Many L&D teams talk about ‘outcomes-focused’ strategies, but few are delivering them. Harry Chapman-Walker shares about this gap between ambition and execution, which he calls the Activity Trap. There is a way out of L&D credibility risk, but only when L&D stops using activity metrics as evidence of business value.
For years, L&D has fought to prove its strategic value. And yet, when it comes to measuring impact, most teams continue to rely on the same familiar activity metrics: courses delivered, completions, engagement, satisfaction. These metrics are useful signals, but they fail to answer the fundamental questions executives really care about: what actually changed in the business? What value are we seeing from this investment?
The Activity Trap, I would argue, is now the single biggest credibility challenge L&D faces today
There is an understanding, of course, that learning should make a difference. But gut feel isn’t enough to secure budgets. L&D needs to provide proof, and as it stands, there’s still a fundamental gap between the learning that gets delivered and the impact executives can clearly see or measure. We’ve coined a phrase for the gap: The Activity Trap, I would argue, is now the single biggest credibility challenge L&D faces today.
Activity is not value
A new report from Kallidus and Fosway, Escaping the activity trap: Creating enduring value with L&D, puts the problem into perspective. It reveals that while half of learning professionals routinely gather data on platform usage and satisfaction surveys, only 29% always gather and report on business data and KPIs. Even more starkly, only 11% are consistently focused on skills growth, despite upskilling and reskilling being the top priority for 56% of organisations over the coming year.
This is the Activity Trap in action. There remains a disconnect at play between the delivery of learning to support business goals and measures that prove tangible impact. While this isn’t a new problem for L&D teams, or for lack of trying, regulatory pressure, skills gaps and productivity challenges are causing executives to push even harder for results.
Then there is AI to consider, which only serves to amplify the issue further. AI allows teams to deliver more courses, more content, more activity. But what does that matter if the activity still can’t demonstrate value?
The escape route
The first thing to note is that there is no silver bullet and change can’t happen overnight. However, L&D needs to start by demonstrating informed connections between the activity it delivers and the business outcome it will impact. Does it reduce compliance risk? Improve retention? Increase productivity? Accelerate sales performance?
A pathway from goal to outcome must be set, and only then can metrics be defined to measure success. Frameworks exist to plot this path away from The Activity Trap but, ultimately, data will be king. That means L&D needs to build stronger relationships outside of its own function.
Some of the most valuable data will sit outside L&D, in operations, HR, finance, sales, compliance or customer teams. A big part of achieving success will be understanding how that data is used, managed, and integrated into more strategic learning plans. The gap between activity and impact cannot be closed without it.
L&D is at an inflection point. It has the opportunity to deliver on its promise of being a value driver, but only if it escapes the Activity Trap, moving beyond activity metrics and focusing on outcomes such as mitigating risk, retaining talent, improving productivity and driving revenue. Ultimately, it is a problem of proof. L&D teams know the value of what they do, but value only counts if it can be accounted for.
Harry Chapman-Walker is CEO of Kallidus
