ROI Repository for Human Capital: Tools and Templates

 

Welcome to the Tools and Templates section of the Return on Investment (ROI) Repository for Human Capital. This group of tools and templates aims to improve your measurement and evaluation strategy by promoting consistency, saving time, and increasing the credibility of the evaluation process. This section includes five valuable resources.

Introduction of the ROI Methodology®, the most used evaluation system in the world for showing the value of investments in human capital, provides an overview to the methodology. The process is currently used by more than 6,000 organizations globally.

Setting Your Measurement and Evaluation Goals provides team members an opportunity to set goals and decide which programs to evaluate at each level.

The Alignment Conversation aligns human capital programs to the business, a task often perceived as challenging. This tool connects a program to the business measure initially and ensures that it is the right solution to deliver results. In addition, the tool shows how to have this discussion with stakeholders and sponsors to address these issues.

The Evaluation Planning Workbook outlines the next steps.

1. Program Selection Worksheet. Programs best suited for impact and ROI analysis are determined in this exercise. There are hundreds of human capital programs in major organizations completed each year. Deciding which one should be evaluated at each level is essential.
2. Data Collection Plan. Data collection is a critical step in the process as data will be collected for reaction, learning, application, and impact.
3. ROI Analysis Plan. The ROI Analysis Plan is a crucial tool for planning and analysis, including isolating program effects, converting data to money, capturing the costs, and calculating the ROI.
4. Communication Plan. Sharing results is essential and should be presented to different groups. The communication plan is a tool to help decide the audience, format, and timing.
5. ROI Project Plan. The project plan reflects all the steps in the process, from deciding to conduct an ROI analysis to communicating the results to target groups.

Presenting Results to Senior Management provides an example of how to conduct an executive briefing. Senior executives need to see how the evaluation was conducted, especially those unfamiliar with the ROI Methodology, and the study results. Examples are provided of a properly conducted executive briefing and a sample presentation to use as a guide.

We think you will find these tools and tips helpful, and they will save you time while helping to make your evaluation credible. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@roiinstitute.net.

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The challenge for many program leaders is to collect a variety of data along a chain of impact that shows the program’s value. The ROI Process model is at the heart of the ROI Methodology. The figure below displays the sequential steps that lead to data categorized by the five levels of outcome data using the design thinking concepts. This figure shows the ROI Methodology, a step-by-step process to design for, deliver, and measure the success of any type of HR or human-capital project, program, or initiative. This model is based on design thinking principles and follows a classic logic model. It has evolved and been refined over the past three decades. It is now the most used evaluation system in the world.

This system delivers five levels of outcomes—reaction to the program, learning what is necessary to make the program successful, application of what is needed to make the program successful, the impact of that application, and the return on investment—expressed as a benefit-cost ratio and as a percent. For impact measures, this system helps determine whether the impact is tangible (converted to money) or intangible (not converted to money because the conversion was too difficult or not credible). This process is user-friendly, reliable, valid, and meets the needs of top executives, including the chief financial officer (CFO). The following material is taken from the book, Value for Money: How to Show the Value for Money for All Types of Projects and Programs In Governments, Nongovernmental Institutions, Nonprofits, and Businesses (Wiley, 2020).

Introduction to the ROI Methodology provides details on each step of the model. A 32-page Application Guide is available to provide more information and tools for each step. 

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Deciding at which levels to evaluate a program or project is an important decision. With hundreds of human capital programs in any given organization, from talent acquisition to conducting team member exit interviews, the challenge is to decide which ones are assessed at the higher levels.

Setting Your Measurement and Evaluation Goals includes the Status of Measurement and Evaluation worksheet which allows users to set goals for evaluating their human capital programs by providing input in two columns: “Current Status” (what percent of programs are evaluated at that level now) and “Your Goal.”

For details that describe which program should be evaluated at each level, refer to the Project/Program Selection Criteria exercise in the Evaluation Planning Workbook.

 

 

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The Alignment Conversation tool is a framework used to align your project to the business. It provides questions you can use with sponsors and stakeholders to help ensure alignment between the ultimate payoff opportunity for the organization and a solution. In this document you will find:

1. A simple worksheet that you can use to take notes while having a conversation with sponsors and stakeholders. Once alignment is clear, set your objectives, position the program/project by designing, developing, implementing it based on the objectives, and evaluating accordingly.
2. A sample worksheet completed after a conversation with a plant manager concerned that his team could not manage a meeting.
3. An “if-then” table, describing what you ask given what you know.
4. A sample business case for a solution after the alignment analysis. This sample demonstrates the flow of the logic rather than the details of the case.
5. The “Great Idea” conversation, a conversation you can have when the sponsor or stakeholder brings the solution to you.

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The Evaluation Planning Workbook includes tools to help you plan evaluation projects, particularly those that require evaluation to impact and ROI. In this workbook, you will find five resources.

• Program Selection Worksheet
• Alignment Worksheet
• Data Collection Plan
• ROI Analysis Plan
• Communication Plan
• Project Plan

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Presenting Results to Senior Management can be challenging. The goal is to convince this skeptical and critical group that positive results have been achieved (assuming they have) in a reasonable timeframe, addressing the salient points and ensuring the managers understand the process. Two potential reactions can create problems. First, if the results are impressive, having the managers accept the data may be difficult. Second, if the data are negative, ensuring that managers don’t overreact to the results and look for someone to blame is important. Several guidelines can help ensure that this process is planned and executed properly.

The Joan Kravitz Story

Joan Kravitz was nervous as she faced an audience of executives. She has previously made presentations to her leadership team, she has never had to defend an ROI study. Scanning the room, Joan sees the senior executives interested in her project and, more importantly, the project’s success. She had a clear agenda, was confident that she knew the material, and practiced this briefing with her team, who gave her candid feedback.

Joan’s project is an ROI study on a prestigious business school’s costly executive leadership development program. It had been conducted for leaders in the company for five years. Although the program was supported by executives, pushing it to record funding levels, top executives had offered an interesting challenge and request. They wanted to see the impact of this program on the organization; and, if possible, the financial ROI. Fortunately, Joan received this request in enough time to implement changes into the program that kept it focused on results and have the participants committed to showing the value of their individual and team projects. She had some very interesting and intriguing data. Yes, there are some bumps along the way, but there is still a good story to tell, and she was very proud of it.

Read The Joan Kravitz Story.

Sample Presentation

Fashion Stores Incorporated* is an example of a presentation to deliver the results of a case study to senior management. Presenter notes are included to detail the content. We encourage you to use this as a template for your meeting.

*Authored by Marcela Leon, ROI Institute Partner, Peru