Managing Talent Retention

Pitfalls to Avoid When Using Learning Scorecards

Three main challenges must be addressed in moving to a comprehensive scorecard to measure and track success.  The first challenge is to allocate appropriate resources for measurement and evaluation.  The scorecard can be developed and implemented for 5 percent of the total talent management budget.  However, cost savings can be realized when effective measures reveal programs to be eliminated so that budgets can be utilized more effectively.

 

The second challenge is to approach the task in a disciplined, methodical method.  This is difficult when not required by senior management. However, the responsibility for ensuring the process is utilized appropriately rests on the talent management team.

 

The final challenge is the actual use of the data.  While the data reveals successes, it potentially also reveals programs which are not effective. Treating the scorecard and the methodology as an approach to process improvement alienates the fears that some may have with this approach.   The good news is that developing a scorecard of program success, based on outcomes rather than activities, provides evidence that developmental opportunities for key talent are working within the organization.

Developing an Effective Learning Scorecard

Traditionally, a talent management scorecard would reflect the inputs and include items such as budget, spend per employee, and number of participants.  While this information is important to include in the overall scorecard, it is not the only data to include.  The scorecard should also include learning, application, impact, and ROI. 

 

The first step is to determine how many and which programs will be evaluated at the various levels.  Ideally, as many programs as possible will be measured at the ROI level.  Then, the data from each of the programs must be integrated to present an overall picture at the macro-level.  The end result will be a scorecard that represents seven major categories to include: indicators, each of the five levels of evaluation, and intangible benefits.  Below is a brief explanation of each category:

 

·         Indicators and Inputs – Indicators and inputs are the traditional input data.  These data are indicators of organizational commitment and investment.  It is important to clarify the most important indicators as it is easy for this section of the scorecard to contain too much irrelevant data.  The data that are included must be important to the executive team and are likely to include such items as the number of employees participating in the programs, the number of hours of learning activity per employee and the investment in learning broken out into different demographics. 

 

·         Five Levels of Evaluation – These sections will include the data collected at each of the five levels of evaluation, up to and including Return on Investment.  The five levels of evaluation are: Reaction, Satisfaction and Planned Action; Learning; Application and Implementation; Business Impact and Return on Investment. 

 

·         Intangible Measures - The final category to report is intangible measures.  These measures can be included in the business impact category as a sub-category or mentioned in a separate section.  Intangible measures are defined as those that have not been converted to monetary value, but are important to the program.  Examples include: customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and job satisfaction.  It is important that each of these measures could be monetized, but it is not always practical or desired to monetize them.  Sometimes intangible measures are reported voluntarily by participants, while at other times they are tracked throughout the organization.