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Human Capital Contribution Model:

A Systematic Approach for Learning Organizations to


Assess Needs, Effectiveness, Business Results,
ROI and Profit Impact
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 3
Human Capital Contribution Model Overview......................................................................... 3
Business Needs Analysis........................................................................................................ 6
Performance Analysis ............................................................................................................. 9
Business Results Analysis .................................................................................................... 15
ROI Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 24
Profit Impact Analysis ........................................................................................................... 29
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 31
Contact Us ............................................................................................................................ 32
Appendix A: ROI Analysis on GeoLearning Analytics .......................................................... 33

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2


Executive Summary

The Human Capital Contribution Model™ (HCCM) is a process and toolset that enables learning
organizations to measure and improve business results and bottom-line impact. The benefits of
implementing HCCM™ include:

• Ensures that business results are aligned with business objectives.


• Significantly reduces wasted L&D expenses.
• Substantially increases productivity.
• Simplifies the process of tracking actual business results.
• Cost-effective approach to measuring ROI.
• Enables you to link learning investments to bottom-line impact.
• Data-driven approach to optimizing the impact of your L&D programs.

Business Case: Without systems in place to track business impact, most organizations are not
reaping the full benefit of their Learning and Development (L&D) investments. According to IDC,
50% of all training expenses are wasted. KnowledgeAdvisors’ research shows that 35% of people
who go through learning programs do not apply what they learned and, perhaps more
importantly, most learning programs could be improved to significantly increase productivity back
on the job.

According to IDC, a typical Fortune 500 company or government agency invests approximately
2% of its revenue in L&D. If half is wasted, that means organizations on average waste 1% of
revenue. This means that an organization with $5 billion in revenue is probably wasting
$50 million per year. By implementing HCCM™, organizations can systematically drive out waste.
In our example above, if waste is reduced by only 10% it will improve earnings by $500,000.
The cost of implementing HCCM™ and its underlying technology, GeoLearning Analytics, is
approximately 1% of what an organization wastes in training.

More importantly, by systematically finding ways to improve impact, organizations can


significantly impact earnings. For example, if an organization with $1 billion in labor cost can
increase productivity by just 1%, it will increase earnings by $10 million.

HCCM™ enables organizations to redirect wasted or poor-performing L&D investments into


higher impact programs, which will significantly impact the bottom-line.

Human Capital Contribution Model Overview

The balance of this document is a guide for L&D organizations on how to implement a process
and toolset to better assess needs, effectiveness and business impact. There are five core
workflow components to this model. The process can be implemented in phases and can
leverage existing technology with GeoLearning Analytics as the platform.

The five components of the Human Capital Contribution Model are Business Needs Analysis,
Performance Analysis, Business Results Analysis, ROI Analysis and Profit Impact Analysis.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3


Business Needs Analysis is the up-front planning process used to understand the driving
business factors prompting the creation of a learning and development program.

Why is this important? Because the key to a successful learning and development intervention
that maximizes impact on the business begins with a formal analysis of business needs.

What’s the process? To ensure the right L&D investment is designed, developed and delivered a
needs assessment should be conducted to understand the business objectives. Once identified, a
knowledge and skill assessment should be conducted to examine the gap between the current
state and desired state.

What are the tools? The primary tools are needs assessments, knowledge and skills
assessments, pre and post tests, and competency assessments. Using GeoLearning Analytics to
collect, store, process and report these results greatly facilitates the process.

What are the results? Better designed learning programs and more clearly defined and
measurable business objectives that can be linked to post-learning business results.

Performance Analysis is a systematic approach to redirecting poor performing investments into


programs that drive on-the-job productivity.

Why is this important? Because research has shown that nearly half (50%) of all training is
wasted. In financial terms, for a typical Fortune 500 company that is more than $50 million per

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4


year, more importantly, a typical Fortune 500 company could drive another $10 million in earnings
if productivity were improved by 1%.

What’s the process? To ensure waste is eliminated and productivity continually improved a
systematic review of key indicators is needed to pinpoint the root cause of poor performing
investments. Performance analysis focuses on where the investment occurs (Which programs?
Which courses? Which vendors? What customers or lines of business?). It also analyzes key
attributes of activity and performance data including attendance rates, learning effectiveness, job
impact, and value indicators.

What are the tools? Data sources for this analysis include LMS (learning management system)
data and evaluation data. Using GeoLearning Analytics to collect, store, process and report these
results greatly facilitates the process.

What are the results? Better information for decision-making. Future allocations of L&D resources
to more value-added programs, courses, vendors, and clients or lines of will significantly impact
the bottom line.

Business Result Analysis is a systematic approach to connecting L&D investments to a


balanced set of actual results.

Why is this important? Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure. By systematically
analyzing the link between learning and business results, one can identify areas for improvement
and help drive better results. In addition, by analyzing business results, validation for ongoing
investments can be made.

What’s the process? HCCM™ is based on a balanced approach and being as closely aligned to
financial statements as possible. After all senior management performance is almost always
based on financial results.

The recommended balanced set of business results most closely aligned with financial
statements are:

1. Revenue
2. Profitability
3. Productivity

This approach applies to both the public and private sector and is recommended for all major
learning programs including corporate universities, leadership programs and business unit
programs. When appropriate, it is also recommended that additional business results be tracked
such as quality, cycle-time, employee loyalty, customer loyalty and risk mitigation.

What are the tools? Data sources for this analysis include ERP (enterprise resource planning
data), financial and cost accounting data, customer satisfaction data, error rate data, CRM
(customer relationship management) data, and HRIS (human resource information systems)
data. GeoLearning Analytics provides L&D managers with templates and wizards to analyze the
key business results but is flexible to provide for customized business results analysis and then
displays the analysis on interpretive and graphical scorecards and dashboards.

What are the results? A thorough and timely understanding of organizational impact. L&D
becomes advisors for improved performance.

ROI Analysis is a process-based approach to determining the financial return on L&D


investments given cost considerations.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5


Why is this important? Because investments should provide more positive financial value back to
the organization than the resources consumed in the original investment. It is also a commonly
used financial analysis to validate investment decisions.

What’s the process? To ensure L&D management focus on benefit vs. cost leveraging
methodologies from experts such as Dr. Jack J. Phillips’ ROI Process helps provide a framework
for ROI. The process of collecting, storing, processing, and reporting data that create a monetary
cost and benefit from training are inputs to the ROI process and then isolating the benefit to
training and adjusting it for bias and conservatism is part of the Guiding Principles of the ROI
Process.

What are the tools? Data sources for this analysis include ERP (enterprise resource planning
data), financial and cost accounting data, customer satisfaction data, error rate data, CRM
(customer relationship management) data, and HRIS (human resource information systems)
data. GeoLearning Analytics wraps automation, templates and wizards around the Phillips ROI
Process to make the administrative burden of ROI feasible and practical when there are
limitations on resources to apply to ROI analysis.

What are the results? A credible and reliable ROI expressed as a benefit to cost ratio that when
compared by learning delivery, program, vendor, client or line of business will help the L&D
manager make better decisions from a dual dimensional perspective (benefit and cost). It will also
validate the investment (or invalidate it in the case of a negative ROI).

Profit Impact Analysis is a data driven planning and reporting process that helps to optimize the
impact of L&D investments and to connect learning to financial statements.

Why is this important? Because L&D expense is part of the calculation, these profit measures are
arguably the most meaningful ways to analyze past and future impact of learning on earnings.

What’s the process? If learning intervention is effective, it will ultimately impact profit in a positive
way. The financial goal of a corporate university is to increase the profit contribution of its people.
That profit contribution can best be measured by taking revenue less labor costs and L&D
expense, which is called The Human Capital Contribution Profit. A corporate university will be
most successful when the Human Capital Contribution Profit is growing faster then the revenue,
which is measured by calculating the Human Capital Contribution Margin (Human Capital
Contribution Profit divided by Revenue).

What are the tools? Data sources for this analysis include financial and accounting systems.
GeoLearning Analytics provides templates to guide a manager through the inputs and structured
analysis to trend and track the actual to projected results.

What are the results? A sensitivity analysis tool that can help plan investments better and
optimize L&D impact. It also enables learning professionals to discuss financial impact with
business executives.

Business Needs Analysis

Core Diagnostic Tools

Analogous to a doctor, an L&D consultant needs to ask the right questions before prescribing a
solution. Just as the doctor uses basic medical devices such as thermometers and stethoscopes
to gather initial data about the condition of a patient, an L&D consultant can use business needs
assessments, tests and competency tools to assess the health of a client in need.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6


The business needs assessment is a series of questions conducted via survey, interview or focus
group meant to identify the underlying reasons for an investment to be made in an improvement
initiative. Business needs assessments are used before the learning intervention is designed.
They are meant to understand the requirements and expectations as well as set appropriate L&D
scope given resources.

In Figure 1 below we illustrate a needs assessment regarding customer satisfaction with a


technology tool. Several users were asked to comment on their needs with respect to key
elements of the technology and related service and support. From the assessment one can easily
see the average results amongst the respondents for the major categories covered in the needs
assessment. All areas are in need but the greatest need is in technology functionality. So if there
are limited resources this would be an area of higher priority as that is where the greatest
business need exists. To further refine the analysis, the analytics tool can drill down into each
category to further pinpoint the specific area of greatest need.

Figure 1: Example Business Needs Assessment for Customer Technology Needs:

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

In addition to Business Needs Assessments there are knowledge and skill assessments. A
common way of measuring knowledge and skill is by a test. A pre-test or a self-assessment can
measure knowledge or skill before the learning intervention and can be a great job aide to use
before a learning intervention is ever developed. Unlike a business needs assessment this tool is
designed to focus on human capital knowledge or skill.

For example in Figure 2 the L&D organization created a simple test for the finance and
accounting organization to take prior to the creation of a learning program. The test was meant to
understand if the workforce had certain knowledge to accomplish the business need identified in
the needs assessment. The test results revealed that only 38% of the finance and accounting
employees had sufficient knowledge and skills as determined by test pass rates. The L&D
manager can then conduct more detailed item analysis on each test question to determine which
questions were missed the most/least to further pinpoint where the greatest skill gap exists.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7


Figure 2: Test Summary Report

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Finally, conducting competency assessments is a way to understand if the workforce is strong in


the required behaviors to carry out the business need. Competency assessments can be self-
reported or done via manager, peer, or subordinate (i.e. 360 feedback). A competency tool in the
area of leadership may have the following competencies that are the attributes of an effective
leader: coaching, delegation, communication. The competency assessment measures where
individuals or groups are strong, sufficient, or need improvement in certain behaviors that drive
impact. Figure 3 shows the results of the leadership competency assessment. Communication is
the area with the most improvement needed.

Figure 3: Competency Assessment Output

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8


Process for Business Needs Assessments

We suggest that every L&D organization create a set of organized steps to ensure there is a
metric focus on identification of needs, knowledge, skills and competencies.

At a high level, the following are the basic process steps for Business Needs Analysis:

1. Prepare a business needs assessment at the organizational or individual level.


2. Collect, store, process and report results.
3. Analyze results and identify areas of strongest business need given resource constraints.
4. Prepare a knowledge or skill based test.
5. Collect, store, process and report results.
6. Analyze results and identify areas of strongest skill gap.
7. Prepare a competency assessment for individuals and their managers.
8. Collect, store, process and report results.
9. Analyze results and identify areas of strongest competency gap.
10. Based on strongest business need and largest skill and competency gaps design,
develop and deliver targeted learning.

GeoLearning Tools and Services for Performance Needs Assessment

As was illustrated by the examples, GeoLearning Analytics is a comprehensive learning


analytics technology. It, combined with GeoLearning’s Analysis Services (when needed), can
facilitate business needs assessments by:

1. Collecting, storing, processing and reporting the results of business needs assessments
so L&D managers can quickly pinpoint strongest business needs.
2. Collecting, storing, processing and reporting the results of tests and self-assessments so
L&D managers can quickly pinpoint the largest knowledge and skill gaps.
3. Collecting, storing, processing and reporting the results of knowledge and skills
assessments so L&D managers can quickly pinpoint largest competency gaps.
4. Analyzing results of assessments and providing written feedback on where to prioritize
L&D design and development resources.

Performance Analysis

Waste Reduction

KnowledgeAdvisors research shows that 81% of all L&D measurement resources are
administrative in nature. This means the vast majority of resources are allocated toward
readying data for analysis versus making decisions. Analytics tools are designed to collect, store,
process and report data. This frees the analyst up for information decision-making time. See
Figure 4 for an illustration of the activities taking place when readying the data for analysis where
GeoLearning Analytics reduced administrative burden.

A great first step in managing investments in human capital performance is to identify


opportunities for waste reduction. This primarily falls into three categories:

1. Reduced administrative costs to properly evaluate programs


2. Reducing infrequently used resources
3. Changing suboptimal training solutions

Reduced administrative costs is an easy first step. Integrations between analytics technologies
and feeder systems such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) allow automation and

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9


interoperability between systems. This saves duplicate data entry, paper processing, and
automates storage, processing, and reporting. See Figure 4 for a schematic of a typical
integration between a learning analytics tool, GeoLearning Analytics and a Learning Management
System.

Figure 4: Integration of LMS with Analytics Technologies:

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

In addition to systems integrations, identifying the elements of measurement that are


administrative versus value added and then leveraging technology and templates to reduce
administration to save resources for data analysis is key to waste reduction. Figure 5 shows the
administrative elements of learning analytics. Within each step pinpoint technology leverage and
templates. For example in data collection use Internet technologies vs. paper to collect an
evaluation.

Figure 5: Integration of LMS with Analytics Technologies:

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10


Reducing under-utilized resources is another waste reduction mechanism. KnowledgeAdvisors
research studies show that nearly 75% of organizations investing in E-Learning libraries utilize
less than 30% of the library. By default, most organizations under-utilize those libraries.

The key to reducing waste with under-utilized resources is to identify the resources and analyze
the root cause of under-utilization. Examples of resources to consider in an L&D operation
include:

ƒ Instructor workforce.
ƒ Physical training locations.
ƒ Courseware completions.

For example, change suboptimal training solutions where waste reduction can occur. In this
aspect it is powerful to trend and track indicators of poorer performance. Reviewing some of the
following can help with waste reduction and reallocation of resources.

ƒ Areas where there is little actual application of training on the job.


ƒ Courses or business units with high percentages of low learning effectiveness (indicates the
right people were not in the training or the training is weak).
ƒ Areas with low alignment between training content and business outcomes.
ƒ Identification of barriers to impact of training on the job.

In Figure 6, a table from GeoLearning Analytics illustrates application on the job and barriers to
use for a corporate university over a month of organization-wide training. This data was collected
60 days later, automatically by the technology to understand when application happened (if at all)
and if not, why not. There is 14% waste (where training had not applied yet) and the biggest
barrier was lack of opportunity. Trending this data over time or by key program can help in waste
reduction.

Figure 6: Job Impact and Barriers to Impact

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Another example of waste reduction is an analytic output such as Facility Utilization Ratio. It is
illustrated in Figure 7. A manager looking at waste reduction can see that the Chicago site is the
one most utilized and several locations have only 1 training day. This can lead to decisions to
consolidate or close physical training locations under-utilized. However, if this data is hard to
obtain or not tracked these low-hanging opportunities will be missed.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11


Figure 7: Facility Utilization

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Performance Improvement

Investment analysis should also cover performance improvement. An optimized investment not
only reduces waste but continuously improves its process making it more efficient and effective.

Performance improvement is complimentary to changing a sub-optimal training solution. An L&D


manager should look at the following types of indicators for ensuring the L&D process is
continuing to deliver value-added training and improves upon doing so:

ƒ Review quality indicators which include: 1) instructor performance, 2) courseware quality, and
3) environment conduciveness to learning.
ƒ Review knowledge transfer indicators which include: 1) pre- and post-test results, and
2) evaluation indicators of training from the students perception.
ƒ Review behavior change on the job that could be gained from observation, follow-up
evaluation, managerial evaluation.
ƒ Review alignment with business results, if sales training occurred did sales increase?

Using analytics technologies like GeoLearning Analytics to slice the aforementioned data by
course, program, vendor, instructor, business unit, job function, office location, years of service
etc. can provide for profiles of learners and training to pinpoint performance improvement
opportunities.

In Figure 8 below, the data shows the effectiveness or impact courseware. The easy-to-read
analysis shows the red items that should alert an L&D manager to take action. In this case if we
find that wrong prerequisites exist or if the content lacks has real-world, relevant examples and is
not current content we will likely find the culprit to poor performance. But the data highlighted
where to look. In business when resources are limited, rely on the right data to guide you.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12


Figure 8: Courseware Effectiveness of Impact by Course.

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Another example is the analysis of impact by line of business. Performance improvement analysis
needs attributes of the participant not just the training to be identifiable and actionable. In figure 9
we see data for the impact training had on the job several months later sorted by job function at a
typical organization. The R&D group has had little job impact compared to the HR and IT groups.
This can help the L&D management understand which areas of their business have significant
performance improvement opportunities.

Figure 9: Job Impact by Job Function

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Process for Waste Reduction and Performance Improvement

We suggest that every L&D organization create a set of organized steps to ensure there is a
metric focus on waste reduction and performance improvement.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13


At a high level, the following are some basic process steps for Performance Analysis:

1. Identify the most strategic, costly and visible programs.


2. Identify the elements of the L&D organization that will be enablers of these programs.
These elements include the financial, physical and human resources allocated to these
programs.
3. Construct a list of key performance indicators for the activity (how much was trained) and
performance (how well we trained) attributes of these programs.
a. Activity KPI examples
i. Location Utilization
ii. Instructor Training Days
iii. Courseware Utilization by delivery
iv. Number of completions to enrollments
b. Performance KPI examples
i. Instructor Performance
ii. Courseware quality
iii. Location Conduciveness to Learning
iv. Learning Effectiveness / Knowledge Transfer
v. Weeks to Apply Training
vi. Barriers to Application
vii. Alignment with Business Results
viii. Perceived Training Value
4. Determine practical data sources and collection mechanisms
5. Identify a central database for storage of the data
6. Automate the processing of the raw data into KPIs by program
7. Review the KPI’s on a regular basis against 1) trends of prior periods, 2) realistic yet
challenging goals, and 3) internal and external benchmarks.
8. Based on analysis drill down into data to find the root cause of waste or poor
performance. Drill down by:
c. Class
d. Course
e. Curricula
f. Instructor
g. Vendor
h. Learning delivery
i. Location of delivery
j. Attribute of the participant (years of service, job role, business unit, area of the
world)
9. Prioritize improvement opportunities based on resource available to allocate to
improvements. Focus first on items requiring little resources and change management
(ex. change prerequisites for a leadership course from 5 years to 10 years). Next focus
on areas where automation and technology could play a role (ex. implement an
automated and integrated technology to cut down on L&D admin). Finally focus on long-
term solutions like a complete revamp of a major program.
10. Continue to monitor and measure the KPI’s to ensure changes made do not revert back
to the old process.

GeoLearning Tools and Services for Investment Analysis

As was illustrated by the examples, GeoLearning Analytics is a comprehensive learning


analytics technology. It can reduce waste by:

1. Integrating easily with any LMS to automatically retrieve L&D related and participant
related data to tabulate activity metrics (ex. student enrollments by course) and
performance metrics (courses with low learning effectiveness)

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14


2. Automating the process of collecting, storing, processing and reporting metrics. An
analysis done by GeoLearning can save at least 1/3 of an FTE (full-time equivalent)
by leveraging technology for these tasks as opposed to manual processes. See
Appendix A for details on analysis.
3. Identifying suboptimal training by easily highlighting through user friendly charts and
graphs where this is occurring (ex. courses with low course quality). An analysis done
by KnowledgeAdvisors indicates that an L&D organization can save $18 in wasted
or poor training delivery cost for every $1 invested. This is assuming that
GeoLearning Analytics only reduces waste by a conservative 1%. See Appendix A
for details on analysis.

GeoLearning Analytics will also identify performance improvement opportunities. The technology
can facilitate this by:

1. Allowing the manipulation of L&D data by multiple filter parameters (class, course,
curricula, program, instructor, location, delivery, job function, years of service, business
unit, client, etc.)
2. By tracking the data against a balanced set of performance indicators (quality,
satisfaction, effectiveness, impact, results and value)

Business Results Analysis

The Challenges with Business Results Analysis

The first step in business result analysis is to understand those results important to management
and which drive the business and create shareholder value. Profitability analysis focuses more
directly on shareholder value. Secondly, tracking these results for a key program is necessary to
ensure a strategic, visible, or costly program was in fact aligned with the business results driving
the need for the program. Thirdly, tracking macro results on a continual basis and being able to
link the results to training can help an L&D manager understand where a learning intervention
positively, negatively, or neutrally affected the end result. This not only helps an L&D manager in
future resource allocation but also helps the L&D manager in emphasizing to his or her
stakeholder the predicted or actual effect training had on the result (this is known as isolation and
will be discussed further in ROI analysis).

Business results analysis faces several challenges. It is essential that the L&D manager clearly
recognize the challenges before engaging in business results analysis. Common challenges to
business results analysis include the following:

ƒ L&D does not have the appropriate competencies to consult with the stakeholder and identify
the results then analyze the L&D effect on them.
ƒ L&D does not have the money or time to allocate to a comprehensive analysis of business
results tied to every key program.
ƒ There is not a direct and clear link to a specific business result for the L&D intervention. For
example a leadership program may be established to increase delegation skills and coaching
skills but it is not intended to then increase sales growth directly.
ƒ The stakeholder does not have or is not willing to provide the resources to work with L&D to
perform a business results analysis (yet the stakeholder wants to know the business result
link anyway).
ƒ The actual business result data does not exist or does not exist in a clean format that is
acceptable to use for analysis purposes (i.e. garbage in would be garbage out).
ƒ There is no formal system or database that houses the business result to then automatically
pull into an analytics system on a regular basis for analysis.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15


Do these challenges, when in existence, imply that the L&D manager has an acceptable excuse
not to analyze business results and to simply ignore them? HCCM™ strongly argues against this
practice.

GeoLearning Recommended Actual Business Results

To overcome the aforementioned challenges of measuring business results HCCM™ will present
a practical, scaleable and repeatable way of measuring business results. HCCM™ has a
recommended set of core business results ANY L&D department should consider tracking,
regardless of what specific programs or micro business results you may track. Using our
experience in financial analysis with personnel from banking and accounting who understand how
to read and interpret financial statements to derive the recommended Actual Business Results.
Based on this collective wisdom, we believe that by building data feeds or simply inputting five
data points on a quarterly basis a robust scorecard can be generated that illustrate real income
statement impacts in terms of growth, productivity and profitability, derived from L&D
investments. These business results: growth, productivity and profitability are the metrics that
matter to senior managers.

The inputs necessary for growth, productivity and profitability business results only require five
simple inputs which are as follows:.

1. Revenue – directly from income statement financial data or from sales/financial systems
2. # of Employees – directly from notes to financial statement data or from HRIS systems
3. Labor cost- total payroll expense directly from income statement financial data or notes to
financial statements or from payroll systems
4. # learners – directly from LMS information or registration data
5. Actual L&D expense – L&D organizations should have this as it is necessary to provide to
accounting departments as an expense when closing general ledgers

As a result of inputting or establishing a regular data feed for these inputs between the feeder
system and the analytics technology an L&D manager can derive:

Growth: [{Current period revenue – Prior period revenue} / Prior period revenue].

Growth is a key indicator that shows revenue change against goal or period to period. This allows
an L&D manager to understand fluctuation in revenue and ‘alert’ themselves once this reaches a
critical point.

Productivity: [Current period revenue / # of Employees]

This particular productivity indicator is revenue per employee. Best practice organizations should
be able to increase revenue with steady or fewer employees due to better process, technologies
and a well-trained workforce. Analyzing productivity defined as revenue per employee can be a
significant factor in understanding both the revenue and the cost side of the profit impact
equation. Revenue is inherent in its numerator and # of people in workforce used in the
denominator. The monetary value of personnel is an expense on the income statement. Business
decisions should be made with revenue per employee in mind. If the number is declining, it
means revenue is not at pace with employee additions. If the number is improving it indicates the
processes, technologies and people are generating more revenue without increasing human
capital at the same rate.

Profitability: [Sales – {Payroll Expense + L&D Expense} / Sales]

The profitability metric is referred to as the Human Capital Contribution Margin. Financial analysis
relies on margin analysis to tell us what is left over from sales after expenses are covered. To an

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16


L&D manager the expenses are human capital. Two major human capital expenses exist: 1)
payroll expense and 2) L&D expense.

This calculation should be monitored by L&D managers closely. It helps them understand how
much revenue is left over after human capital expenses (that directly hit the income statement)
are covered. Organizations with high human capital contribution margins are indicative of
productive organizations that generate the most revenue without increasing human capital
expenses at the same rate as revenue increases. On the contrary, lower margins indicate
opportunities for improvement. They tell us that sales growth is not aligned with human capital
growth. It indicates that human capital performance is not optimized.

A visual dashboard can be generated that illustrates these vital business results as well as some
complimentary metrics that should be reviewed in conjunction with growth, productivity, and
profitability. See Figure 10 for a visual of this dashboard that can measure actual results period to
period or against goals. The dashboard can be generated from an analyst inputting the data into
templates or setting up a system link to feeder systems that automatically populate the input
templates.

To round out the dashboard, in addition to growth, productivity, and profitability, we review L&D
actual expenses and L&D activity. If learners completing training is increasing while L&D budget
is held constant or decreasing and while human capital contribution margin is increasing, that
suggests a highly effective L&D organization optimizing its resources. So these additional two
metrics are part of the standard GeoLearning Analytics Actual Business Results Dashboard.

By tracking these actual and recommended business results and computing KPI’s tied to real
financial statement results an L&D manager can directly see how his or her budget and the
actions taken with the budget can influence the income statement and profitability of the
organization.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17


Figure 10: Actual Business Results Dashboard with default Profit Impact Metrics

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Analyzing and Improving Business Results Program by Program

Not withstanding the actual business results recommended in the prior section that links to the
income statement and ties to profitability, there are potentially hundreds if not thousands of micro
business results an L&D manager could track or be held accountable. For example, a macro
result such as quality has micro results such as reduced transaction errors, lower safety
incidents, or improved evaluation scores for courseware ratings.

Beginning with a macro set of business results and tracking those against key programs is a
valuable way to understand where L&D is aligned with results. KnowledgeAdvisors research

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18


suggests there are eight core business reasons organizations invest in learning. These are as
follows:

1. Increased revenues
2. Decreased costs
3. Increased productivity
4. Increased quality
5. Decreased cycle time
6. Increased customer satisfaction
7. Increased employee retention
8. Decreased risk

Any manager with a significant budget should be held accountable for the budgets link to results
that drive the business. Accountability is a key driver in resource allocations in business today. It
is so critical that the U.S. Federal Government renamed the General Accounting Office (GAO) to
the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

So the question is how does L&D obtain business results when challenges (like those mentioned
previously) exist? The answer is there are many ways to do this. We will explore them now.

1. Modify evaluations to include a linkage to business results. This takes advantage of


where natural data collection in the existing process occurs. Figure 11 shows how the
macro results mentioned above are evaluated across all programs to view on a
scorecard. In this example over 12,000 respondents are rating how aligned the L&D
program was to macro results. Sales had the lowest alignment at 28%. This L&D
manager was able to make adjustments to programs to increase this percentage over
time as sales increases were core profitability metrics.

Figure 11: Business Results Alignment

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

2. Use technology to create conditional questions that show the significance to business
results. Figure 12 shows how a technology company was able to understand in more
detail how business results linked to technology training improved on the job
performance. In the example below productivity, quality and customer satisfaction are
most impacted by the training. The GeoLearning Analytics technology factors into the
result the training effect and the adjustment for bias in analysis (more of this is covered in
the ROI Analysis section.)

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19


Figure 12: Training Impact on Business Results

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

3. Compare actual business results against goals and trends. L&D managers should be
aware of key drivers. Understanding the trends are important. To add to the analysis,
color-coding it to facilitate interpretation and action is just as important as the data
collection itself. In Figure 13 the L&D Manager is able track actual results important to the
organization. It trends the inputs period-over-period and against goals. The color coding
shows where variances exceed 10% in a positive or negative direction (with red for
negative and green for positive and yellow neutral.) If the result is going to be analyzed
on a regular basis the inputs can be imported into the learning analytics technology via
pre-arranged data feeds.

Figure 13: Actual Business Results Scorecard with Trends, Goals and Color Analysis

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

4. Track the business results specific to each strategic, visible or costly program. This
ensures that in addition to tracking results at a macro/organizational level, L&D is able to
drill into key results for key programs. Figure 14 illustrates how an L&D manager can link
a sales program to sales revenues by tracking sales before and after training. To make
the analysis more credible additional analysis is also tracked. Additional analysis includes
control group comparison and a root-cause (isolation) analysis as well as a bias factor
adjustment. A tool like Figure 14 is an excellent consultative tool for L&D to use when
partnering with lines of business to understand L&D effects on business results.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20


5. Dashboards are great visual aides. Ensuring that the key business results are not only
placed on scorecards but also on summary dashboards is important for executives in
L&D to ensure the metrics are top of mind. Figure 15 displays a few of the dashboard
items that aide in Actual Business Results analysis which was strongly recommended as
the core results to track. The key to effective dashboards are 1) small subset of metrics,
2) relevant metrics, 3) easy-to-interpret, 4) display trend and goal comparison.

Figure 14: Technology Template for Inputs of Actual Business Results by Strategic Program

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21


Figure 15: Business Results Displayed in Dashboard Format

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Process for Business Results Analysis

We suggest that every L&D organization create a set of organized steps to ensure there is a
metric focus to track and trend business results

At a high level, the following are some basic process steps for Business Result Analysis:

1. Identify the business results that are financial statement drivers (most significant results).
We suggest the following:
a. Growth
b. Productivity per employee (as measured by revenue per employee)
c. Profitability (as measured by human capital contribution margin discussed in the
Profitability Analysis section of this paper)
2. Identify macro business results that drive investments in L&D or any other resource
allocation. We suggest the following:
d. Increased revenues
e. Decreased costs
f. Increased productivity
g. Increased quality
h. Decreased cycle time
i. Increased customer satisfaction
j. Increased employee retention
k. Decreased risk
3. Identify the most strategic, costly and visible programs and identify the business results
that should be outcomes of those programs.
4. Once all financial, macro, and program specific results are identified, determine, with
regard to available financial, physical and human resources, how the data will be
collected.
l. Collect data on evaluation forms
m. Collect data using action-plan templates (see ROI Analysis for further details)
n. Collect data via templatized, consultative input forms
o. Collect data via automated data imports from feeder systems (sales, finance etc.)
5. Identify a central database for storage of the data
6. Automate the processing of the raw data into KPIs by program
7. Review the KPI’s on a regular basis against 1) trends of prior periods, 2) realistic yet
challenging goals, and 3) internal and external benchmarks.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22


8. Based on analysis drill down into data to find the root cause of trend and goal variances.
Drill down by:
p. Class
q. Course
r. Curricula
s. Instructor
t. Vendor
u. Learning delivery
v. Location of delivery
w. Attribute of the participant (years of service, job role, business unit, area of the
world)
9. Prioritize where L&D investments should be increased, decreased or maintained at
existing levels based on root cause and variance analysis.
10. Continue to monitor and measure the KPI’s to ensure resource allocations are aligned
with changes in business results.

GeoLearning Tools and Services for Business Results Analysis

GeoLearning offers technology tools, learning consultant templates, and professional services to
help organizations design, develop, implement and maintain business result analysis in L&D
organizations.

GeoLearning Analytics has specific tools within it to aide in business result analysis:
1. Business Results Scorecards – Allow for linkage to business results through a
series of estimation, isolation and adjustment questions on specific end of
program, post program follow up and manager evaluations. The results show, in
a practical manner how the program tied to specific results.
2. Business Results Question Constructs – On basic evaluation forms (now
containing over 200 million external benchmark points) the macro business
results discussed in this paper are evaluated for significance to the learning
intervention.
3. Analyst Worksheet – A template within GeoLearning Analytics that guides
learning consultants through the process of forecasting and actualizing business
result linkage to a specific program. The tool has control group, root cause, and
adjustment analysis to ensure conservatism and credibility with input variables
for actual business results at the program level both before and after the learning
intervention.
4. Actual Business Results Scorecards – Templates and integration conduits for
L&D managers to input or import key business results to track against trends and
goals over time. Default KPIs within this tool include suggested profitability
metrics (discussed in Profit Impact Analysis).
5. Business Results Dashboards – graphically displayed versions of a subset of the
Actual Business Results Scorecards. Can display activity metrics, performance
metrics, profitability metrics and business results.
6. GeoLearning has professional services with expertise in data analysis and
statistics. Professionals who can ask the right questions to find appropriate data
sources to analyze business results.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23


ROI Analysis

The Phillips ROI Process Model

In most departments there is a need to justify or validate the training cost. In L&D it is no different.
If an organization has limited resources, ROI Analysis can help the organization validate the
investment.

In the mid 1980’s Dr. Jack J. Phillips developed the Phillips ROI Process. It has since helped
hundreds of organizations prepare ROI analysis on strategic, visible and costly L&D programs.
Figure 16 shows the flow of the Phillips ROI Process. It begins with organizing what, how and
when data will be collected, followed by an isolation of results to training, a conversion to
monetary value and the ROI calculation itself.

Figure 16: Phillips ROI Process2

Source: Jack and Patti Phillips, ROI Institute

Phillips has a set of best practices referred to as ‘Guiding Principles.’ A key guiding principle to
the ROI Process is Estimation, Isolation, and Adjustment. This has added tremendous value to
ROI Analysis for L&D Managers.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24


For example, consider a sales training program and the use of Estimation/Isolation/Adjustment to
derive an ROI (in the form of a benefit to cost ratio) for the program:

• Training cost for the program: $15,000


• Improvement Measure Significantly Impacted: Sales
• Define the measure and its unit of measure: 1 closed sale
• Estimate the value of 1 unit of improvement in the measure. For example, the value of a
closed sale is sales value times the profit margin ($10,000 x 20% = $2,000)
• State basis for value of 1 unit of improvement: Example – standard cost or sales price
• How much the unit will improve in performance and frequency: 4 sales per month
• Isolate performance improvement due to training: 60%
• Adjust for bias, confidence, conservatism: 65%
• Calculate monetized benefit = $2000x4x12=96,000 in total sales improvement annualized
• Adjust for isolation to training and confidence: 96,000x60%x65%=27,690
• Calculate ROI = $27,690 - $15,000 = $12,690
• Calculate Benefit to Cost Ratio: $27,690/15,000=1.85

Investigating each element of this principle we can see that Estimation is merely stating the
change in the business result. In the Business Result Analysis section of this paper we discussed
the need to constantly track core results and to track results on a program by program level. The
Business Results Analysis is a feeder into the ROI Analysis.

Isolation is a next step. There are many variables that drive the change in a business result. If an
L&D organization desires to show a specific ROI on a business result it must factor out the
variables that impacted the result but were not L&D related. GeoLearning has tools to help in the
isolation exercise and has identified some major root cause factors for isolation which include the
following:

1. People
2. Process
3. Technology
4. Culture
5. Externalities
6. Measurements
7. L&D Program

The training variable is the piece to focus on in an L&D ROI Analysis. The other factors may drive
the business result as well but an L&D manager is interested in his/her part of the result variance.

Dr. Phillips also discusses various isolation techniques. The more rigorous techniques are
preferable but less frequently used because they are more costly and time consuming. Isolation
techniques include the following:

1. Control Group Analysis


2. Trend line Analysis
3. Statistical Analysis
4. Participant, Manager or Expert Estimation

The fourth isolation technique is most frequently used but not as credible as the others. Thus the
ROI Process takes into account a final factor: adjustment. Adjustment is to account for
imperfections in the analysis, self-reported bias, lack of confidence, and conservatism. It is a
factor by which the impact from L&D on a business result is reduced.

GeoLearning Analytics employs the principles of Estimation/Isolation/Adjustment into its ROI


models. The learning analytics technology, GeoLearning Analytics is the only tool in the

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 25


marketplace endorsed by Dr. Jack Phillips because of its integrating the ROI Process into the
design of ROI tools and calculations.

Figure 17 shows an ROI calculation from the Human Capital ROI Card. The technology derived
the monetary benefit in Figure 17 by automatically performing an Estimation/Isolation/Adjustment
calculation on the input data, in this example evaluation data received at the end of a program.
The user of the technology then input the cost of the program and the average salary levels of
program participants (the monetary value of human capital) to then derive the ROI. Technology
wrapped around credible process and methodology make the ROI Analysis easier to do. Once
the ROI is generated, comparing it by program, vendor, client, line of business and learning
delivery helps in the resource allocation decision-making.

Figure 17: Human Capital ROI Score Card

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Dr. Jack Phillips has worked closely with KnowledgeAdvisors and GeoLearning to author specific
tools and templates into the GeoLearning Analytics Learning Analytics Technology. The primary
elements that can save significant time in conducting ROI Analysis are in the automated
tabulation of costs, benefits and summary scorecards while maintaining the integrity of the ROI
Process.

Figure 18 illustrates a key feature to ROI Analysis, the tabulation of costs. Costs are typically
comprised of the following components.
• Tuition Costs
• Analysis Costs
• Development Costs
• Acquisition Costs
• Delivery Costs
• Evaluation Costs
• Overhead Costs
• Participant Opportunity Costs

Conservatism in cost analysis is a best practice. A wizard not only prompts for all costs to ensure
conservatism but it can tabulate costs in multiple currencies, necessary for L&D organizations
that are multinational in scope.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 26


Figure 18: Cost Calculation Wizard for ROI Analysis

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

A second ingredient of ROI Analysis is deriving and monetizing benefits. The Phillips ROI
Process recommends Action Plans. Action Plans are methods by which an L&D consultant
gathers the business result data for program participants and isolates the impact of the data
specific to the program and applies the adjustment factors.

Figure 19 illustrates the results of an Action Plan exercise for a strategic program where multiple
participants contributed to an action-planning exercise. Each participant’s annual improvement for
their specific results accruing from the program are stated and the isolation (contribution from the
program) and confidence (adjustment factor) are computed to arrive at the adjusted value. This
makes tabulating and monetizing results more methodological and process oriented versus ad-
hoc and inconsistent.

Figure 19: Action Plan Tabulated Results

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Finally, Estimation/Isolation/Adjustment need not be a one-off exercise. Building it into the


measurement process can ensure the right data is ready for ROI Analysis when needed.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 27


Research suggests that when managers make decisions they use analysis to validate their gut
instinct. If not done in a timely manner the analysis diminishes in value over time.

As such, we suggest gathering data and building seamless processes to estimate/isolate/adjust in


a real time manner both at the end of an intervention (post event) and in follow up (when back on
the job) and to derive similar data inputs for ROI Analysis from managers for the ‘expert’
estimation Phillips mentions.

Figure 20 illustrates the results of an estimation/isolation/adjustment query in the GeoLearning


Analytics Learning Analytics technology. The final adjusted percent improvement due to training
is the main variable used for ROI Analysis. Comparing the adjusted percent across key programs,
clients, lines of business. Learning deliveries and training vendors can help in sharpening future
resource allocations.

Figure 20: Estimation/Isolation/Adjustment

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Process for ROI Analysis

We suggest that every L&D organization create a set of organized steps to ensure there is an
organized process for ROI Analysis.

At a high level, the following are some basic process steps for ROI Analysis:

1. Identify strategic, visible, and costly programs where ROI Analysis is needed.
2. Derive a data collection plan that outlines the data inputs (cost and benefit) needed,
when the data will be collected, and how.
3. Identify a central database for storage of the data (cost and benefit)
4. Where feasible, automate the processing of the raw data into total program costs and
adjusted benefit data where benefits have been estimated/isolated/adjusted.
5. Compute financial ROI calculations for the program by computing an ROI percentage, a
Benefit-to-Cost Ratio, and a Payback Period ratio.
6. Review the ROI calculations at the 1) end of program as a forecast, 2) post program as a
more accurate estimate. Forecasting can help in making decisions on whether to
continue the program through the end and what adjustments to make during the course
of the program.
7. Analyze ROI calculations by drilling down into data to pinpoint the profiles of high
performing ROI programs and low performing ROI programs. Drill down by:
• Class
• Course
• Curricula
• Instructor
• Vendor
• Learning delivery
• Location of delivery
• Attribute of the participant (years of service, job role, business unit, area of the
world)
8. Prioritize where strategic, costly, visible programs should be expanded, contracted or
remain the same.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28


9. Where positive ROI does occur, use it as a validation point with stakeholders. Be careful
not to compare against the ROI on traditional assets as the ROI on human capital tends
to be higher and it is not a valid comparison.
10. Continue to monitor and measure ROI to ensure resource allocations are being placed
where the benefit relative to cost is optimal.

GeoLearning Tools and Services for ROI Analysis

GeoLearning offers many technology tools, templates and professional services to aide in ROI
Analysis:

1. Human Capital ROI Card. A tool within GeoLearning Analytics that automatically
calculates the financial and non-financial ROI on L&D programs.
2. Phillips ROI Cost Wizard and Templates. Tools to ensure conservatism and
completeness in the tabulation of program costs.
3. Phillips ROI Action Plan Wizard and Template. Tools to consultatively gather individual
program benefits and tabulate a net benefit based on estimation/isolation/adjustment.
4. Phillips ROI Scorecard. A tool within GeoLearning Analytics that automatically calculates
the financial ROI tied to specific program action plans. It also has over twenty other KPI’s
for the program as defined by Dr. Jack Phillips.
5. Impact Study Templates. Reporting templates to take results of ROI Analysis and build a
final, professional report in the format recommended by Dr. Jack Phillips.
6. Impact Study Analysis Services. Professional services dedicated to performing analysis
on a strategic, visible or costly program to derive ROI and illustrate L&D impact resulting
from the program.

Profit Impact Analysis


Profit Impact Template for L&D Organizations

All roads lead to an end. In analytics the Holy Grail is in reporting how an investment in L&D ties
to bottom line impact. We already discussed recommended business results critical to this
analysis: growth, productivity, and profitability. Now the business results that are tracked and
trended are further analyzed here. Profit impact analysis encompasses:

ƒ Sensitivity analysis to forecast profit impact of future L&D investments.


ƒ Optimization analysis to derive the optimal level of actual L&D investments necessary to
achieve desired profit impact results.
ƒ Alignment of L&D analysis with income statement analysis and other financial analysis.

To achieve the above, GeoLearning recommends a template that can receive automated data
feeds from feeder systems or be used to manually enter actual and projected profit impact
variables.

Figure 21 shows a completed profit impact analysis. The template is organized like the income
statement of a financial statement. Revenue then cost then the computation of a contribution
profit and margin. Like financial statements projected statements are used to aide in forecasting,
and sensitivity analysis. Just like a sales manager forecasts sales, the L&D manager can set a
goal for human capital profit using payroll and revenue as inputs and base their L&D budget on
what is needed for human capital profit contributions.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 29


Figure 21: Profit Impact Analysis

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Figure 22 below shows another form of profit impact analysis. It illustrates how L&D managers
can use the analysis to forecast future years’ investments with and without proper L&D
investments.

Figure 21: Projected L&D Profit Margin Impact

Source: KnowledgeAdvisors

Process for Profit Impact Analysis

We suggest that every L&D organization create a set of organized steps to ensure there is an
organized process for Profit Impact Analysis.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 30


At a high level, the following are some basic process steps for Profit Impact Analysis:

1. Create a template to house the key data inputs for profit impact. We suggest revenue,
labor cost and L&D costs.
2. Where feasible create automated data feeds from feeder systems to track on a scorecard
these profit impact inputs. If not feasible, have manual input fields for an L&D manager to
input these actual figures at least quarterly.
3. Derive the human capital contribution profit and margin:
a. Projected
b. Actual
4. Through sensitivity analysis determine the optimal L&D investment to achieve the desired
human capital contribution. Use this as a benchmark to determine if L&D is too high, low
or on track to support revenue and human capital expenses (payroll).

GeoLearning Tools and Services for Profit Impact Analysis

We have thought extensively about the drivers of profitability and assembled them into an income
statement-based input tool to help clients derive the human capital contribution margin.

In addition the template, GeoLearning Analytics includes a benchmark database of human capital
contribution margin ratios of leading corporate training organizations. This database will help the
individual learning organization understand if its human capital contribution margin is above, at, or
below industry or overall norms. This is similar to how a CFO or controller would analyze gross or
net profit margins.

GeoLearning also has the technical expertise to integrate ERP, LMS, HRIS, and financial
systems with the GeoLearning Analytics learning analytics technology to routinely gather these
data points in an automated manner. However, realizing that every organization and system is
unique, GeoLearning provides data input templates to allow L&D managers with the tools
necessary to plug in data inputs.

Finally, GeoLearning’s analysis services teams can work directly with organizations looking to do
profit impact analysis and consult with them on design, development, and implementation of
custom dashboards and one time studies of profit impact analysis.

Conclusion

There are five critical elements to the human capital contribution model. These are:

1. Business needs analysis which focuses on planning for an L&D intervention by


diagnosing needs, skills and competencies
2. Performance analysis which focuses on waste reduction and productivity improvement.
3. Business results analysis which focuses on tracking and trending organizational and
program specific business results
4. ROI analysis which focuses on an ROI process to estimate/isolate/adjust to arrive at a
financial ROI
5. Profit impact analysis which focuses on bottom-line results tied to revenue and profit
margin.

Each analysis is important. Taken as a whole they are comprehensive. The right templates, tools
and integration points will yield the most effective use of these analyses. GeoLearning’s learning
analytics technology—at the cost of a rounding error in a training budget—can help automate this
process.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 31


Contact Us

GeoLearning, Inc.
4600 Westown Parkway
Suite 301
West Des Moines, IA 50266-1000
800.970.9903 or 515.222.9903 (P)
515.222.5920 (F)
info@geolearning.com
www.geolearning.com

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 32


Appendix A: ROI Analysis on GeoLearning Analytics

The purpose of this appendix is to demonstrate the kind of return on investment an organization
should expect when implementing GeoLearning Analytics.

Most organizations see a return between $2 and $29 for every dollar it invests in GeoLearning
Analytics. The following analysis is based on a standard Level 3 implementation of GeoLearning
Analytics for an organization that has at least 1,000 employees and has not implemented a fully
automated Level 3 solution.

A typical organization should see three primary benefits from using GeoLearning Analytics:

1. More Productive Employees


2. Better use of Training Resources
3. Less Administrative Costs

Assumptions:
• 1,000 employees
• 3 courses per employee per year
• 3,000 evaluations per year (1,000*3)
• $6,000 annual cost for GeoLearning Analytics standard Level 3 Solution
• $2 cost per Level 3 evaluation ($6,000/2,000)
• $3,600 average monthly cost per employee (FTE) including benefits
• 20 business days per month
• $180 compensation cost per student day ($3,600/20)
• $180 training delivery cost per day including trainer, facility, curriculum, etc
• $360 investment per student day ($180 + $180)
• 33% of FTE time to replicate GeoLearning Analytics using off-the-shelf-technology
• 3% of FTE time to administer GeoLearning Analytics (one hour per week)
• 30% FTE benefit by using GeoLearning Analytics (.33-.03)
• 1% of training wasted
• .5% of total training investment invested in GeoLearning Analytics ($2/$360)

More Productive Employees


By using GeoLearning Analytics to measure and improve application to job, the average
employee productivity should go up substantially. Assuming a very conservative .1% productivity
increase due to measuring and improving job impact, the benefit to cost ratio would be 18 to 1.

• $36 annual improvement in productivity ($36,000*.001)


• 18 to1 Benefit to Cost ($36/$2)

Better use of Training Resources


IDC estimates that half of every dollar invested in training is wasted. By measuring application to
job with GeoLearning Analytics, poor use of training resources can be reduced substantially.
Assuming GeoLearning Analytics helps reduce waste by a very conservative 1%, then the
GeoLearning Analytics benefit to cost ratio would be 9 to 1.

• $18 reduction in wasted or poor training delivery cost ($180*.01)


• 9 to 1 Benefit to Cost ($18/$2)

Less Administrative Costs


Assuming GeoLearning Analytics GeoLearning Analytics replaces a less automated solution that
leverages off-the-shelf technology, the benefit to cost ratio typically is at least 2 to 1.

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 33


• .30 reduction in FTE (.33-.03)
• 2.1 Benefit to Cost (.3*3,600/500)

An organization should expect to see a return of 2 to 29* times on every dollar it invests in
GeoLearning Analytics. In certain cases, the benefit to cost ratio can be significantly higher;
particularly if GeoLearning Analytics is used to find ways to help employees become as
productive as possible.

• Combines all three benefits above (18+9+2)

© 2005 KnowledgeAdvisors, Inc. & GeoLearning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 34

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