According to the LinkedIn Learning 2020 Worldwide Workplace Learning Report, measuring learning is the number one concern of learning professionals worldwide.
Plenty of learning companies say they measure for effectiveness, and they take a stab at it. We've made measuring learning one of our major focuses. Instead of one or two touchpoints, we use all of the major ones, plus a few we designed ourselves. Here's how we do it.
The Kirkpatrick Scale, Plus a Fifth Level
Since 1959, when Donald Kirkpatrick first published his learning measurement model, the Kirkpatrick Scale has been the gold standard. Each of its four levels shows a progressively more powerful impact:
Reaction What is the initial response to the learning?- Learning Did they learn anything?
- Behavior Did learners take action?
- Results Did the action make an impact?
We subscribe to the idea that a fifth level of measurement is necessary: ROI. Here's how we measure for each.
Level 1: Reaction
Are they willing to do what we want them to do? If people don't see value and aren't willing to try something new, why bother measuring anything else? We measure openness to change and perceived value before the learning starts, collect metrics during it through brief polls, and survey attendees immediately after, before they leave the room. We also boil recommendation likelihood down to a Net Promoter Score, which Harvard Business Review calls the single most important metric you need for growth.
Level 2: Learning
Are they able to do what we want them to do? If people intend to use the learning but don't understand or retain it, that's not good. We run pre and post knowledge checks around major learning points, and just as important, we check confidence: if confidence grows, attendees are more likely to try their new skills. After the session, we support attendees with additional content, peer meetings, real-world assignments, and coaching, each with a short evaluation built in.
Level 3: Behavior
Did they apply the learning in real life? Most learning programs never bother to find out if it took hold and led to action. We test for behavior change with 30-day and 60-day surveys of attendees, their leaders, and their peers, and we get leaders involved to create accountability. We don't just ask if they used the learning; we ask how, what barriers they faced, and whether they felt supported.
Level 4: Results
Does the learning make an impact? Changing behavior is exciting, but did that behavior change make any difference? We ask the attendee, their peers, and their managers if and how the learning made an impact, and how much of it is directly related to the learning. Impact analysis is the first step toward ROI, and sometimes impact matters more to executives than ROI itself.
Level 5: ROI
What's our return on investment? Some people will tell you that you can't measure ROI for learning. That's not true. We use standard ROI calculations, benefit-to-cost ratio and ROI percentage, applied through a five-step process: set clear objectives up front, isolate the effects of training from everything else going on (using a control group, trendline analysis, or a conservative estimation process), convert impact to money, compare that to true program cost, and communicate the results in a way that answers the questions leaders actually have.
“If a manager thinks a team member saved an hour a week and is 60% confident in that estimate, we multiply it down to a conservative 36 minutes saved.”
Our conservative estimation formula
We also built a pre-made ROI calculator so you can start predicting your own numbers before you ever run the program.
Want help proving your training actually paid off?.
See how we build measurement into every learning program we run.
Explore the Gravity workshop: "Measure Learning and PROVE Effectiveness"
