Value
Both tangible and intangible measures
Learning programmes are a major investment. A good return on investment is about money, but also time and effort (and the impact achieved in practice).
Ensuring programmes deliver sufficient value is about whether they deliver the outcomes needed but also about whether they do so efficiently.
When comparing different learning formats, it is worth considering the obvious costs and the hidden costs to the organisation. For example, facilitation fees for a one-day face to face workshop might be a limited cost for the central L&D budget but when you also add in travel expenses, time away from work and home, catering and so on the cost will be a lot higher.
Value to whom’ is also relevant here – who benefits and who loses. Making a health and safety module mandatory may tick a box for the legal department but make a huge amount of extra work for everyone else. There is also the need to ensure the WIIFM is clear and the context of the learning is really understood by participants (and that it fits well into their flow of work, as time is the biggest challenge for L&D – according to multiple research, including our own) to ensure the best outcome.
Ease of access is also relevant to efficiency. For example, if you are designing a piece of digital learning, ensuring it easy to find, minimising the number of clicks before starting, and making it easy to complete in several bite-size chunks if necessary for learners can all add value.