Literature review: how organisations measure the impact and value of training opportunities

Project Description

Measuring the impact that learning interventions have on performance so that the value and ROI of that intervention can be determined has become a universal challenge globally and across every sector. 

In the workplace, the last 20-30 years has seen the training (L&D) function largely driven by the legal requirement for businesses to comply with regulations. In contrast the last 5 or 10 years has seen a new function emerge for L&D, as organisations adapt and transform in the face of rapid technology driven change within their own business and the wider world. 

Many experts agree that the development of a “learning culture” plays a pivotal role in the digital transformation that teams, organisations and industries aspire to. In response the learning industry has entered a phase of innovation and experimentation, with progressive organisations trying out numerous methods of workplace learning and measurement of the impact that learning has on performance: the execution of the participant’s business as usual or project tasks. Despite examples of success, many organisations are still wary of changing their existing approaches because they are confused by the complexity of the market and lack the vision, confidence or expertise to test something new. 

This background has resulted in a complex landscape in which we plan to test the effectiveness of reflection as a way to measure the impact of learning interventions on learners day to day performance over the short and longer term. 

Our own industry expertise and that of our partners leads us to believe that this is an important and valuable experiment. If successful it has the potential to help the Digital Health CRC not only measure the effectiveness of our own learning interventions but share our findings and methodology with the healthcare industry in Australia. 

Given the potential impact of this initiative and the complexity of the landscape in which it will be undertaken, the Digital Health CRC in partnership with La Trobe University, Inkpath and Praxis Australia are engaging an education intern to undertake a literature review and assess a representative range of different learning impact measures currently being used and their deficiencies. 

Project Objectives

• Review and assess the complex landscape of learning impact measurement tools and methodologies. 
• Understand the level of success and/or deficiencies associated with the different learning impact measurement methodologies. 
• Validate learning reflection as a methodology to capture and measure the impact and ROI of learning interventions in a cost-effective way.