Measuring Development Program Results: LIM’s business model for development

Client organizations understandably want to know if the money they are spending on developing their managers is money well spent. They want to have some idea of what Return On Investment they are getting.

It is a reasonable attitude, and LIM measures the results of a program on the five levels, and assesses the return on the company’s investment of time, human resources and money.

To measure results for our clients, we are guided by two key goals.

1.  Identify the outcomes that participants in the development programs must achieve.

2. Measure the results of those outcomes and the development programs, so that the client organization can assess its Return On Investment.
 

1. Identify Outcomes on Five Dimensions

LIM works with clients to co-design developmental programs that produce specific outcomes on five dimensions. All programs and services aim at supporting clients as they first identify, then achieve, the outcomes.

Business:

• Address corporate business challenges
• Solve personal business challenges

Organization:

• Shape organizational culture
• Capture and embed best practices

Team:

• Develop High Performing Team skills and processes
• Discover leadership in team setting

Professional:

• Work on core business competencies
• Develop leadership skills and behaviors
• Establish personal development plan

Personal:

• Increase self-awareness and purpose
• Identify personal strengths and areas for development
   

 2. Measure the Results of Development Programs

Client organizations understandably want to know if the money they are spending on developing their managers is money well spent. They want to have some idea of what Return On Investment they are getting.

It is a reasonable attitude, and LIM measures the results of a program on the five dimensions listed above, and assesses the return on the company’s investment of time, human resources and money.

LIM utilizes three methods for measuring the effectiveness of the programs:

a) Instruments—which quantify the changes on the Personal, Professional and a Team levels
b) Results of Project Proposals—which assess effectiveness on the Business level
c) Qualitative Research--which reports on the impact of the program at the Organizational level

 a) Instruments  

• A 360° feedback instrument to gauge the extent of an individual’s changed behaviors, skill improvement, and shift in attitudes over time;
• A High Performing Team Instrument designed together by the Learning Coach and by the teams in question, and based on the desired feedback on role, behavior, responsibility performance, and skill sets;

b) Results of Project Proposals

• All ARL-based programs use actual business problems as the vehicle for learning, which means that in addition to the development of the leaders, the organization receives a proposal for solving a problem or addressing a challenge. The large majority of recommendations result in cost savings, generating revenues, new business ideas, or new ways to maintain the company’s competitive position.

c) Qualitative Research

• Researchers in LIM’s assessment arm, ARL Inquiry, conduct in-depth evaluations on behalf of clients to measure the impact of a program on the organization. The evaluations report changes resulting from the program, analysis of factors affecting the transfer of the learning from the program to the manager’s daily activities, and impact studies on organizational change as a result of the program.

Sample results achieved:

 Business

• One company received the Optima Award from Workforce Magazine for Competitive Advantage due to its leadership development programs. As part of its post-merger integration strategy, the company program gathered leaders from six merged companies, to work on common projects and to develop a new organization culture.
• One food products organization saved $3 million in raw material costs during the first year as a result of one project team's recommendations. 
• A global truck company team designed an innovative parts distribution system for their operation in Poland, saving a year's production time and earning an estimated $7 million. 
• A food-processing client wanted to find a better way to service its customers while lowering logistics and freight costs. The solution resulted in logistics and freight costs that are the most cost-effective in the industry and provide savings of $1.5 million annually. 
• A bank identified internal and external success factors and developed a plan to bridge the gap between the investment and commercial banking divisions, and to capture best practices from each division.

Organization

• One project team in a leadership program was asked to find synergies from a recent merger. Instead the team came back to the CEO, with a plan to reorganize the entire company. The CEO accepted their recommendation; the company was re-organized and succeeded in achieving the expected synergies. This was a major strategic breakthrough for the company.
• One company spent millions of dollars on a re-engineering effort with a big, external consulting firm and received a plan that had little ownership from within the organization. Using the ARL process, LIM helped the implementation teams build commitment among stakeholders, and assume control of the process to meet deadlines, all at a fraction of the previous cost. 

 Teams

• Across one global company, 160 people received in-depth training on leading and working in high-performance teams. This group now works in or leads cross-functional task forces and teams on a regular basis. 

Leadership

After participating in one of LIM’s Leadership Development Programs in another company, four senior participants who were planning on leaving the company decided not to leave. The reason: they discovered that the company was truly interested in what they thought; it wasn’t a matter of money; it was a matter of feeling valued. The company president estimated this result saved the organization some $4,000,000 in saved business, replacement fees and client good will. 

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