When presenting a proposed training program to senior leadership, don’t make the mistake of getting caught only discussing the ROI. Executives expect something much different in a true business case. You can certainly add complexity – if needed – in this webinar we'll cover the basic 5 elements to include in your business case for employee training:
Scenario analysis – most likely outcomes, best case and worst case.
Link each expected benefit of the solution to an expected operational effect.
Identify the KPI (key performance indicator) for each benefit.
State the risk of not taking the proposed action.
Align proposal with organization’s strategic goals.
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How to Build a Business Case for Online Employee Training - Webinar 07.09.14
1.
2. What You’ll Learn:
The five core elements of a
business case:
• Scenario Analysis
• Cause/Effect Analysis
• Key performance indicators
• Risk of the status quo
• Demonstrating Alignment with
Organizational Goals
Anticipating and overcoming the
most common objections from your
senior executives
3. BIZLIBRARY.COM
Organizations with a strong learning culture
significantly outperform their peers…
Innovation
46%
More likely
to be first to
market
Productivity
37%
Greater
employee
productivity
Time to
Market
34%
Better
response to
customer
needs
Quality
26%
Greater
ability to
deliver
“quality
products”
Skills for the
future
58%
More
prepared to
meet future
demand
Profitability
17%
More likely
to be
market
share
leaders
5. In your organization, what are
your biggest challenges with
change…
a. Timing – “this just isn’t a
good time”
b. Budget
c. Lack of senior
leadership support
d. Lack of employee buy-
in or participation
e. Something else
6. Risk of the
Status Quo • What could happen to the
company's bottom line?
• Could the company lose
customers? Or market share?
• Could some future costs be
avoided if the investment is
made today?
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS
CAUSE/
EFFECT ANALYSIS
KPI’S FOR EACH
BENEFIT
RISK OF THE
STATUS QUO
ALIGN WITH
ORG’S GOALS
7. It takes all the running you can do, to
keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else,
you must run at least twice as fast as
that.
The Red Queen
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis
Carroll
8. Scenario
Analysis • Most likely results
• Best case scenario
• Worst case scenario
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS
CAUSE/
EFFECT ANALYSIS
KPI’S FOR EACH
BENEFIT
RISK OF THE
STATUS QUO
ALIGN WITH
ORG’S GOALS
9. Cause -
Effect
Analysis
• Your training program
improves the employee’s
ability to do the job.
• That improvement has a
positive impact on the
business.
• That impact results in a
financial benefit to the
company.
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS
CAUSE/
EFFECT ANALYSIS
KPI’S FOR EACH
BENEFIT
RISK OF THE
STATUS QUO
ALIGN WITH
ORG’S GOALS
10. BIZLIBRARY.COM
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COMPANY BENEFITS FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Study at your own pace;
employees have the ability to
stop and start courses.
Same training available to all
employees, no matter location.
Reduced costs for travel and
training facilities.
Convenience: Anytime, Anywhere
Access. Courses and online
resources are available to
employees, 24x7.
• Anytime, Anywhere reporting.
• Built in testing and evaluation
capabilities allow managers
to easily run reports
• More customized learning
plans to ensure that they have
mastered difficult concepts.
Reduced time away from the job,
no missed productivity.
Employees can create and
manage their own Learning Plans
Better control over all aspects of
the training experience through
one standard, centralized access
point (registering, approval,
tracking, reporting).
• Hosted services eliminates the
need for installation into a
company network.
• Eliminates the cost for internal
IT support.
Simplified certification process Increase alignment between
employee goals and corporate
objectives.
Employees are able to view a
personal dashboard of courses
assigned to them, view a record
of their transcript of courses
Improved visibility into learning
and performance data.
11. Business
Impact
• Learning to support
organizational agility
• Identify focus areas
• Technology or new
approaches to drive better
agility
• Increase clarity
13. BIZLIBRARY.COM
REPORT: VALUE OF TRAINING ON WRITING SKILLS FOR ACCOUNT
REPRESENTATIVES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS
Goal: Reduce turn around time on bug fixes from an average
of 21 days to 10 days.
Value:
The expected value to
be gained is measured
by using the average
revenue lost for each
day the service is down
for customers due to
sloppy or unclear written
explanations of bugs to
the programmers.
$50/day $1,155,000
In six months
The average bug eats
revenue while
customers are not
accessing our service at
a rate of $50 per day. In
the last 6 months, 1,100
customers experienced
bugs each taking an
average of 21 days to
fix. 80% of the bugs
required a return of the
written report to the rep
for clarification.
The average
bug.
14. BIZLIBRARY.COM
Training Costs:
Human Resources:
$90,000
Reps: $300,000
Total: $390,000
Impact:
Written reports of bugs were
shortened and clarified so
less than 10% were returned
for rewrites in 6 months after
program. Average bug fix
reduced from 21 days to 12
days. Total bugs affected
1,210.
Value Added From Improved Performance:
500 reps X $600 days each for access to
online writing courses including time to take
and complete 5 courses each and
successfully complete writing evaluations to
prove increased skills. 2 HR reps needed to
administer program and build writing
evaluations.
TOTAL VALUE GAINED:
$544,500 on a $390,000 program.
Other Factors:
Better general communication and cooperation between the
programmers and customer facing employees. We also learned that our
customer service employees did not have a deep enough
understanding of the technical side of our service. The enhanced writing
skills helped clarify the knowledge gaps which we filled quickly.
REPORT: VALUE OF TRAINING ON WRITING SKILLS FOR ACCOUNT
REPRESENTATIVES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS
15. KPI’s For
Each Benefit
• Identify the KPI for the business
problems you are trying to
solve.
• If this training works, how will
we know it?
• What will improved
performance
• look like, and how will we
know?
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS
CAUSE/
EFFECT ANALYSIS
KPI’S FOR EACH
BENEFIT
RISK OF THE
STATUS QUO
ALIGN WITH
ORG’S GOALS
16. It doesn’t have to be
complicated…
You have 5,000
customers
Each is worth
$20,000
You increase
customer retention
by 1%
THAT’S $1 MILLION
17. TIME AWAY
FROM THE JOB
TRAINING COSTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
TRAVEL
EXPENSES
The cost of
losing
employees due
to the lack of or
ineffective
training
18. Goal
Alignment
• A process of continuous
adjustment to keep the parts in
their correct relative position
Organizational Goal:
• Maintain an 85% client
retention rate for 2013.
• Department Goal: Improve
performance in handling of
customer complaints within 90
days.
SCENARIO
ANALYSIS
CAUSE/
EFFECT ANALYSIS
KPI’S FOR EACH
BENEFIT
RISK OF THE
STATUS QUO
ALIGN WITH
ORG’S GOALS
19. Barriers to
Program
Adoption
• Will employees participate, use
it etc…
• What are the costs? What’s
the value?
• Is the learning initiative
relevant to our business
needs?
20. Resistance Success Strategies
No Help
• Create an Advisory Committee
• Use a Coach
• Ask Supervisors for support and provide them tools
Communication
• Work with your internal learning team to develop strategies for
high-level and end-user communication
Not Enough Time
• Focus on Just-in-time learning: Search and Learn, Job Aids,
SkillBriefs
• Deliver kickoff events, Blended Learning, Learning Labs
• Emphasize Time Management courses
• Create Learning in Progress signs
Fear and Anxiety
• Nurture safety and trust with perceived freedom of choice
• Focus on individual needs and help folks to see the benefits of
having online learning available
Not Relevant
• Emphasize on-the-job application
• Understand the goals of others and ask questions: “How can
you use this initiative to meet your goals?”
21. Needs Analysis: Survey Results
Do you feel access to more
training would help you
perform your job more
effectively?
Yes
No
If online training was offered, how
many courses would you enroll and
complete per year?
1-3 per year
3-6 per year
More than 6 per year
Don’t know
If offered online, would you take
advantage of a customized
training curriculum specific to
your job?
Yes
No
Would you like to see
<Company> play a more active
role in your professional
growth/development?
Yes
No
22. BIZLIBRARY.COM
Participant materials were useful on the job.
Training expectations were set with the manager prior to
training.
Use of the training was discussed with the manager after the
training.
Adequate resources were provided to apply training on the
job.
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JOB SUPPORT SURVEY
23. 1. Don’t get stuck on ROI only. Communicate the cost
justification and strategic impact of your training
initiatives.
2. Plan and organize. Understand your current situation,
where you want to be and when and how you will
get there.
3. Know the facts and risks back it up with data.
4. Communicate how your plan will benefit the overall
organizational goals.
KEY POINTS
24. BIZLIBRARY.COM
Course Series: How to Know What We Know
Short videos each less than 10 min.
Course Title:
QuickTalks: Rob Kaplan:
Leadership Lesson: You Must
Ask the Right Questions to
Adapt
Target: Leaders at All Levels