L&D Measurement Framework

The ROI Question

Every L&D team gets asked. Few can answer.

You've been in this meeting. Someone from leadership, maybe the CEO, maybe a VP, looks across the table and asks: "What's the ROI on our training budget?"

The room gets quiet.

You have completion rates. You have satisfaction scores. You have hours of training delivered. But you know that's not what they're asking. They want to know if the money they're spending is coming back.

The Measurement Gap

Where Most Teams Are Stuck

1 Reaction: Did they like it?

2 Learning: Did they pass the quiz?

What Executives Are Asking

4 Results: Did metrics move?

5 ROI: Was it worth the investment?

This isn't a dashboard problem. It's a design problem. You can't measure what you didn't build to be measured.

Here are two moments where the ROI question shows up, and how to answer it.

Speak Their Language

The same results, framed two different ways. One gets ignored. One gets funded.

THE BUDGET MEETING

"Justify next year's L&D budget."

✗ Don't Say

"We trained 2,000 employees and launched 15 new courses."

Activity metrics. They hear: "We were busy."

→

✓ Say This

"Three programs. 340% ROI. Compliance: audit ready. Sales: $130K saved. Leadership: turnover down 18%."

THE EXECUTIVE REVIEW

"What's the ROI on our training investment?"

✗ Don't Say

"95% completion rate. 4.2 out of 5 satisfaction."

Vanity metrics. They hear: "No idea."

→

✓ Say This

"Sales onboarding: 767% ROI. Reps close 13 days faster. $130K value, $15K cost."

So how do you become the person who can give the right answer?

↓

The Fix: Design for Measurability

You can't measure what you didn't build to be measured. The teams that answer the ROI question aren't using better dashboards. They're designing training differently from day one.

Four Practices That Make ROI Possible

PRACTICE 01

Start with the business problem

Not the training request. When someone asks for "sales training," ask what metric they're trying to move. No metric = no ROI.

PRACTICE 02

Define success before you build

What specific number will tell you this worked? Time to first deal? Error rate? If you can't name it, redesign until you can.

PRACTICE 03

Establish baseline before launch

No baseline = no comparison = no ROI. Measure the target metric before training starts, even if imperfectly.

PRACTICE 04

Build in measurement checkpoints

30/60/90 day follow ups aren't optional. Schedule them before the program launches. Put them on the calendar.

Even better: automate them. LMS triggers and scheduled reports ensure it happens.

How to Connect Training Data to Business Outcomes

📊 Manual Data Join

Export LMS completion data. Export HRIS performance data. Join them in Excel with VLOOKUP on employee ID.

LMS Export + HRIS Export + VLOOKUP = Correlation

📈 Pre/Post Comparison

Measure the target metric before training. Measure again 30/60/90 days after. Calculate the delta.

Baseline ▸ Training ▸ Measure ▸ Compare

👥 Cohort Comparison

Compare trained employees vs. untrained on the same metric. Control for tenure and role where possible.

Trained Group vs. Control Group = Difference

When you design for measurability and connect your data, you can build a system that answers the ROI question on demand. Here's what that looks like.

What Measurement Maturity Looks Like

The difference isn't better tools. It's organizing metrics by what they actually tell you, and who needs to see them.

L&D Analytics Dashboard

All Programs Q4 2024 Sales

Business Impact What Executives Want

32 days

Time to Productivity

↓ 13 days from baseline

+23%

Quota Attainment

trained vs untrained

↓34%

Support Escalations

↓ from Q3

340%

Training ROI

rolling 12 month

Learning Effectiveness What L&D Needs

87%

Assessment Pass Rate

first attempt

78%

Knowledge Retention

at 30 day check

67%

On Track Learners

competency progress

3

Skill Gaps Identified

action required

Operational Health What Keeps Things Running

94%

Completion Rate

compliance: 100%

4.3

Learner NPS

out of 5

12%

Content Needs Review

>6 months old

3

Certifications Due

next 30 days

Sample ROI Calculation

Sales Onboarding Q4

Business Metric Time to first deal

Baseline 45 days

Post Training 32 days

Improvement 13 days faster

New reps/year × days saved 20 × 13 = 260

Value per selling day $500

Total Value Created $130,000

Program Cost $15,000

CALCULATED ROI

767%

What's Next

Let's Build
Measurement That Matters

I design L&D measurement systems that answer the questions executives actually ask. Not vanity metrics, but business impact tied to real dollars.

📊

Build Systems

Analytics frameworks, ROI tracking, measurement infrastructure

🎯

Prove Impact

Turn training metrics into business language leadership understands

💬

Have Conversations

The best solutions start with understanding your specific challenges

Joshua Stringer

L&D Manager · Learning Architect · AI Systems Builder

josh.stringer62@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/josh-stringer

Gilbert, AZ · Open to Remote

Even if you're not hiring right now, I'd love to connect. The best opportunities often start with a conversation.