Kevin M. Yates

Training and learning fulfill the highest purpose with measurable contribution to human and business performance. The most credible signals for evaluation and impact are metrics that reveal training and learning’s contribution to performance. The most relevant and reliable indicators are metrics and measures that matter most to the business. I’m encouraged to see a shift in our mindset and methodology for measuring training effectiveness. Are there L&D teams still “stuck” with using LMS data and survey results as indicators of effectiveness? Yes, there are. There are also increasing numbers of training and L&D teams using human and business KPIs to evaluate training effectiveness. I’m excited about the gradual shift in mindset and method.

For me, training and learning fulfill the highest purpose with measurable impact on human and business performance. The goal is using KPIs for human and business performance as signals for fulfillment of purpose. If you know what the performance expectations are and what KPIs give the strongest signal for impact, the evaluation method is the same across different departments. All roads lead to using KPIs as fact-based evidence for training and learning’s contribution to performance. If you have proactively defined what impact looks like when it shows up real-time, day-to-day in human and business performance, you have a “roadmap” for evaluating learning effectiveness. This process makes impact measurement and evaluation scalable.

Proactive impact planning begins when you align and agree with business partners and stakeholders on business goals and the skills and capabilities required to achieve those goals. Training and learning fulfill the highest purpose with measurable contribution to human and business performance. We must align and agree on training and learning’s potential for fulfilling that purpose. Alignment and agreement work hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. Alignment connects L&D with business priorities and human performance needs. Agreement ensures acceptance for expected outcomes and KPIs that give a signal for impact. Alignment and agreement informs decisions for training and learning solutions with measurable impact.

I use alignment as a way to agree on what we will measure to show the impact of training and learning or said another way, training and learning's contribution to human and business performance. The way in which I align with stakeholders for agreed upon targets for performance outcomes is by asking a series of 9 questions: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kevinmyates_9-questions-that-solve-measurement-mysteries-activity-7102264512338173952-sVvt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop These questions align training and learning with human and business performance. They ensure the training/learning solution is intentionally and purposefully connected to business goals and performance requirements that help achieve those goals.

I recommend a performance needs analysis vs. learning needs analysis. Here's the benefit: - The focus is performance as an outcome of training and learning. - Performance needs analyses create alignment with business goals and identifies performance requirements that help achieve those goals. - Data/information you collect from performance needs analyses informs decisions for instructional design. I highly recommend the L&D Detective Kit and the nine questions that make up the, "Impact Opportunity Interview". These questions represent a performance needs analysis. The framework helps collect and analyze data from multiple sources to identify learning gaps and priorities. 👉🏽 https://kevinmyates.com/l%26d-detective-kit

Whether or not you have defined your brand, trust me when I tell you, you have one. The extent to which your personal brand accurately reflects your value proposition, your message, and reputation depends on the extent to which you’ve done the work to intentionally manage your personal brand’s perception. I believe I’ve figured this out and want to share it with you. I wrote an article, “How I Built My Personal Brand and How You Can Too”, that captures steps I’ve taken to own and manage my personal brand. I invite you to take a look at the article here 👉🏽 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-i-built-my-personal-brand-you-can-too-kevin-m-yates?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_more-articles_related-content-card. I hope you find it helpful.