“Measuring the Business Impact of Learning 2024” report reveals 56% of Learning & Development teams can measure impact, but access to data and stakeholder buy-in remain major hurdles.
Watershed—experts in learning analytics, measurement, and data analysis—has released its eighth annual “Measuring the Business Impact of Learning” report. This comprehensive study, drawing insights from more than 2,900 Learning & Development (L&D) professionals to date, explores how organizations can effectively gauge the success of their training programs and underscores the significance of aligning L&D initiatives with business goals and employing advanced evaluation techniques.
“Over the last eight years, we see the consistent response: everyone wants to measure the business impact of learning, everyone thinks it’s possible, but still a large percentage aren’t doing it,” said Piers Lea, Chief Strategy Officer at Watershed’s parent company, Learning Technologies Group. “This correlates quite clearly to those L&D departments who consider themselves strategic partners to their business versus a shared service.
In the age of AI, we know that good, clean data is an essential first step to providing powerful AI-driven analytics, so now is the time to start collecting data in an orderly fashion across your entire learning ecosystem.
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“In the age of AI, we know that good, clean data is an essential first step to providing powerful AI-driven analytics. So now is the time to start collecting data in an orderly fashion across your entire learning ecosystem or risk being blind where, in the very near future, others will have clear sight.”
By examining real-world data and insights from industry leaders, the report offers practical strategies for aligning L&D efforts with business goals, ensuring that every training dollar spent contributes to meaningful outcomes.
Key findings:
56% of L&D functions can measure the business impact of learning: A significant portion of L&D teams are successfully demonstrating the value of their programs.
Strategic partners are more likely to measure impact comprehensively: L&D teams that are closely aligned with business objectives tend to use more sophisticated methods to gauge their impact.
Barriers to measurement include lack of resources, stakeholder buy-in, and data access: These challenges continue to hinder many organizations from effectively measuring their L&D efforts.
Importance of a business-aligned mindset in driving effective impact measurement: A strategic approach that aligns L&D with business priorities is essential for meaningful measurement.
Watershed is a learning analytics platform that helps users measure and prove the business impact of learning. As a customizable SaaS-based solution, Watershed collects, aggregates, and standardizes data from across learning ecosystems. By matching this with other data sets such as HRIS or other performance data, Watershed’s reporting lets users assess the effectiveness of learning programs, learner performance, and vendor effectiveness.
Since its founding in 2016, this high-growth organization has developed a portfolio of Fortune 500 global clients—such as Verizon, Danone, Caterpillar, and more. Watershed is part of Learning Technologies Group plc’s award-winning group of specialist learning technology and talent management businesses. To learn more, visit watershedlrs.com.
Learning Technologies Group is a leader in the high-growth workplace learning and talent industry. The Group offers end-to-end learning and talent management solutions ranging from strategic consultancy and content and platform solutions to analytical insights that help customers transform through their people.
LTG is listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (LTG.L) and headquartered in London. The Group has offices in Europe, the United States, Asia-Pacific, and South America.
LTG’s businesses, including GP Strategies, Effective People, PRELOADED, Rustici Software, Watershed, Open LMS, Bridge, PeopleFluent and Affirmity, are at the forefront of innovation and best practice in the learning technology and talent management sectors, and have received numerous awards for their exceptional performance. Our portfolio of brands represents the best of breed and they are acknowledged throughout the industry as market leaders.
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