In the fast-paced world of learning and development (L&D), time slips away. The classic parenting phrase, “The days are long, but the years are short,” also applies to training professionals. As L&D leaders, you find yourself at the halfway point of the year after six months of long days, intense projects and relentless deadlines. However, amidst the whirlwind of your efforts, now is the perfect moment to seize an opportunity — to pause, reflect and measure the impact of your accomplishments.

Conducting a mid-year impact assessment is not just a routine exercise — it’s a powerful tool to unlock valuable insights that can shape the success of your L&D initiatives moving forward. By delving into data, capturing stories and checking in with stakeholders, you will better understand what works and what needs to be changed. This assessment offers an opportunity to showcase the value you bring to your organization and solidify your position as a strategic partner in driving the business forward. Take advantage of this chance to advance your professional growth and strategic influence.

Here’s a step-by-step playbook for conducting a mid-year impact assessment.

1. Review data.

As training professionals, we sometimes collect so much data that it’s overwhelming, and we don’t look at it again. Pull out the last six months’ data from surveys, quizzes, class reviews and your learning management system (LMS). If you’re not good at data analytics, grab someone from finance who’s a spreadsheet wizard and ask them to help you create some data visualizations.

• What trends do you see in the data?
• What outliers do you see in the data? Look at those data points and understand what happened.
• What story does the data tell?

2. Evaluate progress.

After you’ve compiled your data, it’s time to review the goals, plans and key performance indicators (KPIs) you set at the beginning of the year. You put much effort and planning into setting those goals, and they weren’t created to sit in a presentation, never to be looked at again. Those goals and plans are your guiding light and measure of progress.

• Are you on pace to meet your goals by the end of the year?
• Which goals need extra effort in the second half of the year?
• What caused you to get off track? Will those same dynamics be present for the rest of the year? How can you better adapt and prepare?
• For goals ahead of pace, what would a stretch goal be?

3. Capture stories.

Data alone doesn’t measure impact — you need to identify the behaviors and stories that result from your L&D efforts. A compelling story can communicate an idea or prove the impact of your work in a way that multiple pages of graphs never will. While the most effective measurement methods capture stories, many evaluation methods and LMS systems only capture qualitative data. Here are three ways to sample your participants’ experiences:

• Create a survey with questions like, “Describe one behavior you have changed because of XYZ training?” and “How did XYZ training impact you personally or professionally?” The purpose is to have open-ended “why” and “how” questions.
• Conduct short (10-15 minute) interviews with your training participants. Usually, the best candidates to interview are people who participate frequently, those who respond with outlier ratings (high or low) or those you’ve heard stories about in previous years.
•  Ask your facilitators. Those closest to the training will know the most about participants’ experiences. Based on what your facilitators share, go directly to the participants to dig deeper.

4. Check in with stakeholders.

Who are the key stakeholders that fund and support your training efforts? Collect their feedback, perceptions and opinions on how L&D initiatives are going this year. What they share will inform how you complete the rest of your assessment.

• Do they see the benefit of their L&D investments?
• Do they have any concerns?
• Are there any ideas about what to do differently moving forward?
• What business and market changes are expected in the coming months? How should you strategically adapt your L&D initiatives?

5. Communicate assessment results.

Communicating your conclusions is the most critical step in your mid-year impact assessment. Remember that one of your goals as a training professional is to have a voice and input into your organization’s strategic direction. Proving training impact and return on your organization’s L&D investment is how you get a seat at the table. It also shows that you adapt to business demands.

Your mid-year impact assessment should communicate three key findings:

• Impact: Use the four levels from the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model to bucket and quantify this data. The more Level 3 and 4 results you can share, the better! Remember to include stories you collected and how you performed based on your leaders’ expectations at the beginning of the year.
• Lessons learned: As you review your training program’s impact, share the lessons you learned, what worked, what didn’t and how you will do things differently for the rest of the year.
• Updated six-month plan: What does the rest of the year look like? What milestones, KPIs and stretch goals have you set for your team? Make sure to include how your key stakeholders can support and amplify your efforts.

L&D leaders can position themselves as strategic partners in the organization by conducting a mid-year impact assessment and effectively communicating the results. Proving the value and return on investment of L&D efforts can secure you a seat at the table. This can foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration for the future. Embracing this opportunity ensures that even though the year is half over, the rest of this year will be impactful and transformative.