Important Metrics for Measuring Training Success

As the old saying goes, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” To effectively manage and improve training and learning programs, you need to be able to measure their impact and results. Learning and development programs are a business investment and leaders want to know the impact of these resources. But what data is most important to find out if learning programs are missing the mark and need to be improved? Successful training is linked to higher profit margins and increased employee retention, but what counts as “successful” training anyway?

Here are the most important metrics to track to accurately measure training impact.

Important Measurement Metrics in Evaluating L&D Success

1. Enrollment data: This number helps you understand how many employees are engaged in training. Has anyone unenrolled? If so, it’s useful to figure out if it was lack of interest or lack of time – or something else that caused them to drop. This metric helps to gauge interest and attention and can indicate patterns about what types of content perform well, etc.
2. Total training time: This data can give you insight into how much time training is taking your teams. If employees have long course completion averages, it may indicate something about their work schedule or something that needs revising in the course content.
3. Most viewed materials: For eLearning courses, what content types are resonating most with employees? Are they primarily watching videos or leaving comments and feedback more for certain modules? This can give you insight into the best, most engaging modalities to continue to develop for learners.
4. Number of learners passing and failing programs: Not all training has assessment elements and they're not always necessary. But for programs that have quizzes or assessments to gauge knowledge retention, looking at this data can help you better understand what concepts are sticking with your employees, and you may be able to link that back to certain content types or subjects which can help you improve future programs.
5. Employee performance data: What’s the connection between training and how well employees are doing their jobs? Do customer call center agent metrics improve after a recent training? If you can correlate data to performance, you know how well your training is working.

For help analyzing your learning and development success or guidance in how to measure a program's outcome, get in touch with our team today. We can help develop dashboards that deliver the right reporting when you need it to help you get the most from your training initiatives and overall learning strategy.