Best practices to ensure the maximum ROI in learning and development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a practical approach to best practice in corporate learning and development (L&D) – within the context of measuring the return on investment (ROI) of any piece of learning. Design/methodology/approach – Report of a webinar, augmented with other research and observations. Findings – Employee development is at the top of CEO priority lists – at least in the USA. While there are a number of ways by which a learner can acquire the knowledge and skills to develop her/himself, there are four approaches to learning and development (L&D) activity particularly worth investigating from an ROI perspective. In terms of learning, size matters. Learning stands a better chance of being assimilated and applied if it is miniaturised – and adheres to five “best practice” strategies. Practical implications – Organisations can increase the effectiveness of their L&D activities – along with their return on investment (ROI) in learning if they follow five “best practice” strategies. These should be: Aligned to organisational objectives, Self-paced and learner-focused, Designed to embed learning into workflow, granular, bite-sized, chunked learning, Delivered via a multi-media approach – using a blend of video, graphics, audio, text and which is made available to the learner via a choice of delivery media to suit the learner's learning preferences, tastes and needs as well as the available delivery technology. Originality/value – As above. The paper also outlines some of the key issues in seeking to measure the ROI of learning objectively.