How is it possible to measure how much return trainings bring compared to investments? The client, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche) in Basel, faces this problem: the ROI of the Roche IT trainings cannot be measured. Since the benefits are not determinable, hence it is difficult to evaluate whether the courses bring value to the company or if the company would be better off without the current trainings. It is their desire to find a simple and adoptable but still effective way to calculate the ROI of IT trainings.

In order to perform a comparative analysis of possible ROI calculation models available in the literature, general and detailed information about different approaches were collected from literature such as books, journals and web pages. For this purpose, internet sources and published literature in this field were examined. By contacting and interviewing two training provider companies, insider knowledge and primary data in a minor degree was obtained additionally. In order to compare the different approaches, the models were first analyzed and thereafter reviewed against simpleness, adoptability and feasibility.

The client receives an extensive literature review, not only including the well-known theories of Kirkpatrick, Phillips and Leone, but further information on other ROI calculation methods, such as Brinkerhoff and Howe. Additionally, also the approach by CEB Inc. is researched. In specific, two different approaches for identifying the ROI of IT trainings are suggested to the client: a more traditional way by calculating the ROI with numbers or an alternative way of defining reference indicators, such as employee retention or number of customer complaints which allow conclusions for the ROI itself. The traditional way suggests to conduct two different questionnaires with a survey to participants roughly 60 to 90 days after training. The feedback can then be processed into monetary values. The second survey shall be sent to course participants' line managers to later compare the metrics of the two surveys. To conclude, also two training provider companies have been contacted and hence primary data has been gathered and taken into evaluation for the final recommendation to the client on how to calculate the ROI of IT trainings.