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How to measure and maximise L&D ROI: A complete guide for 2026

Skills shortages are costing the UK economy £39 billion annually, yet only 33% of companies measure the financial impact of their training programmes. While 72% of employees say training and development is important for their career success – and replacement costs can reach 400% of annual salary – most organisations still treat understanding L&D ROI as optional rather than essential. 

If you're struggling to justify your L&D budget, demonstrate impact to stakeholders, or simply understand what return you're getting on your learning investments, this guide provides the practical framework you need. We'll show you exactly how to calculate, communicate and maximise the return on investment for employee training and development.  

10 minutes

Written by Elliot Gowans.

Updated 07/11/2025

In this article we will explore the following areas:

  1. Why should you be measuring ROI in learning and development?
  2. How do you measure ROI on L&D?
  3. How to calculate L&D ROI: The 6-step framework
  4. What metrics should you track beyond financial ROI for learning and development?
  5. Using the right systems, processes, and tools
  6. L&D ROI considerations for different business sizes
  7. Three common L&D ROI measurement mistakes (and how to fix them)
  8. How to maximise the ROI for employee training and development?
  9. Quick ROI Checklist

Why should you be measuring ROI in learning and development? 

Regardless of your business size or learning maturity stage, measuring L&D ROI has become paramount - particularly as we approach 2026. The latest LinkedIn Workplace Learning report identifies learning opportunities as the number one retention strategy, highlighting a fundamental shift: learning is no longer a peripheral benefit but a core driver of employee engagement, loyalty, and business success. 

In today's era of financial uncertainty, proving L&D's value has moved from nice-to-have to business critical. Leaders face increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible results while operating within tight budgets. While measuring true L&D impact has traditionally been challenging, tracking the right L&D KPIs alongside ROI gives you a complete picture of programme effectiveness.  

By implementing measurement across the entire employee lifecycle - from onboarding through to upskilling - L&D teams can prove their worth, secure continued investment, and deliver strategic value - transforming L&D from a cost centre into a proven business contributor.  

Successful businesses invest in their people

How do you measure ROI on L&D? 

 When businesses talk about return on investment, they tend to think primarily about financial gain. Executive teams want to know how much money they will get back from their initial spend, and how long that return will take. Sounds easy enough, right? We can even use a standardised formula to calculate return on investment in the context of an L&D programme:  

ROI = (Total Benefits - Total Costs) / Total Costs x 100  

The problem for HR and L&D leaders is that developing skills across their workforce leads to all kinds of benefits that are tough to quantify. It’s fairly simple to estimate the total cost of an investment, but far more challenging to put a figure on the total benefits that come as a result.  

Successful businesses invest in their people, understanding that engaging learning experiences are a strategic necessity. ROI measurement serves as a critical tool for assessing the effectiveness and impact of both the learning experiences your organisation offers and the overall L&D initiatives, enabling you to make data-driven decisions and communicate the value of your programme to stakeholders.  

How to calculate L&D ROI: The 6-step framework

Step 1: Establish your baseline (before training)

Don't skip this crucial first step. Before any training begins, document exactly where you stand:  

Performance metrics

Current sales figures, error rates, productivity scores

Time metrics

Hours spent on tasks, project completion times, customer resolution times 

Quality indicators

Customer satisfaction scores, compliance rates, defect rates 

Step 2: Map out your business benefits 

List every positive outcome from your L&D programme, linking each to your strategic objectives:  

Immediate benefits

  • Increased staff engagement and motivation  
  • Reduced L&D administration time (hours saved × hourly rate) 
  • Decreased external training costs  
  • Improved compliance rates 

Long-term benefits

  • Reduced staff turnover  
  • Increased health and safety compliance 
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction scores 
  • Improved productivity and performance 
  • Greater innovation and agility  

Pro tip: If you can't link a benefit to a business objective, question why you're measuring it. 

Step 3: Identify and quantify your wins  

This is where ROI becomes real. Map every benefit to pounds and pence: 

 Hard benefits (easy to measure

  • Reduced turnover: Every employee retained saves around £X
  • Productivity gains: 10% improvement = £X per employee annually
  • Fewer errors: Each prevented mistake saves £X in rework  

Soft benefits (require calculation)

  • Better leadership: 20% improvement in team performance  
  • Enhanced engagement: 15% reduction in absence  
  • Faster onboarding: New hires productive 3 weeks earlier 

Step 4: Calculate the ROI 

Calculate the ROI by dividing the benefits by the costs and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. 

Step 5: Analyse results and identify improvements  

Don't just calculate – interrogate your data.

What worked

  • Which programmes delivered the highest ROI?  
  • What delivery methods were most cost-effective?  
  • Which departments showed the greatest improvement?  

What didn't

  • Where was engagement lowest? 
  • Which benefits failed to materialise?  
  • What unexpected costs emerged?  

Step 6: Continuously track and refine  

ROI measurement isn't a one-off exercise – it's an ongoing discipline:  

Monthly monitoring

  • Track leading indicators (engagement, completion rates)  
  • Monitor early performance improvements  
  • Identify and address issues quickly  

Quarterly reviews

  • Measure business impact metrics  
  • Compare actual vs projected benefits  
  • Adjust programmes based on data  

Annual assessment

  • Calculate comprehensive ROI across all L&D  
  • Benchmark against industry standards  
  • Plan next year's investment based on proven returns  

L&D professionals are at the forefront of shaping the future of work. From talent acquisition to retirement, L&D is essential in every stage of the employee lifecycle. From bridging the skills gap and harnessing the potential of AI to cultivating positive employee experiences, L&D is the catalyst for organisational success. 

Elliot Gowans, General Manager Access Learning

What metrics should you track beyond financial ROI for learning and development?  

Smart L&D teams who are planning for the future should be tracking different metrics for different stakeholders. Here's what each leader cares about:  

For CEOs: Strategic business impact  

Track what drives growth:  

● Revenue per employee: Show increases post-training  

● Innovation metrics: New products launched, time to market, ideas generated 

● Customer impact: NPS scores, acquisition costs, market share gains  

For CFOs: Cost savings and efficiency  

Show immediate financial impact: 

● Direct savings: Reduced consultancy fees, lower recruitment costs, fewer errors  

● Productivity gains: Hours saved, processing time reduced, automation adoption 

● Risk mitigation: Compliance penalties avoided, incidents prevented  

For HR Directors: People metrics  

Demonstrate cultural impact:  

● Retention: Voluntary turnover reduction  

● Engagement: Score improvements, internal mobility rates  

● Talent pipeline: Succession readiness, time to fill roles internally  

For Operations Directors: Performance  

Prove operational excellence: 

● Productivity: Output per hour, on-time completion rates  

● Quality: Error reduction, first-call resolution, complaint resolution time  

● Compliance: Safety incidents, audit scores, certification rates 

Download our Fosway guide on practical steps for building a compelling business case for learning initiatives.

Download guide

Using the right systems, processes, and tools  

Measuring and reporting on ROI in learning and development is undeniably crucial. The six steps may seem straightforward and common sense, but the reality is a bit more complex. It's like assembling a puzzle, ensuring that all the pieces fit seamlessly together. To achieve accurate measurement and reporting, it's essential to establish a connected learning ecosystem, where different platforms and tools work together and share data effortlessly. 

For example, integrating HR and L&D systems, leveraging employee feedback surveys, and utilising learning systems that can connect and span all of your L&D initiatives. This setup and monitoring process may require some time and effort, but it is the key to successfully demonstrating the return on investment training and development delivers to your organisation. Fortunately, we live in a digital era brimming with digital learning solutions and tools that can transform your ROI measurement journey.  

These technologies both connect and streamline the measurement process and elevate your learning to new heights. Consider the help an AI-enabled LMS can offer: with an AI-powered digital assistant, automated data collection, analysis, and reporting, and actionable insights can be provided in seconds. Armed with the right systems, processes, and tools, you'll be empowered to make data-driven decisions, unlock the full potential of your L&D initiatives, and pave the way for lasting success.  

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Navigating the Next Unknown

From crisis mode to crisis-ready: Build the skills and agile L&D function your organisation needs. Balancing urgent demands with strategic skills development? Our practical three-pillar framework empowers L&D teams to create future-ready workforces and transform uncertainty into opportunity.

Download your free ebook

L&D ROI considerations for different business sizes 

Measuring ROI in learning and development is important to businesses of all sizes, and at all stages of learning and development maturity. It is important to recognise however, that different-sized businesses are likely to have varying focuses for measuring and communicating ROI in L&D: 

Small businesses 

For small businesses, limited resources often require a very focused and cost-effective approach to L&D. Measuring ROI helps justify the investment, ensure the optimal allocation of resources, and identify areas for improvement that directly impact their bottom line.  

Examples of ROI metrics for small businesses could include:  

● improved health and safety levels  

● increased customer satisfaction leading to repeat business  

● reduced employee turnover resulting in cost savings on recruitment and onboarding 

Medium-sized businesses  

Medium-sized businesses may experience rapid growth and face the challenge of scaling their operations while maintaining consistent performance. Measuring ROI in L&D allows them to assess the impact of training on employee productivity, efficiency, and overall business outcomes. They can track improvements focused on helping them achieve increased competitiveness and market expansion, such as:  

● increased administrative operational efficiency  

● faster onboarding and time to competency  

● more efficient and effective customer service 

Large enterprises 

Large enterprises often have established L&D departments and more complex training initiatives. Measuring ROI becomes crucial to validate the effectiveness of their substantial investments in L&D programmes. Large businesses typically focus on broader impact areas such as leadership development, succession planning, and organisational culture.  

They can measure ROI by tracking improvements which contribute to long-term business sustainability and staying ahead in the market, such as:  

● higher employee engagement with learning initiatives  

● improved employee satisfaction scores  

● increase in skills-based leadership competencies  

● uptick in internal progression  

By learning maturity  

Irrespective of a business's learning maturity level, ROI measurement provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of L&D strategies and their alignment with organisational goals. Early-stage businesses can leverage ROI metrics to refine their learning approaches, while more advanced organisations can fine-tune their programmes and assess the impact of continuous improvement efforts.  

Regardless of learning maturity, ROI measurement helps businesses demonstrate the value of L&D initiatives and secure continued support and resources from key stakeholders.  

Three common L&D ROI measurement mistakes (and how to fix them)

01 03

Measuring activity instead of impact  

The trap:  

"We delivered 10,000 training hours with 95% completion!"  

The problem:  

These vanity metrics tell you nothing about business results. High completion doesn't equal behaviour change.  

The fix: 

Stop measuring: Hours delivered, completion rates, satisfaction scores. 

Start measuring: Performance improvements, skills applied, behaviour change. 

Ask: "If everyone completed training but nothing changed, is that success?"  

02 03

One-size-fits-all measurement 

The trap:

Using the same ROI framework for half-day compliance training and year-long leadership programmes. 

The problem:

Different programmes have different value drivers. Compliance prevents fines, skills boost productivity, leadership improves retention – measuring them identically misses the point. 

The fix:

Match measurement to programme type: 

● Compliance: Measure risk reduction and audit scores 

● Skills training: Measure productivity and error rates 

● Leadership: Measure team performance and retention 

● Culture change: Measure engagement and turnover 

03 03

Measuring at the wrong time  

The trap:  

Calculating ROI immediately after training ends – or waiting a full year. 

The problem: 

● Too early: Behaviour change needs 30-90 days to embed 

● Too late: Other factors contaminate your results 

The fix:

Follow this timeline: 

● Day 1: Reaction and learning 

● Day 30: Early application 

● Day 90: Behaviour change 

● Day 180: Calculate ROI 

How can you maximise the Return On Investment for employee training and development? 

Now that you know how to avoid the mistakes, let's focus on what the best-performing L&D teams do to achieve exceptional returns on their investments. 

1. Target high-impact training first 

Successful L&D teams don't try to train everyone at once. They focus where small improvements create bigger returns: 

● Customer-facing teams: 1% improvement impacts thousands of interactions 

● New managers: Each manages 10+ people - multiplier effect 

● Bottleneck roles: Where one person's performance affects entire teams 

2. Build learning journeys, not one-off events 

Single training events typically deliver modest returns. Well-designed learning journeys consistently achieve far superior ROI through sustained behaviour change: 

The journey approach: 

● Before: Manager conversations, pre-work, goal setting 

● During: Focused, practical, immediately applicable sessions 

● After: Monthly reinforcement check-ins, peer sharing, coaching 

3. Use technology to scale 

Smart tech investments multiply impact while keeping costs lower: 

● Mobile learning: Easier access to training materials 

● AI personalisation: Right content at right time 

● Microlearning: 5-minute modules vs day-long workshops 

Quick ROI Checklist

Before any L&D investment, confirm:  

✓ Specific business problem identified 

✓ Clear behaviour change defined  

✓ Manager support secured  

✓ Application within agreed timeframe  

✓ Success metrics beyond satisfaction 

Ready to discover the power of ROI in L&D? 

The guide provides you with the knowledge to gain a comprehensive understanding of the potential impact of learning and development on your business, enabling you to make informed decisions about where to allocate your budgets.    

Get the ROI of Learning and Development Guide
photo of Elliot Gowans

By Elliot Gowans

General Manager for Access Learning

Elliot joined The Access Group in 2024 as the General Manager for Access Learning. Elliot has spent more than 20 years working in educational technology and corporate learning. He is passionate about formal and informal education, life-long learning and technology.