Calculating Return On Investment (ROI) of Your Context Sensitive Support and Training

How can you tell if your context sensitive support and training tool is actually being used properly and generating ROI? That's the real question we should be asking ourselves when using any type of continuous contextual microdelivery tool (also referred to as a Digital Adoption Platform). That's the question I'll be answering in this article.

If you're not already familiar with a tool that provides context sensitive microdelivery of information, here is an example of a tool, VisualSP, in action:

Same type of walkthroughs can be created for any user of any web application to provide them automated guided onboarding steps.

Contextual experiences

In addition to guided walkthroughs, you can also provide other contextual experiences like:

• Informative inline help icon next to an element that needs an explanation
• A pulsating button or a hyperlink overlaid on your web platform that draws the user's attention to have them click on the button/link and presents some important information they should know about
• An announcement banner that shows up automatically to inform users about important information
• A help tab on the side of the screen that is omnipresent wherever the users go within their corporate environment and serves as a consistent help system

So the main question is:

How do you quantify the return on investment for these contextual experiences that you have put in place for your users?

The proven ROI formula

There's actually a concrete formula that you can use to be able to determine:

1. The usage of your context sensitive support and training tool
2. The person hours saved as a result of the usage
3. The resultant savings in dollars and cents

Here's the formula:

Number of hours saved in productivity =

(# of microlearning assets accessed * 15 mins1) / 60 mins per hour




Money saved in productivity =

Number of hours saved * $26 Dollars2



115 minutes = average time to find an answer and get back to task at hand

2$26 = average hourly rate in USA

An example

Below is an example of this formula at a 1,000 person company.

Microlearning assets accessed in 1 month = 5,000



Number of hours saved in productivity

(5,000 * 15) / 60 = 1,250 hours



Money saved in productivity cost

1,250 * $26 = $32,500

Continuous presentation of the data

Unlike a macrolearning event such as an in-person or online training that happens for one to three days, context sensitive microdelivery of information is ongoing.

Because the context sensitive support and training are being delivered and consumed all the time by users, it is important to report on these figures on a continuous basis as well.

We at VisualSP present this data on a daily basis to show each of our customers exactly what value and ROI they are receiving from the VisualSP support platform.

Here's an actual dashboard from one of our customers for a period of 6 months:

The same formulas mentioned above are used to calculate the dynamic figures in this dashboard that change on a daily basis.

By presenting this data on a regular basis, you can prove the savings in time and money to an organization.

The discussion within L&D communities

I have presented this subject area at countless conferences focused on learning technology. The conclusion is unanimous:

Context sensitive way of delivering information reduces the need for users to switch context thus lessening the impact and cost of context switching.

Here's a slide deck from one of the conferences on the topic of:

Contextual Microlearning: The Evolution of Traditional Microlearning

This presentation dives into where microlearning has been and where it's headed in the future. It also has the presentation of the contextual microlearning's return on investment formulas discussed above.

Feel free to get in touch with us if you would like to discuss this topic further.