Using Reporting to Discover Hindsight (Part 1)
Here at Lambda Solutions we are preparing to move seeking clients through the proverbial maturity curve of reporting. When speaking to organizations about their learning and/or talent management challenges, time and time again we hear that reporting is pain-point. Specifically, being able to effectively report on the progress of learning or talent development programs is a critical requirement that is not being met. What we are beginning to recognize is that the aforementioned reporting challenges come in two forms:
- The software is not able to create needed reports or,
- The software’s reporting capabilities are not user friendly and thus require costly external time and effort.
To ensure we are on the same page, here is what we at Lambda define reporting as:
Reporting is a systematic and technological process that leads to the automatic or manual creation of reports. Reports are documents which present focused and relevant content to a specific audience for improved decision making. Furthermore, reports are often used to display the results of an inquiry or question. *
Learning and talent management system (L&TMS) reporting should then have the capability to report on all activities that take place within your L&TMS. Thus, it is crucial for all managers to be able to accurately answer questions regarding activities and data kept within organizational L&TMSs. Questions like, “how many employees successfully completed workplace safety training?” or “which employees have met individual performance targets and which have not?”
Lambda’s perspective is that unless you are able to produce a report for every question you receive, you are not maximizing the value of your solution. Reporting should be easy and reporting should be powerful. Reporting must provide you the answers to all the questions you are being asked by upper management.
At Lambda we use the phrase “Hindsight, Insight, Foresight” to represent the aforementioned maturity curve. Everyone we speak to is at what we describe as the first level – hindsight. Hindsight is the ability to learn from the past. Insight is the ability to interpret and respond to the present and foresight is the ability to predict and prepare for the future. Even though hindsight is only the first step in the reporting maturity curve, it is still a gap for many organizations–the ability to produce reports accurately, efficiently and quickly.
If you would like to understand how we help organizations like yours overcome reporting challenges, please contact us for a personal demonstration of our software. Or, if you would just like to have your voice heard and want to contribute to the future of learning and talent management reporting, please email stewart.rogers[at]lambdasolutions[dot]net to schedule an interview with the Lambda Product Management Team.
Stay tuned for the next part in our reporting series – Using Business Intelligence to Gain Insight!
For more information, check out our webinar on Choosing the Right LMS Reporting Solution for you.
*This definition is an important starting point for us as we will continue to expand the scope of our perspective on reporting within learning and talent management systems in future posts of the Using Reporting to Discover Hindsight Series.
Co-authored with: Stewart Rogers, Director of Product Management
