Sign in / Register
CONTACT US:(801) 537-7800

Evaluate Impact and Communicate Success

If you started with the end in mind, you began your project with a holistic set of metrics linked directly to your organization’s strategic objectives. Each component of the project was designed to meet those metrics, from the content and topic areas selected for the training, to the training delivery methods and learning activities. Because of your careful planning, you should easily be able to identify the impact your training has had and to map it back to specific components of your program. Your goals in this final project stage are to communicate those successes, but also to use these results to ensure the success of your next project.

Our 3 final recommendations for project success will help you showcase your successes and prepare for future successes. Although these recommendations are important at the end, try to apply them throughout the project as well.

1. Listen to your learners

Listen to and learn from training participants throughout the launch. Actively seek their input via interviews, surveys and observations. Learners can identify needs, benefits and pain points you didn’t know they had, which will help you target your solution more effectively. According to a study conducted by the Wall Street Journal, effective product launch teams are masters at communicating regularly with learners/customers throughout the development process: “The successful innovators in our study kept in close contact with customers throughout the development process. More than 80 percent of the top performers said they periodically tested and validated customer preferences during the development process, compared with just 43% of bottom performers.”

"Listen to and learn from training participants throughout the launch. Learners can identify needs, benefits and pain points you didn't know they had, which will help you target your solution more effectively." --Karin Jacobson, AllenCommThe feedback you receive from learners throughout the project shows you how to communicate more effectively with learners and shapes your training design. It also offers directions for post-training follow-up, such as a job aid or performance support activity that could help learners apply what they learned, and for future training projects.

To make these conversations with learners effective, it’s necessary to filter out the unhelpful surface chatter (i.e., comments such as, “Why didn’t you include this feature” or “This training is great, but…”) and search for richer insights. For example, HubSpot recommends you listen for learners’ pain points. To do this, “Push yourself to go deeper, ask better questions, and you’ll get better answers.”

How do you ask better questions? Stephanie Vozza at FastCompany suggests using “why” questions and drilling down at least three times because the learner’s first answer won’t go deep enough. According to Vozza, “The process is a variant of cause-and-effect thinking, and through a series of ‘whys’ the questioner can drill down to a specific level.” For this approach to be effective, you don’t need to talk to every member of your audience. In fact, in Pain Killer Marketing, Henry Devries and Chris Stiehl say 12 to 15, one-on-one interviews will reveal about 80% of all possible learner responses.

2. Evaluate/debrief with the team

Like listening to your learners, debriefing with your team is important throughout a project. No project goes exactly as planned and there are always opportunities to tighten and refine your processes. An effective debrief offers an opportunity to pause and reflect, allowing the team to learn from the current project before rushing to the next.

Debriefs should focus on what actually happened, rather than what could have happened, and should focus on a few simple questions: What were your project goals? What did you accomplish? What led to these results? What could you improve in future projects? Encourage open feedback and give team members time to share their stories.

"The capacity to learn lessons is more valuable than any individual lesson learned." -- Marilyn Darling, Fourth Quadrant PartnersAt Harvard Business Review, Marilyn Darling, Charles Parry and Joseph Moore warn that post-project debriefs (they call them After-Action Reviews or AARs) too often become “pro forma wrap ups,” producing static information that’s filed away in a management report and has no real impact on the organization or future projects. According to Darling, debriefs are ineffective when they’re used as a “noun” (i.e., a meeting, a report or a postmortem) that captures lessons learned and disseminates these lessons to other teams.

Instead, debriefs should be viewed as “verbs,” as “a living, pervasive process that explicitly connects past experience with future action.” The focus should be on increasing individual learning and performance so the debrief itself becomes a growth opportunity for team members. As Darling points out, “The capacity to learn lessons is more valuable than any individual lesson learned.” L&D leaders should make the debrief more about “thinking” than “things,” helping team members learn the problem solving and analysis skills necessary to make future projects successful.

3. Communicate results to leadership

Using the metrics you identified at the beginning of the process, show you were able to reach success, then discuss what you learned that will make the next project even better. When communicating results, shape your message for your audience. For example, your executive leadership team won’t be interested in the nitty-gritty project details. Instead, present them with a succinct message of what the organization gained from the project and, when possible, quantify the cost and benefits. Jack Phillips at the ROI Institute recommends the following strategies for communicating with top executives:

  • Don’t distribute materials until the end. Advance copies allow executives to flip though the key issues in advance, which could cause you to lose control of the meeting.
  • Be precise. Don’t waste time on small talk or unnecessary anecdotes. Instead be organized and focused throughout the presentation.
  • Avoid jargon. Focus on business language, rather than jargon such as “value proposition,” “return on people,” etc.
  • Spend less time on lower levels of evaluation data. Executives are most interested in quantitative data that shows impact and ROI.
  • Present the data with a strategy in mind. Plan the presentation with a specific strategy in mind, then format the presentation to align with that strategy. For example, this strategy could include data sets such as barriers and aids to success, business impact, costs, ROI, etc.
  • End with a call to action. Executives must approve the recommendations in the report and discuss the importance of impact and ROI for future projects. Finally, L&D should request support for future projects.

"Communicate the impact of training via hard business metrics, such as sales, conversion rates, downtime, etc. -- whatever is most important to the business. These metrics should be dynamic, changing to meeting the needs of the business." -- Karin Jacobson, AllenCommThe point here is to communicate metrics that had business value that are important to your leadership team. According to a recent McKinsey survey, 90% of organizations say building capability is one of their top 10 priorities, yet only 25% say their programs improve performance measurably, and only 8% of organizations track ROI. To combat this issue, McKinsey recommends communicating the impact of training via hard business metrics, such as sales, conversion rates, downtime, etc.—whatever is most important to the business. These metrics should be dynamic, changing to meeting the needs of the business. Indeed, McKinsey recommends L&D teams keep reviewing and revising “the links between skills, performance, and training” so they communicate the training stories with the most profound impact on the organization’s strategy.

As a final point, be sure to communicate negative results. If leaders think you’re withholding information, all of the trust and credibility your team built will be lost. Also, you want to be sure they hear about the situation from you, rather than from someone else who may not have all of the facts—or may not have the same agenda as you.

When communicating the negative, don’t downplay it, blame it on someone else or try to spin. Instead, be prepared. Analyze the situation to discover exactly what happened, why it happened and what its impact could be. Using this information, develop possible solutions and recommendations on how to move forward. Erika Andersen at Forbes.com recommends the following steps for communicating bad news effectively:

  • Speak up (don’t try to hide it)
  • Be accurate (don’t spin)
  • Take responsibility
  • Listen
  • Say what you’ll do next
  • Do what you say—and repeat as necessary

At Project Smart, Jennifer Whitt recommends using what she calls The Trial Balloon to lay the groundwork for negative news. With this approach, members of the L&D team meet with a few stakeholders at a time, explaining the facts of the situation with a “let me pass something by you” approach. Whitt believes this approach is effective because it “allows for additional options to be considered, further information to be introduced (for example, more resources may be available that the PM did not know were available) and crafting of the final message to occur prior to introducing it to the entire group. The result is that the messenger doesn’t stand alone, multiple options have been considered, and the bad news is not sensationalised.”

Good news! You’ve made it to the end of the project. You’ve measured its impact using metrics that matter to your business, you’ve communicated the results to your stakeholders and executive team, and you’ve debriefed with your team. By following these processes, you’ve increased your confidence in navigating a successful training project, the business’ confidence in L&D’s ability to impact the company’s bottom line, and your team’s ability to analyze and evaluate future projects.

representative talent profile

instructional writer

Position(s): Lead or supporting writer
Years of Instructional Experience: 2+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: Instructional Writing, Technical Writing, Instructional Design, Content Curation, eLearning Development, Curriculum Development, Course Authoring, Storytelling, Learning Assessment, Editing, Proofreading, AI Prompt Engineering

Media Skills: Use of stock media libraries

Strengths: Problem-Solving, Clear and Concise Writing, Tone and Style, Formatting, Consistency, Creativity, Communication, Active Listening, Research, Brainstorming, Collaboration, Attention to Detail, Adaptability

Career Highlights:

  • Scripted over 100 hours of learning content and supporting materials for different modalities for both US and global audiences  
  • Adapted writing style and reading grade level to suit design specifications and learner needs in several different industries (finance, healthcare, manufacturing, etc.) 
  • Used generative AI to supplement source content and to accelerate the writing process (without plagiarism) 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

learning experience designer

Position(s): Learning Experience (LX) Designer or Strategist
Years of Instructional Experience: 7+
Number of Completed Projects: 30+

Key Skills: Learner Experience Design (LXD),  Instructional Design, Learning Assessment,  Hybrid Learning, Learning in the Flow of Work, Project-Based Learning Methodologies, Cohort and Social Learning, Learner Experience Platforms

Media Skills: LX journey maps and representations of other interconnected or integrated learning strategies 

Strengths: Systems Thinking, Stakeholder Communication, Instructional Design Strategy, Learning Theory, Training Effectiveness

Career Highlights:

  • Designed personalized learner experience (LX) journeys for an organization of 30k (with 5 tiered tracks) 
  • Curated existing LXs that could be leveraged in new learning journeys for other roles, with measurement at key milestones to evaluate progress and success 
  • Wrote up the specifications for branching scenarios, question libraries, options for audio/visual media, and more, connecting each learner experience to a personalized journey 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

instructional media specialist

Position(s): Lead or supporting graphic designer, lead motion video artist
Years of Instructional Experience: 6+
Number of Completed Projects: 40+

Key Skills: Visual Design, Illustration, UX/UI Design, Storyboarding, Animation, Audio Engineering

Media Skills: Engaging illustrations, 3D models, character design, storyboarding, live-action and motion graphic video creation, audio recording and editing, client branding, and more to enhance media and create engaging touchpoints that resonate with learners 

Strengths: Brainstorming, Collaboration, Visual Communication,  Color Theory, Typography, Layout and Composition

Career Highlights:

  • Completed projects with extreme attention to fonts, colors, spacing, and more that ensured integrity with client branding requirements 
  • Designed and integrated media based on project-specific content that reflected the learner audience, established realistic learning environments, allowed for hands-on practice in virtual environments, and promoted diversity and engaging storytelling
  • Created quick-reference illustrations learners could access on the job to help them make fast, effective decisions   

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

lms admin

Position(s): Admin or sub-admin for Learning Management System (LMS)
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: LMS Configuration, User Management, Course Management, System Maintenance, Reporting, Data Analysis, System Integrations

Media Skills: Network and tech-stack diagrams to communicate system architecture and integration 

Strengths: Troubleshooting and Analysis, Learning Analytics, User Administration, Technical Proficiency, Documentation, Adaptability

Career Highlights:

  • Managed a curriculum of more than 1,450 course offerings in the LMS for more than 10,000 learners 
  • Uploaded, tested, and ensured the readiness of new and relaunched programs 
  • Created and maintained reporting workflows to meet stakeholder needs 
  • Provided on-demand support to the learning team to answer questions and promptly address concerns 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

learning project manager

Position(s): Learning project manager, project lead, or coordinator
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 35+

Key Skills: eLearning Development, Resource Coordination, Project Management (PMP Certified), Agile and Waterfall PM Methodologies, Budgeting and Forecasting, Scheduling, Quality Assurance

Media Skills: Visual reporting of project plans via Gantt charts and other standard formats

Strengths: Problem-Solving, Communication, Active Listening, Collaboration, Decision-Making, Attention to Detail, Adaptability, Time Management, Risk Management, Budget Management, Team Coordination and Delegation

Career Highlights:

  • Managed concurrent award-winning projects without missing deadlines or wasting resources 
  • Completed several projects earlier than the expected timeline and under the anticipated budget 
  • Built strong relationships with returning client partners for multi-phase initiatives or course maintenance projects 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT (SME)

Position(s): Industry-specific specialist
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 5+

Key Skills: Content Curation, Specialized Content Development, Industry-Specific Expertise, Domain Expertise (e.g., Leadership, Onboarding, Compliance), Content Review

Media Skills: Recommendation and review of technical diagrams or industry-specific images

Strengths: Specialized Content Knowledge, Content-Gathering, Simplifying and Organizing Complex Material, Brainstorming, Collaboration, Documentation of Source Content, Decision-Making, Technical Content Review

Career Highlights:

  • Helped create, gather, and organize over 50 hours of content for projects with specific industry or learning needs and contextual nuances
  • Facilitated the decision-making process and collaboration between internal and external teams to consolidate feedback into actionable next steps 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

LEARNING STRATEGIST

Position(s): Lead strategist or performance consultant
Years of Instructional Experience: 7+
Number of Completed Projects: 20+

Key Skills: Needs Analysis, Learning Theory, Learner Experience Design, Learning Analytics and Measurement, Performance Mapping, Behavioral and Performance Analysis, Content Curation, Curriculum Analysis, Change Management

Media Skills: Curriculum maps, learner experience journeys, and conceptual program wireframes

Strengths: Big-Picture Thinking, Critical Thinking and Analysis, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Stakeholder Communication, Research, Design, Collaboration, Facilitation

Career Highlights:

  • Conducted a comprehensive learning needs analysis for customer services representatives that included both product knowledge and interpersonal skills development 
  • Prioritized alignment of business and learner needs, such as high-impact accessible design solutions within budgets or agile timelines, for award-winning projects
  • Designed strategies for measuring performance and results over time to inform continued client success 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

Instructional Designers

Position(s): Lead or supporting designer
Years of Instructional Experience: 3+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: Instructional Design, Adult Learning Theories, eLearning Development, Learner Experience Design, Curriculum Development, Course Authoring, Writing, Learning Assessment

Media Skills: Simple graphic design using stock imagery, audio production

Strengths: Adaptability, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Technical Proficiency, Attention to Detail

Career Highlights:

  • Led the design and development of an onboarding program for new manufacturing employees
  • Scripted technical instructional content for high-tech, product knowledge training
  • Developed hybrid materials for both instructor-led training (ILT) and microlearning tutorials

Technical Skills: