In 2026, learning just needs better evidence.
Does your learning report still lead with completion metrics? If you’re nodding, this is the moment it all changes. And right on time because, increasingly, with a world obsessed with data and efficiency, executives want to fund outcomes, not activity.
We recently sat down with Leslie Kelley, Absorb Learning Software’s Chief Growth Officer, to talk about the messy, high-stakes reality of proving learning ROI in 2026. She didn’t hold back! “Learning is a business-wide necessity. CEOs and CFOs are treating workforce capability like a profitability lever.”
Of course, AI plays a role in rewriting the acceleration. The rise of AI has forced companies to reexamine every role, workflow, and skill in their organization. And that’s why learning has become a core business strategy and not just a departmental activity.
Despite the fact we’re in an everything-changing-bonkers-fast era, the macro‑trend for learning at work is brutal: Formal learning hours dropped to 13.7 per employee in 2024 while executive visibility and investment intensity stayed high. So leadership is watching and waiting for proof of learning ROI.
When we asked Kelley what separates high-impact learning teams from everyone else, she told us it’s that they stop worshiping completion metrics.
So...what should we be obsessed with?
How high-impact teams track signals, not scores to prove learning ROI
High‑impact teams track signals, not scores because signals show whether your organization is getting smarter, not just busy with the busy work of completion numbers.
Kelley notes that the “pace of change is so rapid—especially with generative AI—that every role in the company is being reexamined.”
Signal 1 — Relevance: Are people learning what matters enough to change work?
Relevance is your earliest ROI truth serum, Kelley told us. If it doesn’t match the job, it won't change the work, no matter how polished the course. With AI shaping job tasks, leaders need proof that learning maps directly to the new skill demands AI is creating.
How to measure relevance in L&D
- Voluntary engagement (not forced clicks)
- Drop‑off analysis to find friction and fix it
- Manager micro‑feedback (“Did this help solve a real problem?”)
Why relevance is ROI‑critical
No relevance → no retention → no replication → no impact.
Consider this stat: Collaborative learning boosts engagement ~30%, and 91% of teams learn new skills more effectively together—social relevance drives stickiness.
Check out these success strategies to boost employee and customer engagement.
Signal 2 — Retention: Do people remember training and learning long enough to use it?
Retention is durability. It’s the proof that knowledge made it from the module into the mind and memory. As AI automates low-value tasks, retention increasingly hinges on whether employees feel as if they’re gaining skills for the new high-value work.
“Most executives believe their company will look very different in three years,” Kelley said. “That uncertainty is why they want proof that people can adapt.” Retention isn’t a feeling. It’s a number.
How to measure retention in L&D
- Pre/post tests + reinforcement at 30/60/90 days
- Fewer repeat mistakes, fewer escalations
- Reduced dependence on hidden knowledge
Why retention is ROI‑critical
Retention predicts transfer and transfer predicts impact. Most orgs skip this and then wonder why performance didn’t move.
Consider this stat: According to Forbes, only 4% of organizations measure ROI and 8% measure impact, while evaluations are often limited to satisfaction—which says nothing about retention.
Signal 3 — Replication: Are people applying the skill consistently in real work?
Replication is when learning becomes behavior, and behavior becomes capability. AI can map skills instantly, but it can’t make people use them.
As Brian Paige, Director of Learning and Development, Aaron’s (Return on Intelligence Podcast) puts it, “We’re not interested in whether or not you take the course. We’re interested in whether or not you can do what those learning objectives are teaching you to do.”
How to measure replication
Organizations that operationalize replication don’t assume learning stuck. They verify it.
Verification can look like:
- Observed behavior changes (peer + manager)
- Decision‑quality reviews (short, frequent, in‑flow)
- Evidence of new patterns (“We now do X before Y”)
Why replication is ROI‑critical
If behavior doesn’t change, the business doesn’t change. Replication is the moment learning turns into ROI.
Stat to consider: eLearning Industry reports that roughly 90% of L&D teams struggle to show business value because they measure activities over impact. Instead, make sure you’re moving your metrics to behavior and outcomes.
Signal 4 — Readiness: How fast can someone go from “new” to “independent”?
Another way to say readiness is ‘time‑to‑competence.’ And that equals time‑to‑value. AI shortens strategy cycles so your time to competence must shrink with it. Readiness equals revenue.
How to measure time-to-value
- Days/weeks to independent work
- Escalations and corrections needed
- Ramp velocity by cohort or role
Why readiness is ROI‑critical
Faster readiness → faster productivity → lower supervision cost → earlier revenue impact. (It’s solid business math, not loose-y-goose-y learning lore.)
Stat to consider: Time to competence is a top ROI metric because it’s the cleanest way to show learning compresses time to performance.
Bonus: Onboarding remains one of the most common training areas tracked across organizations. Check out your blueprint for creating structured, strategic onboarding that translates to better readiness signals.
Signal 5 — Mobility: Does learning help people move into bigger, better, more valuable roles?
Mobility shows whether learning is unlocking opportunity inside the company versus nudging people to grow somewhere else.
Kelley notes that companies can’t “buy skills off the market” anymore. Rather, they have to grow them internally. Mobility becomes the signal that your internal skill engine is working.
How to measure mobility in your organization
- Internal promotions and lateral moves tied to skill attainment
- Skills‑based nominations for projects
- Completion of career paths tied to role transitions
Why mobility is ROI‑critical
Mobility is cost avoidance via retention and internal skills transfer. Cost avoidance is ROI, without L&D buying a single extra course.
Stat to consider: Organizations with mature career‑driven learning (LinkedIn’s “career development champions”) report 100% positive business results and are better positioned on profitability, talent attraction/retention, and even AI adoption (51% vs. 36%).
Signal 6 — Total performance lift: What value is learning generating across the business? (Money earned, money saved, risk reduced, throughput increased?)
Your total performance lift is the composite: productivity gains, cost avoidance, performance deltas, and fewer costly errors. It’s the sum of every business-level improvement that your learning program touches, visible, and invisible.
Kelley stresses that learning affects revenue beyond internal teams: customer education, partner enablement, and supplier training all drive product adoption, brand consistency, and retention. These are measurable business outcomes.
How to measure total performance:
- ROI % (benefits − costs ÷ costs), plus avoided costs (turnover, rework, fines)
- Pre/post productivity deltas, quality and cycle‑time improvements
- Revenue influence (when relevant)
Why total performance is ROI‑critical
This is your ‘show me the money’ moment, where L&D stops being a cost center and reads as a capability engine.
For sure, giving the hard numbers are simple: fewer defects and more output. But your real lift comes from a lot of factors: morale, retention, and aligned leadership.
How the 6 ROI signals connect: Give leadership receipts!
Your chain of proof is a flow that looks like this:
Relevance → Retention → Replication → Readiness → Mobility → Total performance lift
It’s a causal ladder. When you can show leaders how one signal ladders to the next, skepticism will turn to support.
Stats to consider: High‑performing teams reframe L&D from activity metrics to business value KPIs. It’s messy, but it’s where influence lives.
And 36% of orgs already qualify as “career development champions”—measuring skills delivered and internal mobility to prove impact.
How to measure these signals
Your ROI ultra simple playbook consists of 3 steps:
1.Start with the business question
What must improve—quality, speed, revenue, and retention? Pick the KPI first.
2. Pick the signal(s) that answer that question
Not everything needs all six signals. Choose the ROI signals that defang executives doubt the fastest and show them off!
3. Prove the delta
Establish a baseline and a comparison cohort. Show the before/after in one slide, three numbers, one narrative.
Quick checklist: Are you measuring strong ROI signals or soggy ROI scores?
Ask if...
- Our metrics predict business outcomes, not just track activity
- We measure behavior change, not just attendance
- We test for durability at 30/60/90 days
- We track readiness against productivity
- We can tell a one‑slide ROI story per program
- Our learning programs show the reality that skills are rapidly changing and our employees are, too
What leaders commonly ask about ROI—and how to answer
Leslie Kelley works with revenue leaders daily and sees the same ROI patterns repeat. We wanted to know more about the questions executives ask regarding learning ROI. Not the theoretical fluff, but the real questions that show up in boardrooms and budget meetings.
She says executes are primarily watching three signals:
- Productivity improvements — the clearest bottom-line indicator.
- Employee retention — preventing expensive rehire cycles.
- Revenue influence — especially in sales, customer-facing teams, and partner ecosystems.
Your leader's question | Your confident answer |
|---|---|
“What’s the ROI?” | Here’s the performance delta vs. baseline. |
“Is behavior actually changing?” | Here’s the replication evidence. |
“How fast do new hires ramp?” | Time‑to‑competence dropped by X%. |
“Are we future‑ready?” | 39% of core skills will change; here’s our plan. |
Your vanity metrics graveyard
Completions ≠ competence
Hours logged ≠ relevance
Smile sheets ≠ retention
Attendance ≠ application
Course launches ≠ capability
Track signals instead of scores to build capability, not completion
Kelley argues that learning must be “owned by the entire business.” Capability compounds when everyone owns it. And when your metrics prove it.
Skills are shifting fast, and leaders expect evidence. Use your signals to build your 2026 strategy. And don’t forget these core ideas:
- Make learning everyone’s job.
- Make capability your operating system.
- Make progress impossible to ignore.
The biggest stat to consider: World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 says employers expect ~39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030.
Kelley left us with a thought that really sticks. “Not consumption. Capability is what keeps the whole place moving and learning just helps people get there.”
Are you growing capability?
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