Business Intelligence Guide

Your approach to business intelligence should include determining the strategic impact of learning and development with your most valuable commodity — your employees.

As the torchbearer of your organization's learning journey, you understand the incredible power that knowledge holds – which is precisely why you've invested in your organization's growth through learning and development.

But between all the reports, training metrics, and learning data, it’s no secret that Learning and Development (L&D) professionals are inundated with information. So how do you make sense of it all?

How can you extract meaningful insights and turn this abundance of data into actionable knowledge that drives tangible results?

Well, that’s where business intelligence (BI) comes in.

In a nutshell, business intelligence refers to collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data to gain valuable insights into business operations.

By utilizing BI tools and techniques, companies can aggregate vast amounts of raw organizational data to unlock valuable data insights, identify trends, and drive strategic decision-making – ultimately leading to enhanced training effectiveness, improved operational efficiency, and better business outcomes.

Of course, the real question is: What do you do with all the data you collect?

Enter your BI dashboard.

What does a BI dashboard look like?

A BI dashboard is a user-friendly interface that consolidates and presents key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and trends in a centralized manner. These dashboards serve as a centralized hub, consolidating data from various sources and presenting it in an intuitive and user-friendly format. With a BI dashboard, L&D professionals can access real-time data to monitor training progress, gain valuable insights into learner engagement, performance, and knowledge or skill gaps, measure training effectiveness, and align their initiatives with organizational objectives.

When expressing BI data, the most intuitive BI dashboards offer diverse visualization options that align with your specific needs and objectives.

Interactive Charts and Graphs

Bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, and scatter plots represent data in a visually appealing and informative manner, allowing for quick comprehension of trends, comparisons, and distributions.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs deliver an at-a-glance performance assessment using concise and focused metrics. They often present performance levels through numerical values, progress bars, or simple indicators, such as traffic light colors (red, yellow, green).

Heat Maps

Heat maps represent data density or intensity using color gradients. They are beneficial for identifying patterns, trends, or anomalies across large datasets. Heat maps can be employed to visualize learner engagement, knowledge gaps, or performance across different areas.

Geospatial Visualizations

Maps and geospatial visualizations can showcase training coverage, regional performance variations, or learner distribution. By leveraging geospatial visualizations, you can gain valuable insights into geographical trends, identify regional disparities, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your L&D strategies.

Timelines and Trends

Visualizing data over time through timelines or trend graphs allows for identifying patterns, seasonality, and long-term progress, enabling you to assess the impact of training initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement.

Drill-Down Functionality

Drill-down functionality allows users to explore specific areas of interest or access granular data. This interactive feature enhances the ability to investigate underlying factors contributing to trends or outliers.

The choice of visualization techniques should align with the nature of the data and the story it aims to convey. Effective BI dashboards balance aesthetics and clarity, ensuring users can easily interpret and extract insights from the presented data.

Want to build your own BI dashboard?

If you have L&D data, watch our tutorial on how to build your training analytics dashboard using Power BI in as little as 15 minutes!

Do you need to be a data scientist to use BI?

It may seem daunting to start with BI – particularly given the large amount of organizational data you’ll collect.

However, you don't need to be a data scientist to leverage the power of BI.

While some BI tools may have complex features and require specialized knowledge, other BI platforms are user-friendly and accessible to regular business users. Thanks to intuitive interfaces and simplified workflows, L&D professionals can effortlessly explore data, create insightful visualizations, and gain meaningful insights to drive their L&D initiatives forward without requiring extensive technical skills.

Why should you consider BI?

In the sea of data, where reports, exports, and metrics from various learning systems flood desks, Learning and Development (L&D) professionals face a daunting challenge: deriving actionable insights from this data.

BI enables organizations to go beyond merely presenting raw data; it tells a compelling story about what the data is revealing.

Can BI help improve your organization’s metrics and KPIs?

L&D professionals deliver training programs with specific objectives, such as improving employee performance, increasing productivity, or enhancing customer satisfaction.

BI provides the means to measure and track the impact of training initiatives on critical metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). It also helps organizations understand whether their training efforts positively influence these essential business outcomes.

Here are three ways BI can help improve your organization's metrics and key performance indicators.

By utilizing BI for centralized data consolidation, correlation analysis, and predictive analytics, you can unlock the full potential of your data and drive meaningful improvements in your organization's metrics and KPIs.

Can BI help prove ROI on your training investments?

Training programs often receive scrutiny in challenging times, such as budget constraints or economic disruptions.

Without the ability to provide clear evidence of the value generated by their training programs, they may face missed opportunities for growth, the risk of budget cuts, or worse… complete program cuts.

The good news is that L&D teams that can demonstrate the impact of their initiatives on the business and provide evidence of return on investment (ROI) are more likely to maintain their training budgets – they may even be able to increase them.

BI is crucial in quantifying the value of training investments and showcasing the tangible benefits to stakeholders.

Let’s break down some BI tools and services and explore how they can help your L&D team demonstrate visible ROI.

Ultimately, comprehensive BI services facilitate the demonstration of ROI on training investments by providing data-driven evaluation, cost analysis, performance measurement, alignment with business goals, visual reporting, and long-term tracking.

By leveraging these capabilities, organizations can effectively quantify the benefits of their training programs, showcase the value generated, and make informed decisions regarding future training investments.

Want to build your own BI dashboard?

If you have L&D data, watch our tutorial on how to build your training analytics dashboard using Power BI in as little as 15 minutes!

Can BI help to augment your existing reporting?

Many organizations generate significant reporting data, but their learning systems aren’t equipped to offer data visualizations or actionable insights.

BI tools bridge this gap by offering advanced visualization capabilities, data exploration functionalities, and customizable dashboards – empowering L&D teams to effectively communicate their data, engage stakeholders, and make informed decisions based on comprehensive and visually appealing reports.

With their advanced capabilities, BI tools can augment existing reporting practices in several ways.

From advanced visualization and data exploration to customizable dashboards, real-time reporting, and automation, the right BI tools and services can help your organization elevate its reporting capabilities, better understand training data, and ultimately improve your L&D team’s reporting practices.

Are you ready to unlock the power of BI for your L&D initiatives? Fantastic!

We’ll guide you through the essential steps to get started with BI for L&D. From understanding your goals and identifying key metrics to selecting the right BI tools and implementing a robust data strategy – we are here to support you with every step.

So, let's dive in and discover how you can leverage BI to revolutionize your L&D practices and achieve better business outcomes.

Where can you get your data from?

When it comes to getting started with BI, it’s not just about accessing data. It’s about accessing the right kind of data. So where do you get that data from?

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  ‍Incorporating CRM data allows you to analyze customer interactions, sales data, and customer feedback. This data helps you understand customer needs, align training programs accordingly, and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
  Integrating HRIS data provides access to employee information, performance records, and training histories. With this rich dataset, organizations can identify skill gaps, track employee progress, and personalize learning journeys, improving overall performance.
• Learning Management System (LMS)
  LMS data encompasses course enrollments, completion rates, assessment scores, and learner progress. By analyzing LMS data, L&D teams can evaluate training programs' effectiveness, identify improvement areas, and optimize learning outcomes.
• Learning Experience Platform (LXP)
  LXP data includes learner engagement, content consumption patterns, and knowledge acquisition metrics. Analyzing LXP data helps L&D teams understand learner preferences, enhance learning experiences, and drive higher engagement and knowledge retention.
• Knowledge Reinforcement/Retention Platforms
  The data collected from knowledge retention platforms offer valuable insights into knowledge usage, knowledge gaps, and the impact of knowledge-sharing initiatives. Leveraging this data can help organizations optimize knowledge transfer, enhance employee performance, and cultivate a culture of continuous learning.

Our BI services integrate with various systems to capture and analyze essential data points.

By integrating CRM, HRIS, LMS, LXP, and knowledge retention platforms, we offer a comprehensive data integration solution for your L&D initiatives – ultimately enabling you to tap into the power of diverse data sources, allowing you to make informed decisions, optimize training programs, and drive measurable results for your organization.

How can you acquire relevant data?

Accessing data from your information system involves more than knowing where to look.

The real challenge lies in acquiring the data and making it accessible for analysis.

Luckily, many BI tools allow seamless integration with these platforms, offering efficient data acquisition methods.

• Periodic Imports
  ‍Periodic imports allow L&D teams to schedule regular imports to extract relevant training data, learner activity, performance records, and more. This automated process simplifies the scheduling and execution of data imports, ensuring you always have a consistent and up-to-date dataset for analysis and reporting. Periodic imports save you valuable time and effort and provide the most accurate and reliable insights to drive your L&D strategies forward.
• Automatic Data Syncs
  ‍By integrating your LMS and other systems, automated data syncs ensure that your BI platform continuously updates with real-time information. The BI integration eliminates manual data transfers and provides instant access to the latest data, enabling timely analysis and decision-making.

Want to build your own BI dashboard?

If you have L&D data, watch our tutorial on how to build your training analytics dashboard using Power BI in as little as 15 minutes!

What software can you use to build BI dashboards?

Several software options are available for building robust and visually appealing BI dashboards. Two popular business intelligence software choices are Power BI and Tableau.

Power BI

Developed by Microsoft, Power BI is a robust business intelligence platform that offers a wide range of data visualization and analysis capabilities. With its intuitive interface and drag-and-drop functionality, Power BI allows users to easily connect to various data sources, create interactive dashboards, and generate insightful reports. It supports advanced analytics, data modeling, and collaboration features, making it a versatile tool for L&D professionals.

Tableau

Developed by SalesForce, Tableau is another leading data visualization software that enables users to transform complex datasets into interactive and visually engaging dashboards. It offers a user-friendly interface and powerful data exploration capabilities, allowing users to blend data from multiple sources, create dynamic visualizations, and uncover meaningful insights. Tableau also provides features for advanced calculations, statistical analysis, and sharing dashboards with stakeholders.

Other BI tools

In addition to Power BI and Tableau, there are other software options available for building BI dashboards, including

• Qlik Sense
• Domo
• Looker
• Sisense

These tools offer similar functionalities like data connectivity, visualization, interactive dashboards, and analysis capabilities. They provide L&D professionals with the tools and functionalities necessary to access, analyze, and present training data effectively, ultimately driving informed decision-making and improving L&D outcomes.

When selecting the right software for your organization, it is crucial to consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, and the specific needs of your L&D initiatives.

What does BI software cost?

The cost of BI software can vary significantly depending on several factors, including the software provider, specific features and functionalities, deployment model (on-premises or cloud-based), number of users, and level of support required.

Some BI software providers offer different pricing tiers or packages to cater to the needs of various organizations, while others may provide custom pricing based on specific requirements. Additionally, licensing models can differ, such as per user, per server, or computing capacity.

The estimated costs of Microsoft Power BI, for example.

It's important to note that BI software costs may include upfront licensing, implementation, and training fees, as well as ongoing maintenance and support fees.

How can I share the results with other stakeholders?

Now you must share your findings with your leadership team and key stakeholders.

With the right tools and techniques, you can efficiently distribute and communicate the insights gained from your dashboard. Here are some practical methods for sharing your BI dashboard.

By selecting the most suitable sharing method based on the nature of the data insights and the preferences of your stakeholders, you can effectively communicate the findings derived from your BI dashboard and facilitate informed decision-making across your organization.

Transforming BI insights into actionable items requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. Consider the following strategies as you navigate this process.

Provide stakeholders with compelling visualizations

With intuitive and customizable BI dashboard features, you can create visually stunning visualizations that captivate your stakeholders. Using charts, graphs, and infographics, you can effectively communicate key findings and facilitate better stakeholder understanding. Moreover, the interactive and dynamic nature of the dashboards ensures that stakeholders can easily explore and interpret the data, empowering them to make informed decisions based on the insights presented.

Test for correlations

Correlation analysis is a valuable tool for linking training outcomes to real-world results on different metrics and KPIs. While it cannot prove causation, it does help identify relationships between variables. When one value goes up or down, the other tends to exhibit a similar trend.

Testing correlation analysis is essential to understanding how training impacts various outcomes.

Correlations can be categorized into three types:

• Strong correlation: When two values have a high level of association, that is a strong correlation. If one value increases, the other usually increases as well, and if one value decreases, the other tends to decrease too.
• Weak correlation: When there is a low level of association between two variables. The relationship between them isn’t very consistent, and changes in one variable do not strongly influence the other.
• Inverse correlation: When there is a negative relationship between two variables. As one value increases, the other decreases, and vice versa.

By examining correlations, you can uncover hidden patterns and connections that drive actionable insights for your training initiatives. It allows you to determine if there is a relationship between training results and real-world performance.

Want to build your own BI dashboard?

If you have L&D data, watch our tutorial on how to build your training analytics dashboard using Power BI in as little as 15 minutes!

Sales training

Onboarding training

Safety training

Correlations To Look For

What Does The Correlation Reveal

Review safety training completion rates versus accident/incident rates to assess safety protocols and training programs

A strong negative correlation indicates that higher completion rates lead to lower accident or incident rates, highlighting the importance of well-trained employees in promoting a safe work environment.

This analysis identifies gaps in safety training, enabling improvements in clarity, relevance, and delivery methods to reduce workplace incidents.

Customer service product knowledge

Find hidden knowledge gaps

What kind of consultant options are available and what is their cost?

Whether you're taking your first steps or looking to elevate your existing learning data strategy, when starting your BI project with a consultant, the cost is one of the most significant factors to consider.

Determining the specific pricing for BI consulting services can vary depending on several factors, including the scope of the project, the complexity of data analysis required, the duration of the engagement, and the consultant's expertise. It's important to note that pricing models can differ among different consultancies, and they may offer various options to suit your organization's needs.

Here are a few standard pricing models for BI consultant services:

It's important to note that the pricing ranges provided are general estimates, and the actual cost will depend on factors such as the size of your organization, the complexity of data sources, customization requirements, and the duration of the engagement. You should discuss with BI consultants directly to get accurate pricing information based on your specific needs.

What should you expect when working with a BI consultant for your L&D initiatives?

Having delved into BI, assessed its potential for improving your training and development initiatives, and explored the initial steps required to implement it in your L&D practices, it's time to take your data-driven journey to the next level.

But what does the next step look like?

As you navigate the world of data analytics, you may consider embarking on your BI journey independently. You may also consider partnering with a general BI consultant.

However, working with a consultant specializing in BI for learning and development is crucial to truly harness the power of data and amplify the impact of your L&D initiatives.

Partnering with a specialized BI consultant can provide invaluable advantages, including

• Deep understanding of the L&D landscape
  A specialized BI consultant for L&D brings a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the learning and development landscape. They are well-versed in the specific requirements, best practices, and methodologies that drive effective training programs. By focusing their expertise on L&D, they can provide tailored solutions that directly address your organization's learning needs and goals.
• Insights customized for L&D
  Unlike general BI consultants, a specialized consultant for L&D possesses in-depth knowledge of the key metrics, performance indicators, and benchmarks relevant to training and development. They understand the nuances of measuring training effectiveness, learner engagement, and knowledge retention. By customizing their analytics approach to L&D, they can generate highly relevant, actionable insights that align with your L&D objectives.
• Advanced L&D-Specific Tools
  BI consultants specializing in L&D leverage advanced tools and technologies designed specifically for learning analytics. These tools handle the unique challenges of L&D data, such as tracking learner progress, assessing course effectiveness, and measuring learning outcomes. By utilizing these specialized tools, they can extract deeper insights, visualize data in a meaningful way, and empower you to make informed decisions that enhance the impact of your training programs.

While a general BI consultant may offer a range of services, partnering with a specialized BI consultant for L&D ensures that you receive tailored solutions, deep insights, and a comprehensive understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities within the learning and development space. Their expertise, specialized tools, and proven track record in L&D analytics empower you to optimize your training initiatives, enhance learning outcomes, drive tangible business outcomes, and help you stay ahead in today's data-driven world.

Want to build your own BI dashboard?

If you have L&D data, watch our tutorial on how to build your training analytics dashboard using Power BI in as little as 15 minutes!

How to evaluate a potential BI consultant

As you research and evaluate the many BI consultants available, you may wonder, “How can I narrow down a shortlist of candidates?” 

So, here are seven key considerations to help you choose the right BI consultant for your organization.

1. Are they familiar with L&D practices and challenges?
   A potential consultant should be familiar with the specific needs and goals of L&D professionals and possess the expertise to align data analysis with L&D strategies. Look for a consultant with a strong background in L&D who understands the unique metrics and indicators that matter in training programs and can provide insights relevant to your industry.
2. Is data Interpretation easy and accessible for non-data scientists?
   BI consultants should be able to translate complex data analysis into meaningful insights that non-data scientists can understand. They should be skilled at presenting information clearly and concisely, using visualizations and narratives that are accessible and easily digestible. That way, stakeholders, including L&D professionals that don’t have a technical background, can make sense of the findings and apply them to their decision-making processes.
3. What kind of experience does the consultant have?
   Consider the consultant's track record and experience in BI and data analytics. Look for case studies, testimonials, and client references highlighting their successful engagements and outcomes. Consultants with a proven track record demonstrate their ability to deliver high-quality results and indicate their expertise in working with different industries and business challenges.
4. Does the consultant offer flexible and customizable solutions?
   Each organization has unique requirements and objectives when it comes to BI projects. Assessing whether the consultant can provide customized solutions tailored to your needs is vital. They should be flexible in adapting their approach, methodologies, and tools to align with your organizational goals and existing infrastructure.
5. How communicative is the consultant?
   Effective communication is vital for a successful partnership, ensuring your needs and expectations are understood and met. Consider how responsive and accessible the consultant is and whether they foster a collaborative relationship with their clients. Look for consultants that prioritize regular communication, provide progress updates, and actively involve you in decision-making.
6. Do they stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and methodologies in the BI field?
   Assess the consultant's technical expertise and the tools they utilize for data analysis and visualization. Consider whether they have experience working with different BI platforms and can leverage the right tools to extract actionable insights from your data.
7. What kind of support and post-project services do they offer?
   Successful implementation of a BI project requires ongoing support, training, and guidance. Evaluate whether the consultant offers training sessions, documentation, and resources to help your team maximize the value of the insights generated. Additionally, inquire about their availability for future consultations and support as your organization's needs evolve.

By considering these key factors when evaluating a consultant, you can make an informed decision and choose a partner that aligns with your L&D goals and can effectively support your BI project.

At Neovation, we understand the challenges of managing a BI project and extracting meaningful insights from your data. That's why we offer a dedicated team of experts through our BI Experts. Whether you require support for a specific period or an ongoing partnership, we're here to ensure the success of your BI initiatives.

Meet Roberto, part of Neovation’s Administrative group – his experience as an Operations Analyst will help you uncover the meaning to your data-driven story with business intelligence services and consulting.

Similar to being a fractional member of your team, our Neovation BI Experts provide you with the specialized skills and knowledge required to optimize your BI platform. Here are some ways we can assist you.

Guided Training and Coaching

Our experienced coaches can guide you through your BI project, leveraging the strengths of your platform while sharing expert tips and best practices.

Temporary Team Augmentation

If you have a missing team member due to illness, parental leave, or other circumstances, we can provide short or long-term replacements to ensure a smooth workflow.

Data Integration and Transformation

We can help you integrate and transform data from various sources such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), HR databases, sales data, performance management tools, etc. Ensure data is clean, standardized, and ready for analysis in Power BI.

Power BI Implementation

Our BI experts can assist your organization in implementing Power BI for your L&D department. This includes configuring data sources, designing data models, and setting up Power BI dashboards and reports.

Power BI Dashboard Development

We can support your organization by designing customized Power BI dashboards tailored to your L&D department. We can create interactive visualizations that provide insights into learning activities, learner engagement, completion rates, and other relevant metrics.

Report Automation

Neovation data analysts can automate generating and distributing your organization’s L&D reports using Power BI. Set up scheduled data refreshes, report generation, and distribution workflows to ensure your L&D professionals can access up-to-date information.

Data Modeling and Analysis

Our team can assist you with building robust data models in Power BI that capture relevant L&D metrics and KPIs. Perform data analysis and create calculated measures to gain insights into learning outcomes, skills development, and training effectiveness.

Interactive Self-Service Analytics

For organizations with data analysis capabilities and skills, our BI experts can enable self-service analytics for L&D stakeholders by developing user-friendly Power BI reports and dashboards. These tools empower L&D professionals to explore data, build reports on demand, create ad-hoc visualizations, and derive actionable insights without relying on technical support.

Power BI Training and Workshops

Our BI experts provide training programs and workshops to upskill your organization’s L&D professionals in data analysis tools like Power BI. We can cover topics such as data modeling, report creation, data visualization best practices, and advanced Power BI features.

Data Governance and Security

Strong security policies? Our BI experts can assist your organization in establishing data governance frameworks and security measures specific to Power BI. Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, define access controls, and implement data security protocols.

Performance Tracking and Evaluation

Utilize Power BI to track and evaluate the performance of learning programs, assess learner progress, and measure the impact of training initiatives. Provide visualizations and reports that enable L&D professionals to make data-driven decisions.

Power BI Consulting and Support

Need to manage your analytics in-house? We offer ongoing consulting and support services for your Power BI users in the L&D department. We can assist with troubleshooting, report optimization, performance tuning, and answering technical queries.

Data Visualization and Storytelling

Let our BI experts help your L&D professionals to communicate insights effectively through data storytelling and visualization techniques in Power BI and create compelling visualizations, interactive reports, and data narratives to engage stakeholders and drive action.

Power BI Best Practices and Optimization

With our experience in BI, our team can guide you with Power BI best practices, including data modeling, report design, performance optimization, and scalability. We help your organization leverage the full potential of Power BI for your L&D analytics needs.

No matter your needs or organizational structure, our BI experts can work seamlessly with your existing setup. We offer complete BI services, tools, and support, ensuring you receive the customized services you need.

At Neovation, we're committed to helping you make the most of your BI project. Let us be your trusted partner in driving actionable insights and achieving organizational success.

Reach out to us and we’d be happy to understand your needs and give you a free quote!