly improve this KPI and assist with the next KPI on our list – employee engagement.
4. Employee engagement
Employee engagement as a KPI within corporate training is a key factor to determine employees' experience and quantify the quality of the training. These learning analytics can be used to improve the effectiveness of a training programme and may also result in increased employee retention and decreased turnover rates.
5. Stakeholder satisfaction
When evaluating the effectiveness of corporate training, stakeholders give the ultimate seal of approval. Stakeholders will evaluate whether employees are transferring the knowledge and skills gained during training, to their jobs. They are also, frequently, responsible for the performance metrics of employees. Stakeholder satisfaction is, therefore, a crucial indicator of effective training programmes.
Each year it is becoming increasingly important for corporate trainers and learning designers to prove to their clients the value and overall ROI of their training programmes. Analysing training impact not only facilitates improved decision making but also assists in calculating ROI. Given the time and effort involved in training programmes, these measures can assist you to get the most out of your training.