The Final Report

For many clients, the most anticipated part of a performance improvement initiative is the final report. After evaluation, a report is generally delivered as both a meeting and a document for reference. The detailed client report is a historical document organizing the findings throughout each phase of the initiative.

Below is an outline of what you can expect to receive in a final report.

1. Overview of the Performance Improvement project
   1. Review of performance gaps
   2. Review of project goals
2. Review of methodology
   1. Data collection
   2. Development and deployment of interventions
   3. Levels of evaluation
3. Measured results
   1. Review of data at each level agreed upon from the planning stage
      1. Level 1: Reaction Objectives
      2. Level 2: Learning Objectives
      3. Level 3: Application Objectives
      4. Level 4: Impact Objectives
      5. Level 5: ROI
4. Discussion and recommendations
   1. Sustaining results
   2. Future needs and actions

What about ROI?

While calculating Return on Investment has an easy formula that any calculator can compute, it requires substantial data collection and organization to get us there. Knowing the ROI is important in understanding whether an initiative was worth it. Not all projects can be measured up to level 5 in a results report. Talking about measurements early within the project life cycle can lead to higher-level measures if an investment is successful.

ROI (%) = (Performance Consulting Monetary Benefits – Costs of the Initiative) ÷ Cost of Consulting Initiative × 100

The most important part of measuring ROI is deciding the units that determine the monetary benefits of the performance improvement initiative. Not all data is tied directly to a clearly defined amount of currency. Because of this, we need to take the time to discuss what our unit of measurement is and the associated costs from the company. Units of measure could be product output, time, quality, or other soft data items such as customer feedback indexes. 

How do we know if the initiative is a success?

In order to determine if we are successful, we must first define what success looks like. Determining a unit for measurement when seeking a calculation for ROI is just part of preparing for the final evaluation. Even if ROI calculations are not a requirement, we need to know whether the resources invested were worth the initiative. An ideal starting point on establishing a threshold for success is early in the discussions of the project goals.

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