How to measure ROI in learning and development: Proven frameworks for HR leaders

Here’s the reality:  

Budgets are under pressure.  

Leadership wants proof.  

And HR and L&D leaders are stuck trying to measure ROI on learning and development.  

Warwick University reported that 90% of UK L&D professionals find it difficult to measure the ROI of their training programmes.  

This stems from a misunderstanding on how to measure initiatives to start with.  

It’s not just about measuring numbers, but it’s about linking learning to performance, engagement, and retention.  

And this article will be your hands-on playbook, covering the fundamentals. You’ll learn:

• The challenges of measuring ROI in L&D

• Why measuring ROI matters for L&D leaders

• Frameworks that work for measuring ROI

• How to measure ROI in L&D  

• Practical examples of ROI in action

• How to measure ROI of soft skills

So, without further ado, let’s get into it!  

The real challenge of measuring ROI in L&D

Defining ROI on learning and development isn’t the problem.  

Measuring it in a cohesive way is the real struggle. Specifically, it’s rooted in:

• Proving the value of learning programmes to sceptical leadership  

• Measuring soft skills and non-financial outcomes.  

• Turning data into persuasive stories for stakeholders.  

Lavinia Mehedintu, Co-Founder and Learning Architect at Offbeat, recently shared her perspective on this topic.  

She mentioned something rather interesting; the trap many HR and L&D leaders fall into is focusing on the return on expectations versus return on investment.  

“Our reality, in L&D, is that we measure return on expectations of participants and their managers. It’s the easy one and might matter short-term.”  

“But long-term, and when things don’t look good (such as in an economic downturn), nobody cares about expectations anymore. Especially if those expectations are not tightly linked to ROI, and they’re solely along the lines of ‘make my team happy’ or ‘reward my team for their hard work’.”  

The takeaway? ROI provides an opportunity to measure the long-term impact of learning initiatives.  

Why ROI still matters for L&D leaders  

Let’s dive into three core reasons why the ROI on learning and development still matters today, for L&D departments:

Helps to secure budget and protect investment  

When you dive into the numbers, the ROI on learning and development becomes a matter of real urgency.  

Research has revealed that L&D budgets are under pressure, more than ever before. For example, The iVentiv L&D Budget Report for 2025 revealed the following:  

• The mean L&D budget is at $12.6 million, but the median L&D budget stands at $3 million; a handful of high-budget enterprises are pulling the average up. 74% of respondents fall far below the mean.  

• The average spend per employee reveals even more disparity; mean spend stands at $1580, but for many organisations this drops below $200 per person (especially in larger organisations).  

The root cause of this landscape lies in an inability to clearly communicate ROI, and the benefits of learning and development.  

And as long as this is the case, it’ll remain difficult to secure and protect budgets.  

The bottom line? The sooner you start measuring the ROI on learning and development, the better.

Key for winning buy-in from executives  

Picture this.  

You’ve come across an amazing learning and development programme or company, with a great range of online resources.  

We’re talking different formats, different languages, and a wide range of topics.  

Sounds dreamy, right? You’re sold on the idea!  

But wait...you need to pitch this to your company executives. Because without their buy-in, you’ll get nowhere!  

And how do you do this?  

ROI of course! Here are some practical examples on what this could look like:  

Proving ROI to the CFO  

Consider how learning and development is going to be cost-effective for the organisation.  

For example: a recent study revealed that online learning saves between 40 and 60% of employee time compared to traditional face-to-face learning. This significantly reduces training costs.  

Proving ROI to legal executives

Does the learning programme you’re looking to invest in cover compliance of some sort? That’s going to be music to a legal executive’s ear!

The World Economic Forum reported that 95% of cybersecurity incidents can be attributed to human error. So, communicate that employees need to urgently upskill themselves in this area of expertise.  

Proving ROI to a head of IT  

Does the L&D programme you’re looking to invest in, focus on digital skills, such as AI literacy?  

IT will be bought into the idea if the ROI is a focus around enabling employees to be digitally literate.

Research from the EU has revealed that 44% of citizens lack basic digital skills. If we think about the growing use of AI, for example, it’s imperative that employees feel empowered to leverage technology in a safe and effective way.

Frameworks that work (without the jargon)

Now that we’ve set the scene around the ROI of learning and development, let’s dive into the two common frameworks that can be used for measurement.  

The Kirkpatrick Model  

The Kirkpatrick Model focuses on four layers of evaluation:  

1. Reaction: has the learner found the training (whether it’s been in the form of a course or an assessment, for instance) useful and relevant to their work?  

2. Learning: has the learner absorbed the content of the training? Does the employee believe they can put the skills they’ve learnt into practice?

3. Behaviour: has the learner followed through and taken action? Are they applying the skills into the day-to-day of their role?

4. Results: this is around whether the outcomes of the learning programme have been achieved. In other words, did you fulfil what the training set out to do in the first place?  

Here are some practical ways you can implement the levels in this model:  

• Surveys with spaces for written responses to gather qualitative feedback

• Before and after feedback sessions to understand if learnings from content are sticking  

• Define what desired change or outcomes look like; how should learners demonstrate skills, and make the shift from theory to practice?

The Phillips ROI Model

The Phillips Model is an enhanced version of The Kirkpatrick Model; it adds a fifth layer which is return on investment.  

HR and L&D leaders can leverage this framework to quantify the tangible impact of training, from a financial perspective.  

In addition to the elements, we’ve already covered, the ROI layer is about conducting a cost-benefit analysis.  

In other words, what is the impact of training on business outcomes, such as retention or productivity?  

Here’s an example: investment into stress management programmes from a learning and development perspective.

Does the company benefit from lower levels of burnout and absenteeism, because of this effort?

‍Matt Furness, Founder of Click, a behaviour change company, shared something rather insightful, around frameworks in general:  

“The key thing to remember is that these frameworks are just tools. It’s great in many ways but also can be limiting in others. So, don’t solely rely on one framework.”  

“By selecting the right method, we’re better placed to measure impact, improve our L&D, and build a compelling story about our impact.”  

Read the full LinkedIn post.  

How to measure ROI in learning and development: step by step

Here’s how to measure ROI in learning and development in a practical way.  

1. Define goals tied to business outcomes  

This is the vital first step to take, to measure the ROI of workplace learning.  

Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to learning objectives. This makes it easier to prove impact (especially to the sceptics!).  

Iris Cremers, GoodHabitz’s Chief Human Resources Officer, echoed this sentiment:

“Make learning contextual – linked to company strategy and initiatives. This will benefit proving ROI but also helps individual employees understand their role and development in the bigger picture.”

Let’s take a sales training programme as a practical example. Track changes in sales revenue, conversion rates, or customer satisfaction scores.  

2. Gather baseline data  

Use your learning management system or an analytics tool to collect data on:

• Progress of learning initiatives

• Engagement amongst employees

• Completion rates of training programmes

3. Measure behavioural & performance outcomes  

This is an important step to measure the ROI of employee learning.  

Assess your employees’ skill levels both before and after they engage in training, to evaluate improvement.  

Assess the application of learned skills in real-life situations through workplace observations or practical assessments.  

Also think about the impact of learning initiatives on other KPIs such as employee engagement and workplace happiness.  

L&D can provide a clear direction and purpose for employees, which is important for organisations to achieve. Matt Phelan, the CEO and Co-Founder of The Happiness Index, shared more as to why:  

“If you have workforce where people are happy but not engaged, there’s no direction. On the other hand, if you have a workforce where people are engaged but not happy, that’s where the siloes happen.”

4. Translate outcomes into business value  

Conduct a cost-benefit analysis by comparing the expenses of implementing the learning programme with tangible benefits such as increased productivity and improved employee retention.  

5. Apply ROI formula

To prove the ROI on learning and development, apply the widely known ROI formula:

(Net Profit/Cost of Investment) x 100

6. Present results in leadership-friendly language  

To prove the benefits of learning and development, tell a story in language that leadership will understand.  

Tie outcomes to the impact on factors such as:

• Company priorities or goals  

• Company culture  

• Business performance e.g. revenue or retention  

ROI in action: practical L&D examples

These examples show ROI of workplace learning in action.  

Onboarding  

Embedding initiatives at the start of an employee’s journey, sets the scene and provides upskilling from the very start.  

A way you can demonstrate ROI is to look at the reduced time of onboarding, to productivity gained.  

Leadership training  

When a rigorous leadership training is in place, the ROI will be reflected in L&D effectiveness metrics such as retention.  

In fact, The 2023 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Report revealed that organisations with a structured leadership programme in place saw a 25% decrease in turnover.  

Digital learning

Online learning solutions can have their ROI proven in the form of productivity and efficiency gains.  

And research from IBM confirms this; for every $1 spent in online training, $30 can be earnt in productivity.  

The hardest part: Proving ROI on soft skills

Soft skills have an impact on core factors such as:

• Collaboration

• Resilience

• Culture  

These are all hard to quantify, because they are qualitative concepts; by design, they involve human emotions and behaviours.  

With that being said, introducing a learning offer fosters a culture of continuous learning of soft skills within the organisation.  

And that’s a strong indicator that can be leveraged for ROI, as it signals to employees that their development is being prioritised.  

Here are some methods you could use to measure the success of soft skills development:

• Employee surveys  

• Employee engagement scores  

• Outcomes from projects; for example, was a deadline met due to smoother collaboration within a team, because of a learning initiative?

Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Centre have all found that 85% of job success comes from having a workforce that is well-developed soft and people skills.  

Iris also shared her take on the subject:

“Whilst content is becoming commoditised, soft skills, or human skills are what set people and companies apart.”

Annabelle Vultee, CEO of GoodHabitz, enhanced this stance further, saying:  

“Skills are harder to measure than revenue, and harder to track than inventory, but they’re infrastructure. Without a clear map of what we have and what’s missing, we’re steering the business with part of the dashboard switched off.”  

When we stitch together this mindset, ROI of soft skills development becomes more urgent; without prioritisation, organisations will not be able to attract and retain the right talent.  

Remember: soft skills provide ample opportunity for developing a positive employee experience.  

Conclusion: Measuring ROI of learning  

We’ve covered a lot of groundwork in this article, so let’s recap the core takeaways around how to measure ROI in learning and development:

Measuring ROI on learning and development is a necessity for HR and L&D leaders facing budget constraints and sceptical leadership. Leverage frameworks like the Kirkpatrick and Philips models, to prove the value of learning initiatives.

Whilst it is difficult to quantify the impact of soft skills, demonstrate ROI of continuous learning from the perspective of employee engagement - this will help you to link to the business’ bottom line, such as retention.  

And finally, here’s a reminder quick checklist on how to show ROI in L&D today:

• Link training goals to business priorities

• Collect pre-training baseline data

• Track skills, behaviours, and results

• Convert outcomes into business metrics

• Calculate ROI with formula

• Share results in leadership language