Maximising influence

One of the key elements to maximising a positive ROI on a L&D programme is through understanding the influence of the employees in attendance. Those responsible for people management, for example, will yield a greater return, as they will be able to use the learnings and disseminate to a wider audience.

Sessions on coaching, for example, will yield a higher return for the business as it will have an impact on both the person taking part and also the team members they support. As such, prioritising training for those with line reports will have a bigger impact.

Additionally, if a course focuses on specific work-related skills, those in more senior positions will be in a better position to teach other members of the team. For example, if managers learn how to deal with a crisis, they will also be able to pass on the appropriate learnings to more junior members of the team. As some of the information may not be relevant for junior teams, it is more impactful to keep the attendees at managerial level.

What about junior members?

While training team members who have management responsibilities will see a more positive ROI on the programme, it shouldn’t detract businesses from investing in junior members of the team. There are clear benefits from training entry level members of the team. Whether it’s to understand fundamental aspects of a role or to learn about company culture, there will always be a need for development.

However, if one of the key performance indicators on a programme is to achieve a positive ROI, then programme managers will need to explore and perfect other aspects of the training course. As one of the eight factors explores direct reports, creating a programme where the audience is junior will mean you start at a disadvantage.

However, like I previously explained, there are ways in which to recover the ROI and ensure programmes with junior members yield a positive impact on the business. These include:

• Creating a distraction-free environment, away from the office and in a face-to-face setting.
• Ensuring that there is clear understanding of how the course can drive the business forward. For example, if the course focuses on the successful installation of a product, then the programme will be clearly aligned to increased competence and customer satisfaction.
• Informing participants prior to the programme, allowing them to prepare adequately beforehand. This ensures that they are engaged early on, and maximises potential learning.

Appropriate audience

Finally, it’s worth discussing appropriate audience, which is another of the eight factors in our L&D Barometer. Ensuring the programme will benefit everyone on the course is essential for a positive ROI. While it may seem obvious, there are instances where people are invited to a course, even if it won’t impact their role. Reasons could include not wanting staff to feel left out, hosting the same course for all people of a certain level, or repeating sessions that have previously been attended. If the course is not designed for the exact audience, then it will result in a smaller ROI.

If you are looking to understand your L&D programme in more detail, our L&D Barometer provides understanding on how successful your programme is. Based on almost 2,000 pieces of research, the L&D Barometer is a first-of-its-kind tool and offers advice on where a programme may need tailoring, if required.

It only takes a couple of minutes to complete. Alternatively, if you would like me to show you how to use it, I am more than happy to arrange a call to run it through with you.

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