Lapses in Measuring Learning’s Impact Are Sabotaging America’s Corporations

Brandon Hall Group’s 2020 Learning Measurement Study found that fewer than 16% of organizations are very effectively able to identify and track a series of metrics, including participation, satisfaction, knowledge transfer, behavior change and business impact for any of their learning.

Companies are not very good at measuring learning that is not formal in nature and rely far too heavily on basic metrics such as completion rates and smile sheets. This lack of measurement effectiveness is revealed in Brandon Hall Group’s 2020 Learning Measurement Study results, which show that this shortsightedness prevents companies from transforming learning into a strategic influencer of the business. The study also finds that organizations should be less concerned with the specific ROI of learning and focus on learning’s impact on business outcomes instead.

“Unfortunately, companies that rely too heavily on completions and smile sheets are making a dangerous assumption about their learning programs,” said Brandon Hall Group CEO Mike Cooke. “They assume all their learning programs are effective and the act of getting learners to complete them equals success. This is often not the case.”

Organizations measure their learning for many reasons. The most common is to improve the effectiveness of the learning programs. But fewer are measuring for more strategic reasons, such as creating a better link between learning and individual or organizational performance. This means that most learning measurement tends to be inward-looking, rather than focusing on the learner or the business.

“Improving performance is arguably the sole purpose of L&D, but to understand learning’s impact, companies should gather the right data,” said Brandon Hall Group Principal Learning Analyst David Wentworth.

In addition to providing a picture of the current state, based on quantitative and qualitative data from the 2020 Brandon Hall Group Learning Measurement Study, several high-level strategies to improve learning measurement are also revealed in the summary.

To view the 2020 Learning Measurement Study summary, click here.

For information on Brandon Hall Group’s research and how we can assist your organization, please visit www.brandonhall.com

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Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.

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