The need for effective workplace training has never been more acute. Employers know this, but fears around how to implement new training methods and measure their return in investment is holding back innovation. Those fears are grounded, at least partly, by acknowledging that traditional training practices like workshops and one-size-fits-all classes are no longer fit for purpose. Employees tend to learn 70% of the required knowledge on the job, 20% from their peers and colleagues, and only 10% through good old-fashioned training sessions. This, combined with a sharp increase in remote and distributed working, means employers are now reassessing how they approach training within their organizations.

It’s no longer about thumbing through training documents or attending group sessions; today’s workscape demands that training is personalized, accessible, and aligned with the needs of the trainee as well as the needs of the organization. This has the added benefit of making a return on investment (ROI) far easier to track. If training is more focused and modular, it’s easier to see the benefits of specifically allocated training resources because they can be mapped to more granular key performance indicators (KPIs).

The issue is that, for many organizations, it’s a chicken-and-egg scenario. One of the main barriers to upgrading to a more modular and personalized learning and development (L&D) environment is that employers struggle to justify or quantify a return on their investment. However, make the leap and the options for measuring ROI open up considerably compared to more traditional, static training practices.

The disconnect between training and ROI often stems from a misalignment between the training provided, and the actual skills needed to drive organizational success. Businesses are trapped in a title-based mindset, delivering training based on job title or description rather than what individuals actually need or what can benefit their organization as a whole. There are instances, such as accounting, where all employees will need to get the same certifications to meet compliance requirements, but beyond that, training should be based on the individual and their skill set rather than a box-ticking exercise for the role they’re performing. What are their proficiencies? What are their weaknesses? Do they have ambitions to move into other areas of the business?

Younger generations, in particular, seek meaningful development opportunities that promise career progression, making it essential for companies to offer training that not only enhances individual capabilities above and beyond their current role, but also aligns with strategic business objectives. Is this an investment for the business, or an investment for the employee? It’s a trick question, because the answer in the vast majority of cases is both.

Skills are now more important than roles

Before we discuss personalization, let’s zoom out and think of the organization as a single organism. All effective training programs begin with a clear understanding of the organization’s strategic objectives. It’s not enough to offer generic training packages that are suited to a specific industry; they must be suited to the unique needs of the business itself. This ensures that employees are not just gaining valuable new skills but are gaining the right skills to support the company and drive it forward. For instance, while leadership training is universally beneficial, companies don’t need teams full of leaders. Rather than put everybody through the same leadership course to nurture future leaders, it’s far more effective to assess which employees are most suited – in terms of their skills and ambitions – and then play to those strengths. It also means that training areas can be more efficiently spread throughout the business instead of expecting every employee in a department to traverse the same learning pathways.

A huge part of this is taking a skills-first, rather than a role-first, approach. Instead of training employees based on the demands of their role, training programs should be tailored to fill in the gaps in a particular worker’s knowledge. It might be protocol to put every coding developer through the same set of catch-all courses, but that time is wasted if the employee already knows what is being taught. This skills-over-roles approach to learning enables companies to design training programs that directly address these gaps, ensuring that the investment in employee development is both personalized and strategic. In other words, it’s win-win, and will ensure that that organizations get more bang from their buck when it comes to investing in training. If their L&D platform allows them to gauge employee ability, sentiment, and appetite for a particular course or style of learning, they can be sure that investing in those areas will pay dividends.

Invest in people, not in training programs

When discussing ROI and assessing L&D options, it’s very easy to forget that training is about people, not processes. The overarching strategic goals of the business are of course crucial, but once those goals have been determined, training should be mapped to the needs of individual employees. A business might anticipate a need for a specific type of skill within its organization, but how does it go about imparting that knowledge to the employees who need it? A good example might be the introduction of a new piece of software that employees need to learn how to use. A blanket training module might be tempting, but this kind of investment is almost impossible to measure. It will usually mean a one-off capital investment in a course or training session involving every employee, with no real way of determining its success beyond periodic assessments. There may also be countless employees who don’t need the training or for whom the training is too rudimentary, but due to protocol, they’ll be forced to sacrifice working hours to put a tick in the box and say they’ve done it. Put simply, targeted, personalized training is key here. Instead of investing in a 100-seat training program that might underserve some employees and over-serve others – as well as take valuable time out of an employee’s day – businesses should target knowledge gaps and focus their training resources on where they’re needed the most. That’s the key to efficiency and unlocking measurable ROI.

Measuring return on investment

Simply providing the training might tick an HR box, but how does a business know it’s had any meaningful impact? Similarly, how can a business anticipate its future needs, and which employees within its ranks are most suited to serving those needs?

A modern, integrated L&D platform should be able to track individual employee progress in a given field of learning, giving managers a complete and comprehensive overview of that employee’s achievements, certifications and competencies. Data can be gathered on training completion rates, incremental employee improvements, and overall business impact. This gives businesses vital insights into which programs work and which may need adjustment. Integrated learning also gives employees autonomy and ownership over their own learning pathways, enabling them to “learn by doing,” filling in gaps in their knowledge along the way. As specific modules are completed or new skills are acquired, managers will have access to real-time reports that outline the progress of specific employees and the business as a whole. Managers will be able to highlight key skills gaps not only for specific employees, but for their entire department, helping them to better co-ordinate any future investment. This will also help with compliance in more technical fields such as healthcare or cybersecurity, where training isn’t just a matter of acquiring skills, but a matter of legality. Mandatory courses can be assigned and reports will be updated automatically when key compliance objectives are met, ensuring that businesses don’t fall foul of any regulatory standards.

A quiet learning revolution is underway, one that prioritizes skills and knowledge over roles and job titles. Instead of a box-ticking exercise, training has become more dynamic and fluid, allowing businesses to better target their L&D initiatives and ensure they align with the goals of individuals as well as the goals of the company. That’s where the real return on investment lies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ramesh Ramani

CEO and President of ExpertusONE

Ramesh Ramani is the CEO and President of ExpertusONE, a leading cloud-based learning management platform designed to change how learning resources are found, shared, tracked, collaborated on and actually retained. Headquartered in Silicon Valley,

As CEO, Ramesh sets the overall strategic direction for the company − ensuring that products, organizational structure, operational practices and guiding principles work together to deliver superior value. A skilled entrepreneur, Ramesh has led many early-stage companies through successful growth. He’s adept at evaluating business opportunities and structuring companies to profitably address market needs. In particular, he excels at forming teams, developing talent and leveraging global alliances.

Ramesh is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.