ASTD Research Shows Learning Executives Confident and Focused on Greater Business Impact

**_Two reports examine expectations for, and impact of, employee learning and development efforts.

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Two recent research reports from ASTD show that learning executives are confident in the future of learning and development efforts, and that to achieve the greatest impact more effort is needed to align learning initiatives and goals to business outcomes.

ASTD’s Learning Executive Confidence Index (LXCI) for the fourth quarter of 2013 reached an all-time high of 69.9, a full two-point increase over the Q3 index of 67.9. Measured on a 100-point scale, the LXCI provides a snapshot of learning executives’ (LX) confidence and expectations in key learning and development indices including the ability to meet learning needs and to impact corporate productivity; status of learning as a key strategic component; and availability of resources for learning.

The confidence of learning executives to positively impact corporate productivity is also reflected in the recent ASTD research report titled The Value of Learning: Gauging the Business Impact of Organizational Learning Programs. Findings from that report indicate that both learning effectiveness and learning programs’ impact on business outcomes is a standard practice—but to varying degrees—in most organizations.

Key findings in that report include:

• 88% of respondents evaluate learning effectiveness, but the majority have been doing it for less than six years.

• Slightly more than 75% measure the business impact of learning, but only 13% have been doing this for more than six years.

• 70% of organizations do not have staff dedicated to evaluating the learning/business impact connection.

The LXCI and The Value of Learning research report show that while learning executives have confidence in the ability of learning initiatives to drive business results, more can be done to prove that effectiveness.

Recommendations from The Value of Learning report are:

• Base learning strategy on business strategy.

• Commit necessary resources to measure learning effectiveness and track learning’s effects on business results.

• Determine an appropriate scope of measurement and specify the metrics needed.

• Leverage available technologies to aid in collecting and tracking learning and business data.

More about the LXCI and The Value of Learning research report can be found at www.astd.org/research.