abdi newsletter

Issue 31 - November 2009

Greetings from abdi
Abdi ltd has a depth of experience unique in the UK, in impact measurement and ROI within work based learning and development. We teach key employees in both private and public sectors the tools to effectively plan, measure and evaluate all business activity. To discover how abdi can help you and your organisation, visit our website at www.abdi.eu.com

Get the last few places on abdi ltd’s ROI Foundation Certificate Course November 16-17th
To book your place before they all go, or for more information about abdi courses call (01223) 360240 or email us at info@abdi.eu.com 




Jane Massy The outlook for outsourcing
Some of the results of the latest ASTD Learning Executives Confidence Index (LXCI) report make interesting reading. These come mainly from very large global US corporates, but I think there are important pointers worth considering. If you're not familiar with the index, it's a quarterly survey of Learning Executives which assesses the outlook and expectations for the next six months on a 100-point scale. The overall confidence score (out of 100) is based on four indices: impact on corporate performance, ability to meet learning needs, availability of resources and status as a key strategic component.

These Q3 results undoubtedly reflect the continuing impact in the long tail of the crash and global recession combined with the slow return of optimism and better than expected results reporting. Overall, the scores suggest a rise in confidence regarding both 'expectations on availability of resources for the next six months' and 'expectations on status as a key strategic component over the next six months'.

20% of respondents (up from 12.7% in the previous quarter) recorded an expectation that workplace learning & performance expenditures will increase over the next six months. The number expecting a decrease fell from 44% in the previous quarter to 33.8%. However, almost half expected no movement.

So clearly fewer executives expect bad news and more feel optimistic. Nonetheless, these are sobering figures; a third evidently believe the worst of cuts in expenditure are still to come.

Put alongside this, the data on outsourcing.

Just under 40% expect spending on external suppliers and outsource providers to be the same and 24.2% expect this to increase. More significantly, the expectation that there will be a rise in outsourcing and external supply has increased over the year. In Q1, 12.4% expected an increase; in Q2, this increased to 17%, rising to 24.2% in Q3.

Is this good news? It depends on where you sit! If you're an outsource vendor or supplier of learning and performance services, it looks like good news.

What if you're internal? If your budget is static or declining, could this be evidence of a move to reduce fixed costs. Is there any evidence of outsourcing your services on the horizon? Or might it reflect an expectation that you can deliver increased efficiency and value?

Value is the issue. Are you showing real business impact and value for the investment your organisation makes? If you can't report this in a measurable credible way, don’t you think it's time for change? - why not come and talk to us and we'll show you how.

Would your organisation get better value and impact AND lower total costs from outsourcing? If you can't compare benefits AND costs for internal and outsourced options, how can you know? We can help you measure and calculate this and make a real business case one way or another.

And if you do decide to outsource learning and performance services, we'll help you put the right reporting and KPI requirements in place so you can track effectiveness, efficiency, measurable business alignment and impact and most of all, where the best value can be delivered.

Jane Massy


The Learning and Development in Broadcasting Conference 2009

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who attended Jane Massy's workshop at the Learning and Development in Broadcasting Conference 2009; we hope you all enjoyed the event and found the workshop enlightening. If you would like to discuss the topics raised further, visit Jane Massy's Linked In group dedicated to the BTSR, at www.linkedin.com

We are holding an ROI Foundation Certificate course specifically tailored to meet the needs of the broadcasting sector, to be held on the 28th - 29th January 2010. For more information email us at info@abdi.eu.com


Sara Pearson - embedding ROI in an NHS Trust

'It's thoroughly interesting', says Sara Pearson who's embedding the ROI Methodology in learning and development planning and evaluation at Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust where she's Head of Workforce Development. 'I'm now dying to get some impact data.'

She completed the ROI Foundation course in February and the ROI Evaluator course in June.

'I think you need the higher level (ROI Evaluator Certificate),' she says, 'if you're really going to apply it. I really started to get into it after the three day course.'

A huge amount of her effort since June has gone into laying solid foundations. Into thinking things through, and especially into working with Finance to establish fully loaded costs and developing standard values and metrics.

She says: 'I think too many people go too quickly. You just need to take the time to think about how you're going to use the ROI Methodology.

'All our programmes in education and development have now been categorised to the levels to which they will be evaluated. All those with high impact and high costs will be evaluated at least to Level 4, and we've now devised some project implementation documentation with the evaluation methodology embedded.

'I've worked with some of the staff and developed some pre- and post- self assessment templates so when we put new projects together we've already got Levels 1, 2, and 3 data collection instruments ready. I haven't done a full evaluation yet because the programmes are just starting.'

And the result? 'We are thinking about things differently when we put new programmes together. We're asking, What's the payoff? What business impact do we want?

'You do need buy-in at the top for this,' she adds, 'and my advice to anybody is to take the time and think through properly how ROI is going to be implemented, who's going to do it. It's not a short term project, but we hope to be completely up and running by the end of the year.'


Angela Dickinson

Angela Dickinson has joined abdi full time as Marketing Assistant. She brings marketing experience and skills into the team and we’re delighted to welcome her to our growing organisation. If you have any enquiries, would like information about our work, are interested in cooperation with us, reciprocal web links, or would like any of our directors to speak at your events, please contact Angela at info@abdi.eu.com.


ROI is a key tool for managing L&D and HR objectives and budgets

Make yourself one of the smart practitioners who can bring Gold Standard impact planning and evaluation to your organisation - reserve your place on one of our 2010 courses now

ROI Foundation Certificate courses
8-9 March
21-22 June
20-21 September
15-16 November

ROI Evaluator Certificate courses
7-9 June
17-19 November

To talk about bringing our course in-house to you and your colleagues, for further information on any of abdi ltd's courses and to book your place call (01223) 360240 or email us at info@abdi.eu.com

We've held over our Building a Library feature this month to give extra space to other items - look out for it again in December.


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