From Theory To Practice: How Do You Measure Impact?

Take this hypothetical case: you have spent € 200,000 on the “Work better together” development program. In recent months, 60 employees have completed this program. And now? How do you know if it was useful? The NPS score is 61, so the participants are at least enthusiastic. But do they also show this in the workplace?

You will of course investigate that. But how? And how do you ensure that the measurements are reliable?

Let us guide you:

How do you measure impact? Start with these steps

Step 1: Take a before and after measurement point

The first part of the measurement takes place before the training. Employees will fill in a questionnaire that measures where they are at that moment, a self-evaluation. You can supplement this by providing a questionnaire from the manager too, in which they assess whether the employees have a certain behavior. You can choose to share this data with employees. This way they can compare their own scores with the ones that they received from their manager, as well as with other employees who will be doing the same training.

Then what?

You guessed it, after the training, another measurement will take place. If you compare the values obtained at the beginning, compared with the scores that show after the training, you get a good idea of the impact.

Simple.

Step 2: Measure behavior, not the skill

This is important, but also confusing, you can spend a long time discussing how these constructs relate to each other. However, you want to investigate how training influences behavior in the workplace, not how well someone has mastered a specific skill. It is crucial to focus on the outcome, which is whether there has been a positive effect on the organization as a whole.

Something which helps with this is examining the same employee behaviors for each skill they develop. Employees should take the same questionnaire, careful to not let the content of the questions depend on the training which they may have followed. This way, you can monitor the development of employees over a longer period of time, and also provide insight into the influence of a training on the behavior of any employee.

Step 3: Discuss the outcomes

Do not only focus on the data. I know, a curious statement for a “data geek”. But this is about developing people. And that remains to be human work. You can use the data you collect to monitor your L&D. But you can also use it very well in conversation with the employee; whether they are satisfied with the results and how they see their development path further ahead, whether there are other needs, etc. This way, you can take into account the learning objectives of your employees, which will contribute to the strategic objectives of the organization.

Any questions on how to measure impact?

Do you have any questions after reading this blog about how to measure impact, or do you want to speak with someone who has experience with this? Let us know! If you want to talk further, you can reach us by mail at info@lepaya.com.