You’ve poured your heart into designing engaging programmes, but when the CFO asks, “How do I know our investment in your LMS is paying off?”, standard completion reports and happy-sheet surveys just won’t cut it. Executives need a clear, compelling story that links learning activities to real business wins.
What is the ROI of learning management systems
L&D teams exist to drive performance, not just to deliver content. To earn—and grow—your budget, you must show measurable improvements in efficiency, revenue, quality or compliance.
Imagine replacing vague feedback with a data-backed narrative: “Our onboarding journey cut time-to-competency by 30%, saving £150K in support costs.” That kind of metric turns heads.
Why proving ROI in L&D is so tricky
You’re not alone if data analysis isn’t your comfort zone. In one LPI survey, over 90% of learning leaders said demonstrating ROI feels impossible. Common blockers:
- “External factors cloud the picture.”
- “We only track costs and completion rates.”
- “We lack clear benchmarks.”
Yet tracking attendance (89% of L&D leaders focus on this) and completion (74%) alone won’t persuade executives—these are hygiene metrics, not ROI proof. You need to connect learning outcomes to business KPIs.
Craft a compelling data-driven story to prove the ROI of your learning management system
Numbers are powerful, but a narrative grounded in your organisation’s technical skills journey will truly resonate.
Here’s how to frame your story around upskilling for emerging technologies like AI:
1. Anchor in the business challenge
- 46% of employers report adapting to the penetration of emerging technologies such as GenAI as a top leadership skill gap.
- The business has pinpointed that two-thirds of teams will need specific AI capabilities by 2030—transforming roles and workflows.
2. Map technical upskilling to business KPIs
- When an AI fundamentals learning programme is live, tie completion to reductions in manual process time—e.g., “By Q3, productivity increased by 25% based on quantitative feedback from line managers.”
3. Bring in learner voices
- Share a mini-case: “After completing our GenAI rapid-build course, Carlos automated 3 report-generation tasks—saving 10 hours/week and accelerating decision cycles.”
- Use quotes to humanise: “I feel empowered tackling AI tools that once felt out of reach.”
4. Visualise the journey
- Start with a slide: “X employees upskilled in AI by 2025 → 30% faster time-to-deployment → £200K in efficiency gains.”
- Layer charts showing training cohort size, skill-assessment gains, and subsequent performance boosts.
Close with future readiness
- Emphasise how ongoing personalised AI pathways and xAPI-driven analytics will keep pace with evolving tech—ensuring your teams stay ahead of the curve.
- Position L&D as the strategic engine for technical resilience: not just filling today’s gaps, but building tomorrow’s capabilities.
By weaving data, human stories and clear business metrics into one coherent narrative, you’ll move your stakeholders from “Hmm, interesting” to “Let’s invest more.”
For real-world examples of these steps in action, check out our success stories.
Models and metrics: from Kirkpatrick to Phillips
When walking execs through ROI, the Kirkpatrick-Phillips model keeps everyone aligned:
- Level 1: Satisfaction (“Did they like it?”)
- Level 2: Learning (pre/post assessments mapped to Bloom’s Taxonomy)
- Level 3: Impact (behaviour change via on-the-job observation, 360 reviews)
- Level 4: Results (business KPIs: revenue, efficiency, NPS)
- Level 5: ROI (monetary benefits minus programme costs—see our webinar for examples)
In summary
Your C-suite doesn’t just want data—they want a story that links every pound spent to a tangible business win. By focusing on technical upskilling, human impact and strategic narrative, you’ll transform L&D from a cost centre into a growth engine—and watch your budgets grow right alongside your learners’ success.
👉 Next step: Watch “How to present L&D results in a way that resonates with stakeholders”.