It is easy to get excited about coaching or a training initiative without understanding the true impact.

How many times have you heard colleagues discuss a new training process or coaching resource?  And then get partway through the experience without understanding the impact on you or your organization.  Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to consider the potential Return on Investment (ROI) before you start?

Consider a coaching relationship.  When you or I establish a coach agreement we ask the leader to create goals.  Over the course of the next year we work towards achieving those goals and assess the progress at the conclusion of our time together.  Using the six levels described below you can see that we moved from Level 0 (scope, in my example) to Level 1 (reaction to the coaching process) to Level 2 (learning that occurred) to level 3 (applying the knowledge to the leader’s ministry).

There is a process to measure the ROI on training and coaching.  Most of the coaching and training done in organizations settle for Level 1 or Level 2 evaluation – a few take it to Level 3.  Here are the six levels:

  • Level 0: Inputs 
  • Level 1: Reaction 
  • Level 2: Learning 
  • Level 3: Application 
  • Level 4: Impact 
  • Level 5: Return on Investment (ROI)

Review the descriptions above and consider a coaching or training process you are leading.  Let’s say it is a leader development process that involves quarterly workshops with coaching in-between.  Whatever it is that you are currently working on (developing small group leaders), or anticipate in the near future – what level of measurement are you incorporating in your process.

I’ve discovered that leaders are eager to know the ROI on some of the training and coaching that they are engaged.  When they realize that it is possible to calculate and monetize the impact of their investment, it transforms the significance of the training/coaching because they are clear “why” they are making the investment.

Places where ROI is helpful:

  • Organization-wide leader development training
  • Coaching pastors, church planters, regional network leaders and movement leaders
  • Coach training for church planting, parent church coaches or disciple-making movements

A helpful book on ROI, entitled “Show Me the Money” provides a more complete explanation.  If you have questions, please e-mail InFocus for more information.

 

 

 

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