Mastering the Metrics: How to effectively track and measure your company’s professional development

Professional development, continuing education, upskilling and other efforts to strengthen a workforce provide several benefits.

For employees, career development can lead to promotions, increased work satisfaction, and other advantages. For employers, moves that foster stronger workforces support a stronger bottom line. Professional and leadership development can lead to the following:

• Higher retention rates
• Reduced recruitment costs
• Increased productivity
• Enhanced innovative thinking
• Attracting better-skilled employees

While some employers may hesitate to add the cost of professional development to their budgets, research shows that the longer-term benefits are worth it. According to a report, companies see an average $7 return on investment (ROI) for every $1 they invest in professional and leadership development.

Finding a place in the budget for things like conferences, certification courses, advanced degrees, upskilling workshops and other continuing education and development programs can help workforces keep up with advancements like new technologies and changing industry demands.

So how can companies who elect to provide these opportunities measure how well those efforts are paying off? Here is a six-step strategy for tracking investments in professional development and continuing education in your company:

1. Start at the beginning. The very essence of tracking and measuring is to compare the before and after. Therefore, having a “before” is a crucial piece of the puzzle. It is essential to have a clear understanding of where your company is now in terms of overall spending. Having comprehensive data in front of you can help you see which areas of professional development and continuing education can help boost the bottom line.
2. Develop KPIs. Use the overall spending data to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) specifically for professional development efforts. Look at things like spending on recruitment efforts, new employee training and turnover, lost productivity, and missed opportunities due to undertrained workers.
3. Set the goals. Now equipped with spending data and the KPIs you would like to track, define the goals you would like the company to see from professional development efforts. Where do you want to go from here? Be realistic. Companies aren’t going to transform an entire workforce overnight, so strategize in terms of the gradual changes you would like to see. For example, perhaps you set a goal of a 1% reduction in recruitment costs each quarter over the next year. Keep your company size, longevity, and industry in mind when setting goals.
4. Track consistently. Choose the method for tracking that will entice you to remain consistent with the data. There are endless options for user-friendly software that will help keep orderly records. But if the thought of learning a new software program feels overwhelming, good old-fashioned spreadsheets work well, too. Whatever method you choose, the best results in determining an accurate ROI are going to come from consistency. Intentional tracking can give you monthly, quarterly and annual snapshots of how well the company’s professional development offerings are doing.
5. Rely on feedback. Set quarterly meetings to talk with employees about how they are implementing their professional development trainings and experiences into the work they do each day. Invite them to share honest opinions about what is working and what isn’t. This feedback is helpful while reviewing where goals are being met and where cost savings may be lacking.
6. Adjust as needed. If you aren’t meeting your goals and aren’t seeing the ROI you would like to see, it’s time to revisit your professional development strategy. Your data can help you decide which methods of professional development can lead to greater cost savings and increased revenue for the company.