training evaluation | learning ROI | L&D metrics | training effectiveness | learning analytics | ADDIE | survey design
What You Will Learn:
- Design a programme backwards from a business result, so there is something to measure
- Run the six-step evaluation process and report it to senior management
- Separate a satisfaction score from evidence that behaviour changed
- Prove an effect with a control group instead of asserting one
- Run a regression to find what actually drove the change
- Calculate return on what you spend developing people
- Design a survey that gets honest answers rather than polite ones
- Build the business case for a training budget before it is questioned
- Evaluate an external provider on something other than the proposal
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
Overview: Moving Beyond the “Happy Sheet”
Let’s be honest: most L&D departments are viewed as cost centers—the first to get their budgets slashed when the economy catches a cold. I’ve spent years in the tech sector, and I’ve seen countless “innovative” training programs die on the vine because the people running them couldn’t speak the language of the CFO. Mike’s course, Training Evaluation: Prove the Business Value of L&D, is essentially a survival guide for anyone tired of defending their existence with “vanity metrics” like completion rates or smiley-face emojis on a feedback form.
What sets this course apart is its aggressive focus on backward design. Instead of picking a shiny new tool and then wondering how to measure it, you start with the cold, hard business result you need to move—whether that’s reducing churn in the dev team or speeding up ticket resolution. It’s a paradigm shift from “did they learn?” to “did the business win?” This isn’t your standard academic fluff; it’s a pragmatic deep dive into learning analytics that turns training from an overhead expense into a strategic investment.
Prerequisites for Success
You don’t need to be a data scientist to get value here, but you should have a basic comfort level with industry-standard tools like Excel or Google Sheets. This course is best suited for those who are already in the trenches—think HR leads, project managers, or instructional designers who are tired of being asked, “But what was the ROI on that seminar?” A basic understanding of the ADDIE model is helpful, but the course does a great job of bridging the gap from beginner to advanced evaluation techniques regardless of your starting point.
Skills & Tools You’ll Master
This isn’t just a lecture series; it’s a toolkit for building job-ready skills. You’ll dive into the mechanics of regression analysis to see which variables actually move the needle and which are just noise. One of the most valuable segments for me was the survey design module—learning how to craft questions that extract uncomfortable truths rather than polite, useless praise. You’ll also get hands-on labs (metaphorically speaking, through practical exercises) where you’ll learn to set up control groups. Proving that an outcome happened *because* of your training—rather than in spite of it—is the “gold standard” of L&D, and this course shows you exactly how to execute that without needing a PhD.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
If you want to move into a Senior L&D Lead, People Analytics Manager, or Chief Learning Officer role, these skills are non-negotiable. Career growth in the modern enterprise requires more than just knowing how to host a webinar; it requires the ability to build a business case for a budget before it’s even questioned. Mastering learning ROI makes you indispensable. When you can walk into a boardroom and prove that for every dollar spent, the company gained three dollars in productivity, you’re no longer a “support function”—you’re a revenue driver.
Pros: Why This Course Hits Different
- Scientific Rigor: Mike avoids the “feel-good” traps of corporate training. Using control groups and regression analysis brings a level of scientific credibility to HR that is usually reserved for the engineering or finance departments.
- Commercial Savvy: The course teaches you how to evaluate external providers based on actual impact rather than just a flashy sales deck. This alone could save your company six figures in bad vendor contracts.
- Immediate Applicability: The focus on real-world projects means you can take the templates provided and apply them to your current Q3 initiatives the very next day. It’s certification prep for the real world.
- Global Perspective: Joining a community of 1.6 million students gives you a sense of scale. The challenges of L&D are universal, and the solutions provided here are battle-tested across 185 countries.
Cons: The Honest Truth
The only real drawback is that it’s not for the faint of heart or the mathematically allergic. If you are looking for a quick “check-the-box” certification that doesn’t require thinking, this isn’t it. The section on regression and ROI calculation requires you to actually pay attention and perhaps brush up on your basic statistics. It can be a bit dry in the middle, but if you’re serious about training effectiveness, the “boring” parts are actually where the most valuable career-ready skills are hidden.