Tactical decision-making and strategizing are of utmost importance to any organization today, considering the continuously evolving landscape of technology. To remain competitive and maintain pace in such an environment, businesses must harness the power of data and analytics. This article delves into the benefits and key utilizations of data and analytics, and much more.
Data has become the byword as a key to success in business. Without data analytics in training and development to drive decisions, business leaders are operating at a distinct disadvantage to their competitors.
Without the insights provided by data analytics in training and development, L&D teams cannot successfully support business strategies, and tactics, or drive positive outcomes. L&D teams have an important opportunity to make use of data to:
- Identify problems that need to be solved.
- Determine the best solution or approach.
- Leverage formative evaluation to determine if solutions are on the right track, iterating until the right version of the solution is found.
- Analyze summative analytics to determine the result of training and how it impacts business goals and results.
Benefits of Leveraging Data Analytics in L&D
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Demonstrating L&D Value and Impact:
Without taking advantage of data analytics in training and development, it’s impossible for L&D teams to justify the value they bring to an organization. Leveraging data in L&D proves that value and bringing trust with key stakeholders often result in increased support for more effective solutions.
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Optimizes Resource Allocation:
Examining the data collected from training programs allows the organization to gauge which specific modules are not utilized to their full extent, which delivery methods are most potent, which courses are most effective etc., and can decide to allocate resources appropriately in order to ultimately maximize their return on investment.
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Helps Alignment with Business Goals:
Organizations can effectively track and assess their business in relation to their goals, by employing data analytics. Through this, they can strategize how to adhere to their business goals and continue doing so in a dynamic environment.
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Superior Decision-making:
Analyzing data allows businesses to perceive patterns, correlations, and possible trends that might hitherto be unknown to them, and equip them with the information, context, and insights required to take better decisions and strategize effectively to achieve their goals
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Improved Learner Experience and Engagement:
Data analytics informs L&D teams as to what learners need and how they need it. This improves their experience, enhances engagement, boosts knowledge retention, and application on-the-job.
Without data analytics in training and development, L&D teams would lose vital insights into what will drive learner performance and support the organization’s goals and initiatives.
Enhancing Learning Programs with Data Literacy and Fluency
Traditionally, L&D teams have used post-implementation data to try and prove the value of training. In Kirkpatrick’s model, for example, the impact of training is gauged after the solution is implemented. While that data is useful, it lacks the impact to drive the correct solutions in the development and iteration phases of the training development. However, data analytics in training and development – data collected during the analysis and design of solutions – can help in:
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Modernizing Approaches with Proactive Data Usage:
To modernize learning approaches by employing proactive data usage, means to carefully assess the insights mined by the data with the aim of improving the efficiency of the learning experience. This can be done by accurately understanding the skill level of the learner and allowing them to interact with the material as per their preferred level of difficulty and in the manner of their choosing.
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Tailoring Learning Experiences to Improve Outcomes:
Analyzing the data gathered on learners allows organizations to gauge the needs, strengths, problem points, and most importantly, the learning styles of each individual specifically, without drawing conclusions about the cohort. This further enables them to tailor and curate the learning experiences of the learners, so they can have a more holistic experience thus leading them to retain their knowledge better and furthermore, perform better.
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Integrating Data Throughout the Training Development Cycle:
Integrating data in each step of the training cycle allows the organization to be, at all times, completely aware of the situation at hand, make conservative predictions of the outcomes of vital decisions, and have a pulse on the performance of all the assets of the organization. All of which will aid the organization to take informed decisions and strategically implement improvements and cuts.
Apart from this, the impact of learning on business outcomes can be measured by a novel model developed by EI- The NexGen ROI which integrates advanced analytics, real- time data, and a holistic approach to ROI assessment to provide an in-depth understanding into the direct contribution of learning to organizational success. The evolving landscape of learning measurement emphasizes the need for a new model that can better assess the impact of learning on business outcomes. The new NexGen ROI model does exactly this by incorporating advanced analytics, real-time data, and an all-encompassing approach that facilitates the alignment of L&D strategies with business objectives.
Key Questions for Effective Data Utilization in Training and Development
Question: Why make use of data and analytics in training and development?
Answer: Collecting data is not the objective of this initiative. Instead, mining for, locating, and using insights garnered from that data is the objective.
Question: What types of data should be collected?
Answer: There are, broadly speaking, two types of data – qualitative and quantitative.
- Qualitative data is often subjective, like participants’ reactions to the quality of training materials, delivery modalities, and so on.
- Quantitative data is objectively measurable and evaluated, like completion rates, impact on performance, and business outcomes.
Question: What data analytics in training and development should L&D teams track to improve learning programs?
Answer: It’s important to track:
- Usage and Activity: Without usage, any learning solution is a waste of effort.
- Engagement: Learners should engage with content, refer to it, complete objectives, and respond to scenarios.
- Experience: A positive experience for learners improves their level of retention and application as well as encourages others to leverage the training.
- Learner Performance: How well do learners first apply what they learn, and how much does that improve the metrics used to measure their performance?
- Business Performance: Any training solution is a waste if it does not have an impact on the business.
Creating Actionable Plans from Data Analytics
It is important to create a plan that will help convert the insights mined out of the data into actionable steps to improve learning programs.
This starts with a plan for accountability and honesty. Often, data indicates the success of training. It shows that learners were engaged and modified their behavior in the desired manner. But sometimes, the data shows the opposite. In this situation, it’s important for L&D teams to honestly evaluate the data and adjust accordingly.
The essential power of data and analytics is derived from the courage to change the course and iterate solutions based on what is found in the analytics. This approach should:
- Engage business leaders first so they’re aware of the data and help interpret the results. They often have insights into some of the intangibles that can affect behavior change outside the control of training solutions (such as an unforeseen increase in workload).
- Refer to established benchmarks on which conclusions can be drawn, using simple “if then” statements.
- Leverage secondary or tertiary indicators in the data that show potential alternative solutions. Use groupings like audience size, location, delivery modality, job levels, and previous performance to guide actionable next steps.
Evolution in Learning: Leveraging Data Analytics and AI
Considering today’s technological climate and the intersection of technology and learning, leveraging AI in order to deliver learning modules and training could prove to be extremely advantageous and superior to traditional forms of learning, seeing the resources and flexibility that AI offers to the cause of learning. AI, if used judiciously can help organizations deliver training that is more personal, effective, and engaging. Some ways in which data analytics and AI are bringing about a new wave of evolution in learning are as follows:
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Personalized Learning Experiences:
AI algorithms, have powerful abilities of pattern recognition and data processing, which applied in the context of learning, translates to organizations being aware of each learner’s particular style of learning, processing information, their unique strengths, etc. This also means that learners can receive personalized feedback that applies to them as opposed to generic pointers. All of these will help doctor personalized learning experiences geared to maximize the value of a learner’s experience and in turn their ability to contribute to the organization.
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Higher Accessibility:
AI is behind a lot of tools that bolster accessibility and inclusion. Screen readers, speech-to-text, text–to–speech, and language translation technologies all offer learners multi-modal forms of interacting with the learning material and allow them to address the needs of a diverse multigenerational workforce.
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Boosts Collaboration and Communication:
AI and data analytics, by means of collecting and processing information from which insights can be extracted, can boost collaboration across organizations and even industries. They can be leveraged to ascertain and then share best practices, address common shortcomings, and novel ideas that could be applied to or could prove useful in another interconnected industry. After all, isn’t that one of the ways in which a breakthrough occurs?
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Enhances Engagement and Adaptiveness of Learning:
AI and data analytics combined, leads to an increase in the levels of engagement and adaptiveness of learning by means of offering tailored learning experiences, providing personalized feedback, and enabling learners to explore the material in the manner or their choosing.
Measuring Performance Impact with AI
Using AI to assess and measure performance could prove to be a significant advantage considering what it is capable of. Some ways it could be used to have a competitive edge are as follows:
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Utilizing AI to Assess Learners’ Performances:
AI powered algorithms can be leveraged to parse through evaluation data in order to find patterns, that would in turn help ascertain specific areas of improvement, give relevant and actionable feedback, and employ instructional strategies that are more suited to a particular learner.
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Linking Learning Outcomes with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
By involving AI in the process of learning, we are able to find links and correlations of the specific learning outcomes proposed by the training to the desired key performance indicators. Evaluate how potent the course is and gauge the return of investment accurately.
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Justify Learning Investments:
Another insight we can gleam with the help of AI, is to see which learning investments and courses lead to more profitable outcomes, which courses are underutilized, and then appropriately allocate or re-allocate resources for the same.
Enhancing L&D Measurement with AI
AI can also be used to further enhance our understanding of the state of the business, the strategies that would prove most advantageous, and anticipate future requirements.
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Informed Decision-making:
The trove of data collected and the pattern recognizing abilities of AI allow organizations to be more equipped with all the information and variables they need to know of before taking an important decision.
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Making Informed Predictions:
Predictive analytics can be leveraged to identify emerging skills and trends to proactively design training programs that can adapt to the changing skill requirements.
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Broadening the Scope of Measurable Aspects:
AI also significantly expands the scope of measurable aspects in the learning industry by allowing the analysis of huge amounts of relevant data.
Developing a Data Strategy for AI in Measurement
AI can also be employed to come up with strategies that boost the business and lead to a higher return of investment. Some of which are:
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Defining Objectives and Identifying Relevant Data Sources:
Equipped with the insights of performance, and the knowledge of what is doing well, which resources are most potent etc., organizations can easily make more informed decisions about where their objectives lie.
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Establishing a Scalable Infrastructure to Support AI-driven Analytics Initiatives:
Since AI has the ability to predict trends and anticipate growth in specific areas, this can be leveraged to prepare for an infrastructure that can be scaled when the time and circumstances require it to.
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Maintaining Data Integrity and Privacy Through Governance Framework:
Substantial policies and governing procedures must be put in place when it comes to the integrity of gathering, making use of, and most importantly, sharing, of the data in possession of these AI tools. These governance frameworks must unambiguously define who owns the data, the scope of data that organizations are allowed to collect, practices of anonymity, etc.
Parting Thoughts:
While it’s important to collect data and analytics in pursuit of more effective training programs, it’s even more important for L&D teams to create a plan that will convert these data analytics to insights, which lead to actionable steps to improve learning programs, for as seen in this article, the benefits and the return on investment an organization can reap from doing so are both significant and superior.
