Tuesday, 7 January 2025

Measuring training effectiveness

A waste of time and money

In the days when newspapers and magazines were printed on actual paper, advertisers used to complain that half their budget was wasted, but they didn’t know which half. We used to think this very funny - but remember YouTube and cat videos hadn’t yet been invented. It remains a reminder, however, that a lot of time and money can be wasted if you can’t or don’t measure how effective something is. 

But things move on. Paper has gone the way of papyrus, and advertisers can not only measure how effective an advertisement is, but also predict how well a campaign is likely to perform.

In the world of learning and development, things are also changing. Organizations have huge amounts of data that can be used to analyse training effectiveness. The Azure data platform, Microsoft Fabric, and Microsoft Power BI are all accessible and cost-effective ways to manage and analyse data. And AI capabilities help to spot trends that were previously available only to specialists. This means that measuring training effectiveness by matching results to learning activities is now available to all organizations. For companies whose competitive advantage is their people, this is a game-changer.

Where to start? 

Whilst accurate training data is important, it’s crucial to first consider what your people are trying to achieve. Having clear objectives by role provides a roadmap for data collection. 

Some roles are easier to measure than others. Those in sales often have highly measurable objectives including sales closed, or meetings scheduled. In contrast, the output for knowledge workers can be more challenging to quantify. But how can you plan training, or measure its effectiveness, if you don’t know what you are trying to improve?

Data-led training

Modern, data-led organisations no longer see learning and development as different to any other part of the organisation. Data-led training is both possible and valuable. By leveraging tools such as Microsoft Fabric with Power BI, the Azure data platform, together with their AI capabilities, companies can now link learning activities to results. 

With clear role objectives, a well-structured data collection plan, together with learning and development data, the process of measuring training effectiveness starts to take shape. You can then sit back and listen sympathetically as your competitors complain that they don’t know which half of their learning and development budget is wasted. 

We are a Microsoft Partner with a depth of experience in data for learning and development. If you would like to find out more about how Microsoft data technologies can save you time and money, get in touch for an initial chat. 

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