How Knowledge Sharing Affects ROI: Industry Trends and Insights

However, nebulous concepts like “knowledge” are more challenging to put a price tag on than, say, a piece of machinery or an office building rental. So how do you know if investing in a knowledge-sharing tool is the right move for your ROI?

In this article, we’ll look at how knowledge sharing affects ROI across AEC organizations by enabling you to accomplish these three key goals:

1. Increase project output with higher staff productivity
2. Spend less on wasteful one-time training events
3. Invest in employee development to reduce turnover

Below, we’ll dive into how achieving each of these goals can translate to a better training ROI.

Increase project output with higher staff productivity

According to a study by IBM, every $1 invested in online training results in a $30 increase in productivity. That statistic alone is an incredible testament to how knowledge sharing affects ROI.

The logic is simple: when employees are able to do their jobs quickly and effectively, they can accomplish a lot more in the same timeframe. This productivity boost gives you the power to deliver projects faster and take on new work without substantially increasing labor costs.

For that to happen, you want to focus on two things:

1. Enabling staff to solve their problems quickly
2. Providing training so they can avoid running into these problems in the first place

An e-learning and knowledge sharing platform like Pinnacle Series lets you accomplish both at once. Staff can access on-demand videos and cheat sheets for in-the-moment problem solving or take courses in structured Learning Paths to build up their skills over time. The platform also facilitates simplified communication and collaboration since expert employees can share their knowledge through its custom content tools.

Spend less on wasteful one-time training events

In the past, corporate training events have been a popular way to get employees up to speed on a new process or technology. In 2018, companies spent over $87.6 billion on corporate training programs — but only $11 billion of that was for the training content itself. The costs of live, in-person training events can quickly snowball when you factor in expenses such as:

• Travel costs
• Catering
• Venue rentals/equipment
• Paying salaries during full-day or multi-day training events/conferences
• Paying the trainers

And what do you get in exchange for these expensive events? It depends. Maybe your employees will remember everything they learned and be able to apply it correctly in their jobs. Or, more likely — they’ll be overloaded with too much information at once, remember a fraction of what was covered, and will need follow-up refreshers afterward. It’s not their fault; the human brain often best absorbs and retains information that’s taught in smaller chunks.

That’s why e-learning and knowledge sharing is a vastly superior approach. The Research Institute of America discovered that e-learning increases information retention rates by 25-60%. Employees can learn at their own pace and rewind when they need to hear something again. And you don’t have to pay for them to hop on a plane to do it!

Invest in employee development to reduce turnover

Employees notice when their companies support them and invest in their success. It’s what sets you apart as an organization worth being loyal to, vs. just a career stepping stone. Going back to IBM’s report, only 21% of new hires plan to stay at workplaces that don’t provide training. That number shoots up to 62% for companies that do.

As most organizations know all too well, onboarding new employees is expensive. According to The Society for Human Resource Management, replacing employees can cost a company 6-9 months of that employee’s salary. There are time and costs involved in searching for candidates, interviewing, hiring, training, and getting them up to the lost employee’s productivity level.

In the AEC space, industries like construction are already dealing with labor shortages. That makes it even more important to equip employees with the tools they need to succeed and motivate them to stay. Investing in your people gives you a fantastic ROI, not just from a financial standpoint but also from a cultural one.

We built Pinnacle Series thinking about how knowledge sharing affects ROI and how to maximize those benefits. If you’re not already using our software, schedule a demo to see how Pinnacle Series can level up your organization and improve your ROI with high-quality AEC industry training.