As signals of business change, key performance indicators (KPIs) sit at the heart of a measurement process that starts with clear goals, accounts for drivers, and draws on performance behaviors and other data sources.
Thanks to modern learning analytics tools, KPI data are readily available to learning managers, L&D teams, executives, and others who are accountable for organizational results and performance.
But which learning program KPIs are right for your organization? Below, we explore three common types of analytics that connect learning outcomes to business success.
1. Learning Program KPIs for Customer Service
Organizations with clear business plans and strategies set key performance indicators for learning that are business-focused. It just makes sense.
Learning tools can help these organizations measure and drive these KPIs by drilling down to employee-level performance behaviors that tie directly to those business goals.
Take, for example, customer experience. Once the specific business KPIs are established, you can measure them through performance KPIs that track important indicators such as
- Customer interaction data
- Contact center logs
By identifying and closing gaps in the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of your customer service employees, you can drive improvements in bottom-line drivers such as sales, customer acquisition and retention, and product adoption.
2. Learning Program KPIs that Measure Soft Skills
Measuring soft skills and using them as KPIs is often perceived as a complex challenge. When measuring skills such as leadership, networking, and keeping up to date with sector developments, start thinking about where these skills will be demonstrated.
For example, your organization wants employees to serve as brand ambassadors and thought leaders. This requires proactive engagement with their professional networks, self-motivation, and communication skills. You could measure effectiveness in this role by tracking employee comments and posts on internal collaboration platforms, participation in mentoring programs, and contributions to your learning experience platform.
You also can track their engagement in professional associations, conference presentations, and trade publications.
Modern tools make identifying and capturing these metrics easier. Best-of-breed video learning platforms, for example, make user-generated content easy to create. They also allow people to add comments, share expertise, and leave feedback on learning content.
Remember, you may need to consider permissions and employee privacy when recording this kind of data, especially in light of changes around data processing laws such as GDPR.
3. Learning Program KPIs for Talent Acquisition and Recruitment
As an example of a departmental or functional KPI, talent acquisition can be affected by learning that’s focused on recruiters and hiring managers.
For instance, if your talent acquisition leaders want to shorten time to fill open positions and increase candidate quality (two common recruiting KPIs), they might create and provide training to streamline selection; covering topics such as interviewing, candidate assessments, and unconscious bias.
If hiring managers and recruiters improve their skills in these areas, they can make better, quicker hiring decisions.
Understanding Learning Program KPIs is Fundamental to Organizational Success
As organizations seek success—however they define it—and deploy L&D in support of that success, they have a vast array of data to measure their progress, including:
- Website statistics, such as conversion rates and click-throughs
- Sales reports
- Customer reviews and surveys
- Competitor analyses
To properly use all this available data, an organization’s strategy hinges on concrete KPIs.
Without a clear understanding of business KPIs, even the most innovative learning programs can ultimately fall short of driving growth.
To position your organization for maximum success, reach out to key stakeholders at an early strategic stage and establish firm KPIs your L&D team must support. Then let your learning tools do the work to measure and demonstrate how those KPIs are being met.
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