7 Reasons to measure the ROI of your training courses

Measuring the ROI (return on investment) of training courses has become a great obsession in human resources departments around the world. Hundreds of professionals are looking for a way to calculate exactly how much money they have invested in training their employees and how much profit they have made for the company.

In case you still have any doubts, here are 7 reasons why you should measure the ROI of your training courses:

1 – To measure their effectiveness. Knowing the ROI of your programs will help you see which ones work and which ones don’t. With the results in hand, you’ll be able to measure each course’s effectiveness, see where they fail and where they are most successful, and which ones should be expanded to other departments. The ROI of training courses will also help you identify the best methods, teachers, LMS, and providers.

2 – To answer to your superiors. Companies are increasingly making their decisions based on a thorough analysis of business figures and data (at the company, department, and employee levels). The ROI is undoubtedly one of the most highly-demanded metrics, becoming increasingly present in human resources departments. Don’t waste any more time and get to measuring the ROI in order to meet the demands of your superiors (and the CEO).

3 – To find out the economic impact of your training courses. Measuring the ROI will force you to dive into company data, isolate external constraints, and find out exactly what the economic impact of your training programs are. Not only will it help you to have a better relationship with other departments and better focus your courses according to their needs, but, you will also be able to see which economic areas you are influencing most. Over time you will be able to analyze how the costs of your training programs have evolved and the benefits obtained for the company.

4 – To justify your budget. There is no better way to justify an investment than by talking about what it can bring in for the company. If you’re having trouble getting a higher budget or launching more ambitious initiatives, measure the ROI and put the numbers on the table. All of this will help you justify (and hopefully increase) your training budget for the coming year.

5 – To improve your training courses. Knowing your programs’ ROI will allow you to identify areas of improvement, sectors where you have to insist more, and departments in which it will be easier to implement change. Discover the costs and calculating their returns can also help you better structure training courses, improve training courses given by teachers, and change provider relationships.

6 – To increase your credibility and professionalism. If you want to keep growing in your role, improve your credibility and become a more efficient professional, measuring the ROI can be a big leap forward. This metric will help you go beyond more superficial assessments of completion ratios or student feedback, and will force you to analyze your courses in much greater depth. By using it, you can gain respect and credibility for all the professionals involved in the courses (your department, teachers, providers, e-learning classes, etc.).

7 – To keep your job. Just in case you still had any doubts, here’s a great reason to start measuring the ROI of your training courses: if you can prove that your initiatives are profitable for the company, your future at work will be secure. If you can show that what you do generates profits, you will not only be a better professional, but your company will do everything in its power to retain you.