The Army, Navy and Air Force are known for their commitment to invest in training and development. They equip their officers to handle any situation when crisis hits. Their ethos is built on their belief that “the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war” and this ethos drives their philosophy of investing in people’s development. The question that a corporate CFO might ask is whether there is a way to effectively measure the ROI in the absence of a war? Does the return only matter when one derives the benefits? 

There are several reasons why companies invest in leadership development; from building a strong talent pipeline, the ability to attract the best talent (best talent gets attracted to the opportunity to work with other talented people), and finally, to invest in a strong employer brand. Most importantly, this investment seems to create a constructive loop of attracting and retaining talented people.

The question is how to measure the return on these investments when the benefits are not confined to the individuals or their functions alone, but has knock-on effect across the organization. The questions organizations need to be able to answer to ensure those investments are justified, include what are they trying to achieve with such investments? Who are they investing in? If there are unintended learning outcomes, like new business lines or new networks, are those to be accounted for in measuring ROI?

This issue’s cover story, Investing in Top Guns, answers some of these questions capturing views of academia across the world and best-practices in organizations in India in the area of Executive Development. With this cover story, we have included the key findings of the People Matters Executive Development Survey 2012; for the first time, we surveyed over 100 organizations across Industries to compile factual and relevant data on how much companies are investing in training their CXO & VP level, how is this budget utilized and how do companies measure the return on such investments.

In our constant endeavor to build India-specific research, this issue also includes excerpts of the Edenred-People Matters Survey on Work-Life Benefits Trends. This Study highlights the type of non-cash components that organizations are using today as part of their compensation programs and also reveals the ones that are most effective to engage and retain employees.

Additionally, as we do every alternate month, this April issue carries a special buyer’s guide on Learning and Development service providers. This is the time of the year that the annual appraisal is coming to an end and with it, the identification of the learning needs for the organizations. We are sure that you will find it useful in shortlisting partners for your organizations.

As always, we thank you for your continuous encouragement and suggestions, and we look forward to more and more ideas from your side. Do write to us at editorial@peoplematters.in.

Happy Reading!

Ester Martinez
ester.martinez@peoplematters.in