Measuring Business Impact

During the 2008 Day of Learning Gene Pease, CEO, Capital Analytics, Inc. spoke about the innovative approach they are using with success to demonstrate business impact of learning initiatives. Rather than getting stalled out on Kirkpatrick’s levels Gene and company have simply gone after the golden prize of business impact and optimization of human capital interventions. Their approach builds on the long established methodology of General Linear Modeling (a complex statistical approach). This is the same methodology used in complex clinical trials where a host of variables are changing in different ways. Depending on the availability of internal data human capital initiatives can now measure their impact on sales volume, customer satisfaction and employee retention.

In the most basic terms the Business Impact Analyses approach is:

1. Conduct a learning/human capital intervention
2. Compile the data
3. Analyze the data
4. Report on the results

Note that Bellevue University is also involved with Capital Analystics in the development of this methodology. Finaly, another component of the process is performance mapping which Gene described as task anlysis on steriods.