In the previous blog, we uncovered a stark truth—most learning initiatives fall short not because of poor design, but because they begin without clarity. Without defining success upfront, organizations risk investing in programs that are well-executed but ultimately misaligned with business needs. Phase 1 of the Impact Framework addresses this head-on. It’s about slowing down before you speed up—aligning with stakeholders, understanding the learner context, and building a clear, measurable vision for impact that will guide everything that follows.
Laying the Groundwork for Meaningful, Measurable Learning
Before diving into design, there’s one essential question every organization must answer: What does success actually look like?
In the rush to launch training, this question often gets overlooked—but it’s the foundation of everything that follows. Without a clear, shared understanding of desired outcomes, even the most well-intentioned learning initiatives can miss the mark.
This first phase is where alignment happens, between business priorities, learner needs, and performance expectations. It’s where we slow down to think strategically, consult the right people, and define success in terms that are specific, measurable, and directly connected to real-world impact.
Whether the goal is to boost productivity, improve customer experience, support digital transformation, or build future-ready capabilities, this is the moment to clarify the “why” behind your learning.
The impact you desire.
We’ll help you connect the dots between organizational goals and learning strategy through structured conversations, ecosystem analysis, and vision mapping. When you define impact clearly at the start, every design choice becomes intentional, and learning becomes a lever for change, not just a checkbox.
This is where learning starts to matter. And where real transformation begins.
In this section, we’ll take you through the most reliable ways to gather the right information that becomes the base for the next step of the framework.
Uncover Stakeholder Value
“What’s the real reason we’re doing this?”
Start by talking to the people who care most about the outcomes—your key stakeholders. These are business leaders, managers, or anyone else who is invested in results. Use workshops or guided discussions to ask them:
What should this learning program achieve?
How will we know it worked?
What would be different if this training succeeded?
Identify Stakeholders
Ask the Right Questions
Great learning starts with the right conversations-dig deep to uncover goals, gaps, and hidden barriers.
Define Success Clearly
Set a shared vision of success-the desired impact-early, so every learning decision stays aligned with measurable outcomes.
Ask the Right Questions
Great learning starts with the right conversations-dig deep to uncover goals, gaps, and hidden barriers.
Illuminate Insights
“Let’s understand the bigger picture.”
Now it’s time to dive deeper into the organization’s ecosystem. This means conducting focus group discussions to collect information from employees, leaders, existing reports, performance data, and even culture audits. You’re looking to answer more pointed questions such as:
Where are the knowledge gaps?
What’s getting in the way of great performance?
What cultural or systemic issues might affect learning?
Use interviews, surveys, and existing data to surface patterns and barriers. This gives you a full picture of what’s working and what’s not—and what learning alone can (and can’t) solve.
Conducting Focus Group Discussions
Get Closer to the Learner Reality
Sometimes, the best way to understand what your people really need is to sit down and talk with them. Focus group discussions are a great way to do just that. They give us a space to hear directly from employees—what’s working, what’s frustrating, and what kind of support they truly value.
This isn’t about collecting more data for the sake of it. It’s about hearing real stories, spotting patterns, and uncovering the kind of insights that don’t always show up in surveys.
Why Focus Groups Work
You hear the real voice of the learner, not just a ticked box on a survey.
You discover what matters most to different teams or roles.
You uncover barriers to performance that might be hidden.
You validate assumptions before building an appropriate solution.
Conducting the Session: Here is a simplified approach to conducting focus group sessions.
| Step | What You Do | Practical Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Define the Purpose | Be clear on what you want to understand. |
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| Select the Right Participants | Choose 5–8 people who have firsthand experience of the topic. |
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| Prepare Your Questions | Draft 5–7 open-ended prompts to guide the discussion. |
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| Facilitate the Discussion | Consider trigger points to initiate the conversation and to keep it going. |
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| Capture the Insights | Record the session (with permission) or assign a note-taker. |
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| Analyze and Thematize | Organize findings into themes that inform design. |
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It can help capture deeper insights, clarify key themes, and bring in perspectives that emerge with a bit more time and space to think. You can include open-ended prompts, quick ratings, or follow-up questions based on what came up during the session.
Here is a sample questionnaire that can be considered to understand the nuances of the current state of learning and performance in the organization:
| Section | Question | Response Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current State & Challenges | What are the key challenges or inefficiencies in your current role that this training should help address?How frequently do these challenges impact your work performance?Have you received any prior training on this topic? If so, what was missing or ineffective? | Open-ended5-Point Likert Scale (Never → Very Often)Yes/No + Explain | Identifies pain points and areas needing improvementIdentifies pain points and areas needing improvementIdentifies pain points and areas needing improvement |
| Targeted Behavioral Changes (Behavior) | What specific skills, behaviors, or processes do you believe this training should improve?If this training is successful, what would you be able to do differently in your job?How confident do you currently feel about performing tasks related to this training topic?? | Open-endedOpen-ended5-Point Likert Scale (Not at all confident → Very confident) | Defines clear behavioral, objectives.Establishes a vision for successIdentifies current competency levels and learning needs |
| Business Impact Expectations (Results) | What business outcomes do you think will improve if employees develop these skills? (Select all that apply)How would you measure the success of this training in terms of business impact?What organizational barriers might prevent employees from applying what they learn? | Multiple Choice: Productivity, Customer Satisfaction, Revenue, Efficiency, Other (Specify)Open-endedOpen-ended | Links training to business objectivesEnsures alignment between training goals and measurable outcomesIdentifies potential roadblocks to learning transfer |
| Success Factors & Expectations | What would make this training valuable and engaging for you?What format or support mechanisms (e.g., In-person training, job aids, follow-ups) would help you apply learning effectively | Open-endedMultiple Choice: In-Person Training, | Helps design an intervention that resonates with participantsEnsures post-training support is built into the intervention. |
Develop a Clear Vision: Put your goal into one strong, shared statement.
What will change because of the learning intervention
Who it’s for
How success will be measured
Enable customer support executives to give effective solutions for common complaints, reducing the number of escalations.
Establish Guidance: Get everyone rowing in the same direction.
To keep things on track, create a guiding team. This could be a mix of internal stakeholders (such as managers or team leaders) and external partners (such as our team). Define roles and responsibilities early—who signs off, who gives input, and who ensures alignment as the project moves forward.
This cross-functional group becomes your go-to panel for key decisions and helps maintain alignment with the target and keep the momentum.
Implement a System for Impact
Measure what really matters.
Finally, don’t wait until the end to think about metrics. Set up a measurement plan from the start. This includes:
A baseline: Where are we now?
Clear direction: What do we want to improve?
Checkpoints: When will we review progress?
A strong impact system uses simple, consistent tools such as post-program surveys, interviews, and storytelling to track how learning is being applied and whether it’s driving real change.
By combining different methods across the learning journey—immediate feedback, follow-up conversations, and real success stories, you create a well-rounded picture of impact. It’s not just about tracking data; it’s about understanding what’s changing, why it matters, and how to keep improving.
Onwards to Phase 2
This first phase isn’t about creating content. It’s about creating clarity. Clarity around purpose, around needs, and around what success really means. By starting here, your learning initiative stands on solid ground—with the direction, data, and stakeholder support to truly make an impact.
Once success is clearly defined, the next step is to map the path, ensuring that learning is not only aligned to goals but structured to move people toward them.
This phase is about much more than pre-work—it’s the strategic engine behind meaningful learning. By uncovering stakeholder priorities, listening to learners, and defining what success looks like from the outset, organizations can move forward with clarity and confidence. Every insight gathered here informs smarter design decisions later, ensuring learning truly matters where it counts.
For deeper guidance, tools, and real-world examples that bring each phase of the Impact Framework to life, download our eBook Beyond Training: An Actionable Guide to Learning That Delivers Measurable Business Impact.
