Guest Article: Most corporate training doesn’t work. We need to rethink.
CoachHub’s Principle Behavioural Scientist Jule Deges on moving away from measuring just satisfaction to embracing outcomes.
👋 At our last online Edtech Fellowship meetup, we were lucky enough to host Jule Deges, a Positive Psychology Practitioner who applies behavioural science to helping organisations transform.
Most recently she has worked at CoachHub as Principle Behavioural Scientist and she is our guest this week to share her insights on measuring impact in learning.
Our next online meet up is on 5 November and Allen Sanchez, Head of Product at Junto will be leading the conversation on building AI coaches. Sign up here. We’ll also be meeting in London at Greenworkx’s offices on 26 November.
Measuring the true impact of Learning and Development (L&D) programs is a challenge many organisations face. While it's common to assess initial reactions through satisfaction surveys or Net Promoter Scores (NPS), the more critical aspects of actual learning, behaviour change and long-term impact often go unmeasured. This avoidance isn’t just about limited budgets—it’s about the fear of discovering that current efforts aren’t working.
Understanding the limits of current training evaluations
Organizations frequently stop at surface-level evaluations. They collect data on how participants feel immediately after training—often positive but short-lived.
This feedback doesn’t reflect the actual transformation or behavior changes that training aims to achieve. According to the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, up to 50% of what is learned in a training session is forgotten within an hour, 70% within a day, and 90% after a week—unless reinforced with continuous activities like feedback, reflection, and on-the-job application.
This poses a dilemma: If most learning fades so quickly, how do we ensure that training investments lead to meaningful change?
The challenge of measuring long-term impact
From my experience in the corporate world, especially in the startup and scale-up environment, I've seen how companies, including CoachHub, grapple with these measurement challenges.
CoachHub, a digital coaching provider, works with companies to help them see beyond immediate training satisfaction. We emphasized the importance of understanding behavior change over time and its impact on broader business outcomes. But getting there requires a shift in mindset.
A common hurdle is the data gap. For example, many organizations don’t track data that would allow them to measure changes in performance or retention effectively. They’re often stuck in ‘the chicken or the egg’ dilemma: without clear evidence of impact, budgets are tight, but without investment, it’s hard to collect the evidence needed to justify future spending.
And underlying this is a fear: what if deeper analysis reveals that the training isn’t leading to real change?
A new approach to learning measurement
So, how do we address this? We need to start with the end goal in mind—a method I’ve found effective in many of my client engagements.
Value: Start by defining the value you want the intervention to create. Why are you doing it in the first place?
Results: Identify measurable outcomes. What differences should be seen in the learner or the organization?
Output: Determine what behaviors should change immediately following the intervention.
Input: Design the training to match these goals, considering who the learner is and the specific needs of the organization.
This approach requires organizations to think beyond the immediate and focus on long-term results.
For instance, at CoachHub, we applied this method to coaching programs, emphasising behaviour change and using tools like randomised controlled trials to isolate the effects of training. This approach allowed us to demonstrate improvement in areas like leadership adaptability and resilience.
The 70-90% paradox: Where real learning happens
Research and experience reveal that 70-90% of learning actually happens outside the classroom—through experience, reflection, and feedback in everyday work contexts. Yet, most corporate learning investments focus heavily on formal training sessions, which don’t naturally translate into long-term behavior changes. This is a fundamental misalignment between where learning happens and where resources are allocated.
To bridge this gap, organizations need to design learning ecosystems that blend structured training with ongoing development opportunities—peer feedback, coaching, and real-world application. This ecosystem approach ensures that what is learned during training isn’t lost in the hustle of daily tasks but reinforced through regular practice.
Key takeaways for measuring learning impact
Move beyond satisfaction metrics: Immediate feedback is useful but doesn't capture the true impact of training. Focus on measuring behavior changes over time.
Start with clear outcomes: Define what success looks like before designing your learning programs. This ensures that your efforts align with business goals.
Use a blended approach: Combine formal training with coaching, feedback loops, and on-the-job learning for sustained impact.
Embrace the data: Don’t shy away from evaluating long-term outcomes, even if they reveal shortcomings. This transparency is crucial for designing better interventions.
By rethinking how we measure impact, organizations can make their L&D investments truly transformative. It’s time to move beyond the illusion of immediate success and focus on what really drives change—behaviour that lasts.
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