Vocations · Job Skills · Workforce training

Did the training
pay for itself?

List what the program cost and what improved, in dollars. The calculator adds the cost of time away from work, credits only the training’s share of the improvement and gives a conservative return, the benefit-cost ratio and the payback time.

Work out the returnWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 41 items.

The training return calculator

The worked example is made-up setup training for 36 line technicians. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Vocations · Job Skills$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Fully loaded cost, benefits counted after adjustment, ROI, benefit-cost ratio, payback in months and the benefits needed to break even, with every line for the report to leadership or a funder.
Who it is for
Training and development staff, human resources staff, workforce program managers and employer partners reporting on a program.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List every program cost.
  2. Type participants, hours and loaded pay for the time cost.
  3. List first-year benefits in dollars.
  4. Credit the training’s share and set your confidence.
  5. Report the ROI with the adjustments shown.

Work out the return

How the return is worked out

The Phillips ROI Methodology, in its conservative form.

The worked example: setup training for 36 techniciansBenefits, a year$137,000scrap and downtimeCounted$61,650× 60% credited × 75%Fully loaded cost$47,912incl. $17,712 of timeROI29%(counted − cost) ÷ costThe worked example: setup training for 36 techniciansBenefits, a year$137,000scrap and downtimeCounted$61,650× 60% credited × 75%Fully loaded cost$47,912incl. $17,712 of timeROI29%(counted − cost) ÷ cost
The estimate is cut twice before it counts: once for other causes, once for uncertainty, so the ROI reported is a conservative one.

Costs and benefits

The Phillips method adds a fifth level, return on investment, to Kirkpatrick’s four (reaction, learning, behavior, results). Costs are fully loaded: design, delivery, materials, evaluation and the pay of people while they are in training. Benefits are the results converted to money, such as less scrap, fewer errors or lower turnover, counted for the first year for a short program.

Isolating and adjusting

Other things change at the same time as training, so only the share of the improvement credited to the program counts. Estimates are then reduced by the estimator’s confidence. ROI is net benefits over costs, as a percent; the benefit-cost ratio is benefits over costs. Both are reported alongside the adjustments so a reader can judge them.

Sources

  1. Phillips, J. J., and Phillips, P. P. (2016). Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods, 4th ed. Routledge.
  2. ROI Institute. The ROI Methodology: process model and guiding principles (roiinstitute.net).
  3. Kirkpatrick, D. L., and Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, 3rd ed. Berrett-Koehler.
  4. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Business engagement and the value of training (dol.gov/agencies/eta).

The worked example is made up. The return is only as good as the benefit estimates; show how each was made. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.