21 Learning and Development KPIs You Need

Understanding and tracking the right L&D KPIs is essential for driving impactful learning experiences and achieving business success.

In this blog, we will uncover the 21 most crucial KPIs every organisation should monitor.

As an eLearning company, we know that aligning these KPIs with your strategic objectives can significantly enhance your training programs.

Explore these vital metrics with us and learn how they can transform your approach to learning and development, ensuring your efforts lead to measurable and meaningful outcomes.

Essential Learning and Development KPIs for Success

There are many ways to measure success in learning and development, depending on your priorities and objectives.

From quantitative measures like the percentage of students who passed a course for the first time to more qualitative assessments such as learning satisfaction, you can measure dozens of different metrics.

Here we’ve given you our top 21 KPIs to help you gauge training success:

1. Stakeholder Perception (SP)

Type: Qualitative
This is a subjective measure of the feelings of those indirectly impacted by training, including team leaders, managers, and department heads.

2. Learning Satisfaction (LS)

Type: Qualitative
This is another subjective measure, this time of participant’s assessment of various qualities of the course. These metrics are often captured in post-course anonymised surveys.

3. Employee Engagement (EE)

Type: Quantitative
Engagement measures how readily potential participants took part in the training.

4. Business Performance Metrics (BPM)

Type: Quantitative
An assessment of an L&D programme in terms of its impact on the business.

5. Best Excuses for Non-Attendance (BEFNA)

Type: Qualitative
For fun, sharing the best excuses (anonymised) for not attending training.

6. On-Going Sustainability (OGS)

Type: Quantitative
Measuring a business’s sustainability efforts through training.

7. Job Performance (JP)

Type: Quantitative / Qualitative
Focuses closely on individual courses and outcomes related to specific roles.

8. Improved Performance Reviews (IPR)

Type: Qualitative / Quantitative
Assesses outcomes based on individual performance reviews post-training.

9. Training ROI (TROI)

Type: Quantitative
Refers to the financial benefits that an L&D programme delivers to a company.

10. Retention of New Skills & Knowledge (RNSK)

Type: Quantitative
Measures how well participants retain what they learned after training.

11. Training Accessibility (TA)

Type: Qualitative
Assesses whether the course is suitable for all employees, including those with disabilities.

12. Times Your Patience Is Tested (TYPIS)

A light-hearted KPI that tracks challenging participant behaviour.

13. Knowledge Acquisition (KnA)

Type: Qualitative / Quantitative
Ensures core learnings are absorbed during training.

14. Application of Knowledge (AoK)

Type: Qualitative
Assesses whether learners apply information in real work situations.

15. Behavioural Change (BeC)

Type: Qualitative
Measures observable changes in behaviour post-training.

16. Time to Proficiency (TTP)

Type: Quantitative
Reduces the time taken for new users to become competent post-training.

17. Training Cost per Employee (TCpE)

Type: Quantitative
Assesses the training cost per employee to determine value for money.

18. Skill Gap Progress (SGP)

Type: Qualitative / Quantitative
Measures the success rate of addressing skill shortages within the company.

19. New Hire Effectiveness (NHE)

Type: Quantitative
Measures the success of new hires in relation to training outcomes.

20. Completion Rates (CR)

Type: Quantitative
A measure of how many individuals complete training successfully.

21. Glasses of Wine or Beer (GOWB)

A fun KPI measuring trainer stress levels during presentations.

Maximising Your Training Impact

Using metrics such as those described above ensures training is provided appropriately, efficiently, and economically. It ensures it is fit for purpose and kept up to date.

Conclusion

KPIs for learning and development can be vital in assessing the success or failure of a training programme. They should be judiciously chosen and applied.