3 Reasons Why Benchmarking L&D Effectiveness is Important for your L&D function

This is the first in a series of Q&A interviews on the topic of benchmarking with the author of Learning Analytics: Using talent data to drive business outcomes.

What is benchmarking, and how can we use it as a discovery process and more than simple reporting?

The most basic definition of benchmark is that it is a consistent reference point used for comparison. There are three ways benchmarks can be used productively.

1. To learn: The process of benchmarking helps to clarify further where you are compared to others. Are you farther ahead in some areas and lagging in others? This pertains to both quantitative and qualitative benchmarks. An example of a quantitative benchmark measure is Scrap Learning, the percentage of training content that learners do not plan to use on the job. There is always going to be some Scrap, and benchmarking helps you know if your Scrap Rate is above or below that of other similar organizations. This also applies to qualitative benchmarking, such as the criteria for industry awards. Simply going through the process of applying for an industry award helps you take a critical look at your organization’s practices. Then the feedback you receive on the application afterward enables you to understand where your strengths and opportunities lie.
2. To prioritize where to focus: Benchmarks help us prioritize where to focus our improvement efforts, so we’re not wasting time and resources improving things that are already great. For example, if instructor performance scores at your organization are already well above the benchmark, is it really worth it to expend more effort to make them a tiny bit better? Instead of using time and energy on improving already stellar instruction, why not focus on something that has more room for improvement, like post-training support, which is typically low? There is usually a point where there are diminishing returns. Benchmarks can help us recognize that point and force us to move on to the next area that’s ripe for improvement.
3. To set goals: The goal-setting process should include a solid rationale for any goal that’s set, and “it just feels like the right number” won’t fly. If you’re trying to set a goal for improvement, how do you know what “good” looks like, or what’s realistic? If you’re just getting started and there is a large gap to close, a reasonable goal may not even be to match the benchmark initially.

How does Explorance help customers with benchmarking?

There are two main ways we assist our customers with benchmarking. First, Metrics That Matter (MTM) benchmarks are built on a standard framework of questions and measures that were constructed around established methods for measuring training effectiveness. Over the past two decades, they have been repeatedly validated and revised to strengthen the effectiveness and predictability of the measurement model.

Hundreds of L&D organizations worldwide have used this framework to measure L&D program effectiveness, resulting in over 1.5 billion data points feeding the benchmarks. Responses from millions of training evaluations are added each year, and the diversity of companies contributing to the benchmark allows for segmentation by industry, region, course type, company size, and more.

The benchmarks are updated quarterly and are dynamically embedded into MTM’s reporting, dashboard, and data exploration tools so that organizations can reference the benchmarks at any time. They can do so from a very granular class or question-level all the way to aggregate performance across the organization. Organizations may choose to use the external benchmarks, their own internal benchmarks, or a combination of both.

Another way we help our customers with benchmarking is through audits of their capabilities and processes in the learning analytics space. Our proprietary Talent Development Value Framework includes five capability areas that are necessary to build a culture of sustainable measurement focused on the strategic value L&D contributes to the organization. In these engagements, we work with multiple stakeholders across the organization to evaluate the L&D organization’s level of maturity in each capability area as well as in foundational elements such as executive buy-in and governance. We then share the results and provide context as to whether they are ahead of, on par with, or lagging other learning organizations, along with recommended next steps to continue building measurement maturity based on their specific goals.

Are you looking to benchmark your L&D program effectiveness with other comparable organizations? Request an MTM product demo, and let’s start a conversation.