Does Every Initiative Need to Have an ROI?
Revenue spent on an initiative needs to be rationalized with benefits.
In light of this thought, how does one validate social learning in an enterprise platform?
From India, Mumbai
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1872Revenue spent on an initiative needs to be rationalized with benefits.
In light of this thought, how does one validate social learning in an enterprise platform?
From India, Mumbai
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Every initiative or learning has a direct or indirect ROI. If I am introducing new techniques or maybe a new policy, the organization will benefit from it either in monetary terms (direct) or through employee satisfaction/motivation (indirect), which will lead to more productivity in terms of achieving organizational goals.
Even if I conduct a PQ analysis for my employees, I would impart training and learning to those employees who would provide me and my organization with high and good ROI rather than my average employees. In this way, I would reduce the attrition rate of the best talent, in turn giving my organization the ROI of the best employees as an asset.
The basic fundamental is that ROI not only depends on the learning part but also on the implementation part. If I have knowledge in one field of HR but do not implement it, then neither the company nor I can have any returns on my knowledge.
From India, Mumbai
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Even if I conduct a PQ analysis for my employees, I would impart training and learning to those employees who would provide me and my organization with high and good ROI rather than my average employees. In this way, I would reduce the attrition rate of the best talent, in turn giving my organization the ROI of the best employees as an asset.
The basic fundamental is that ROI not only depends on the learning part but also on the implementation part. If I have knowledge in one field of HR but do not implement it, then neither the company nor I can have any returns on my knowledge.
From India, Mumbai
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Understanding ROI in HR and L&D Initiatives
ROI = [(Earnings/Savings) / Cost of initiative] * 100. Simple.
If HR and L&D professionals want to be taken seriously by CEOs and CFOs, this equation needs to be explained. Not in theoretical terms, but through specific examples compared to what was previously done or not done.
From India, New Delhi
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ROI = [(Earnings/Savings) / Cost of initiative] * 100. Simple.
If HR and L&D professionals want to be taken seriously by CEOs and CFOs, this equation needs to be explained. Not in theoretical terms, but through specific examples compared to what was previously done or not done.
From India, New Delhi
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Thank you for the responses. I agree that every effort contributes to learning, hence bringing benefits, depending on its implementations. Each area of an initiative can be calculated and measured on standard parameters.
Social Learning and Its Impact
Social learning, by its definition, is fueled by modeling desired behavior. In an organization, even a large-scale training that contributes to collective learning, such as 5S, can be easily tracked on dashboards, reflecting the ROI.
On-The-Job Training
On-The-Job training, with definite parameters to measure, may signify social learning on a smaller scale. Here, the assessment is supported by the fact that the trainees deliver on the exact set of tasks on which they have been trained.
Measuring ROI on 'Shadowing' in Leadership Development
In light of this thought, how does one measure ROI on 'Shadowing' in leadership development? Man-hours and traveling expenses, if any, can be calculated. However, there may not be a direct transfer of the skills learned, hence offering almost no assessment. The contributing factors to the trainee's performance may bear no resemblance to the guidance received from the mentor. In such a situation, how can ROI be calculated?
I will share an incident where a group of business managers was groomed to work in a new business center at a different geographic location. They shadowed the best leaders in the organization. The ramp-up in the new center failed due to several reasons beyond the control of these leaders or managers. So, how does one calculate the ROI on social learning, independent of this situation?
Regards,
From India, Mumbai
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Social Learning and Its Impact
Social learning, by its definition, is fueled by modeling desired behavior. In an organization, even a large-scale training that contributes to collective learning, such as 5S, can be easily tracked on dashboards, reflecting the ROI.
On-The-Job Training
On-The-Job training, with definite parameters to measure, may signify social learning on a smaller scale. Here, the assessment is supported by the fact that the trainees deliver on the exact set of tasks on which they have been trained.
Measuring ROI on 'Shadowing' in Leadership Development
In light of this thought, how does one measure ROI on 'Shadowing' in leadership development? Man-hours and traveling expenses, if any, can be calculated. However, there may not be a direct transfer of the skills learned, hence offering almost no assessment. The contributing factors to the trainee's performance may bear no resemblance to the guidance received from the mentor. In such a situation, how can ROI be calculated?
I will share an incident where a group of business managers was groomed to work in a new business center at a different geographic location. They shadowed the best leaders in the organization. The ramp-up in the new center failed due to several reasons beyond the control of these leaders or managers. So, how does one calculate the ROI on social learning, independent of this situation?
Regards,
From India, Mumbai
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I started this thread to understand social learning in an enterprise platform. Earlier, I met a gentleman who had worked for decades in the SBI L&D and training department and then retired to run his own consultancy for training. He asked me how we are tracking social learning in our community. It's impossible to track learning on the scale we have. I am not sure whether Wikipedia or Khan Academy would have any such system or not. So I started the discussion in terms of social learning within an organization, to keep it limited and measurable.
Here's a report that I came across; hope you would like it too: [Social learning Survey](http://www.slideshare.net/ThinkingCamp/social-learning-survey-the-results-are-in-3218381).
Discussion with Gautam Ghosh
My discussion with Gautam Ghosh on this brought in the following points:
- Every learner will have a different ROI, as the point of reference is entirely different.
- ROI can be calculated only when we know what the learner couldn't have gained had they not been in our community; in other words, their opportunity costs.
- The time spent in our community needs to be tracked over a period with a view of the changing profile of the member. If applicable, tangible areas, including time and infrastructure (i.e., computer and internet), are measurable.
- The delta difference in the learning of the member, realized over a period of time, with any gain if recognized.
The question which the gentleman raised with me seemed quite valid. His point was that analytics will drive learning with data-specific results. Whereas, learning metrics would help to moderate the growth of the knowledge base since we are a social learning community, so social learning metrics.
I haven't found it all, but I am sure it must be there in some organization. Please share if you have heard or known about any such practices.
Here's a beautiful description of CoP and Social learning. I believe we are an intersection of both: [Social Learning vs Community of Practice](http://janetclarey.com/2011/02/22/social-learning-vs-communities-of-practice).
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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Here's a report that I came across; hope you would like it too: [Social learning Survey](http://www.slideshare.net/ThinkingCamp/social-learning-survey-the-results-are-in-3218381).
Discussion with Gautam Ghosh
My discussion with Gautam Ghosh on this brought in the following points:
- Every learner will have a different ROI, as the point of reference is entirely different.
- ROI can be calculated only when we know what the learner couldn't have gained had they not been in our community; in other words, their opportunity costs.
- The time spent in our community needs to be tracked over a period with a view of the changing profile of the member. If applicable, tangible areas, including time and infrastructure (i.e., computer and internet), are measurable.
- The delta difference in the learning of the member, realized over a period of time, with any gain if recognized.
The question which the gentleman raised with me seemed quite valid. His point was that analytics will drive learning with data-specific results. Whereas, learning metrics would help to moderate the growth of the knowledge base since we are a social learning community, so social learning metrics.
I haven't found it all, but I am sure it must be there in some organization. Please share if you have heard or known about any such practices.
Here's a beautiful description of CoP and Social learning. I believe we are an intersection of both: [Social Learning vs Community of Practice](http://janetclarey.com/2011/02/22/social-learning-vs-communities-of-practice).
Regards
From India, Mumbai
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This is a great discussion.
Important Parameters in Social Learning
When it comes to social learning, there are two important parameters:
1. **Defining the Degree of Learning:** It is very important to understand how you define learning. Typically, there is a critical 'amount' of knowledge and a critical 'mass' of employees that are required to drive the desired behavior. Both of these, from a learning perspective, are difficult to determine.
2. **Ability to Measure the Required ROI:** Again, it is difficult to have all the required values to determine the degree of change and the benefits of change. Most organizations do not have these systems in place.
Of course, the second parameter is situation-dependent and handles most of the 'situational specifics' for you.
In your posts, you haven't actually spoken about how to do it. At an abstract level, it only seems like a cost center that doesn't actually drive business results. The trick is to make it SMART!
And yes, to be unequivocal, every initiative must have an ROI.
Regards,
Nikhil
From United States, Daphne
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Important Parameters in Social Learning
When it comes to social learning, there are two important parameters:
1. **Defining the Degree of Learning:** It is very important to understand how you define learning. Typically, there is a critical 'amount' of knowledge and a critical 'mass' of employees that are required to drive the desired behavior. Both of these, from a learning perspective, are difficult to determine.
2. **Ability to Measure the Required ROI:** Again, it is difficult to have all the required values to determine the degree of change and the benefits of change. Most organizations do not have these systems in place.
Of course, the second parameter is situation-dependent and handles most of the 'situational specifics' for you.
In your posts, you haven't actually spoken about how to do it. At an abstract level, it only seems like a cost center that doesn't actually drive business results. The trick is to make it SMART!
And yes, to be unequivocal, every initiative must have an ROI.
Regards,
Nikhil
From United States, Daphne
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As far as a community like CiteHR is concerned, I would say it is nearly impossible to determine the 'learning' component. To be honest, it is more of a repository of knowledge rather than a learning platform.
Regards,
From United States, Daphne
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Regards,
From United States, Daphne
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Hi Ngurjar, you are right. CiteHR and many other such communities are more about the people and their problems—a repository of discussions—although most times it's in a very raw and spoken language format. It's like speaking to a group of mentors. It would be quite difficult to measure an ROI on your mentor's value, and possibly wrong.
Regards,
Sid
From India, Gurgaon
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Regards,
Sid
From India, Gurgaon
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That's a good suggestion. We should integrate usage and learning to maximize the benefits. Consider the incremental difference in knowledge gained, which may not have occurred without these discussions. However, quantifying this impact could pose a challenge. I will begin with a small sample size.
Thank you once again!
From India, Mumbai
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Thank you once again!
From India, Mumbai
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In my experience, programs that cannot show any return in a work (or even life outside of work) situation feel like a waste of our time. The trouble is that too many people think ROI is only a financial measure. Ask yourself, what return are we gaining from taking our valuable time to do this? I define social learning as "Participating with others to make sense of new ideas."
When participating with others—learning together—the return almost always comes in the form of feeling better about our colleagues and increasing what we know and can do as a group. So rarely today can any one person alone know enough to meet the needs of the people who we serve. Does that have a financial payoff? Yes! It also often increases morale, our feelings about our workplace and our colleagues, which decreases turnover costs...another financial return that comes from a non-financial return.
Then there is an increase in knowledge from learning socially. In my experience, that's usually
From United States, Staunton
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When participating with others—learning together—the return almost always comes in the form of feeling better about our colleagues and increasing what we know and can do as a group. So rarely today can any one person alone know enough to meet the needs of the people who we serve. Does that have a financial payoff? Yes! It also often increases morale, our feelings about our workplace and our colleagues, which decreases turnover costs...another financial return that comes from a non-financial return.
Then there is an increase in knowledge from learning socially. In my experience, that's usually
From United States, Staunton
Acknowledge(1)Amend(0)CiteHR is an AI-augmented HR knowledge and collaboration platform, enabling HR professionals to solve real-world challenges, validate decisions, and stay ahead through collective intelligence and machine-enhanced guidance. Join Our Platform.
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