Turn learning data into clear focus
Good reporting should make life easier, not harder. A small amount of time spent getting it right can save you hassle later, free up time for other things, and help you show that the effort going into learning is actually paying off. That is what this guide is for.
Let’s be honest, reporting often ends up as one of these:
a spreadsheet with too much data
a screenshot dropped into an email
a panic job the day before someone important asks for it
This guide is here to stop that.
It shows you a simple way to get a clear view of learning activity, quickly, in a format you can actually use and share with confidence. That might be for a quick check, a manager conversation, or combining learning data with the other measures you already track.
Why good reporting is worth your time
Watch this for a quick sense of why good reporting is worth your time, and how it can make your job easier, sharper and more effective.
A simple way to think about it
There are three main ways to make use of your learning data. Each has its place.
Dashboards in the platform for a quick view of what’s going on
Report Builder when you want to filter the platform data down to just what you need, do simple counts and checks, and export it quickly
The Learning Insights Dashboard workbook when you want a clear, shareable view of completion, status and time spent learning
You do not need to be technical to use any of these well. You just need to be clear on what question you are trying to answer, and who it is for.
Start with the question
Before you pull a report, stop and ask what you actually want to know.
A good question makes it much easier to choose the right approach and get something useful back.
Quick checks
Has anything slipped this week?
Are we hitting our completion targets?
Are people getting stuck in “Started” and not finishing?
Have the right courses been assigned to the right people?
Does the structure in the platform still look right?
Manager conversations
Which teams are doing well, so we can learn from them?
Which teams need a nudge, and what exactly is behind it?
Who has spent time learning but not finished yet?
Proving investment
Are we seeing results from the time we are investing?
Which areas are improving over time, not just today?
Where are we spending time but not seeing movement?
Bigger picture
Can we compare learning activity with other data we already use?
Can we line learning data up with absence, retention, performance, quality, sales or customer feedback?
Can we show that learning is helping people perform better, not just tick a box?
Once you know the question, it becomes much easier to choose the simplest way to answer it.
A few simple habits to make learning data more useful
This is a short watch with a few simple habits that can help you stay focused, ask better questions and get more value from the data you already have.
Tool 1: Dashboards in the platform
If you want a quick view without building anything, start with a dashboard. It is a visual way of seeing what’s going on, built into the platform.
These are great for everyday checks, quick updates, keeping managers in the loop, and spotting when something does not look right in the platform.
Use them when you want to answer:
What is happening right now?
Does anything need checking?
Tool 2: Report Builder
Report Builder lets you pick the data you want, arrange it in a way that works for you, and then narrow it down to exactly what you need. You can then view it there, which is often all you need, or export it if you want to use it elsewhere.
You can build reports around:
organisation structure
users
teams
courses
status, such as Not started, Started or Completed
mandatory or non-mandatory learning
time spent learning
You can then add as many rules as you need to focus on a particular part of the picture.
That makes it easier to do simple counts, checks and comparisons. It also helps you check that the right learning is going to the right people, that everything is set up as expected, and what is happening across the platform.
Use learning data in the tools you already use
Once you have the exact view you need in Report Builder, getting that data out is simple.
You can export it quickly and use it in tools like Excel or Google Sheets, or in any other tool that can import a CSV file, which is a very common format. That is often all you need for sorting, sharing and straightforward analysis.
For many people, that will work just fine.
If you use tools like Power BI, Tableau or Looker Studio, there are also more automated and more advanced ways to bring learning data into those. Those options are there if you need them, but a simple export is often enough.
The goal is simple. Learning data should not sit in a corner on its own.
Tool 3: The Learning Insights Dashboard workbook
Sometimes you do not want to build anything. You just want the answers in a clean format you can use.
That is where the workbook comes in.
It takes a Report Builder export and turns it into a clearer view of:
completion percentages
time spent learning
top and bottom performing areas, so you can quickly see what is going well and where to focus
It is designed for people who are not Excel experts, but if you are, it is still a great starting point. It does the heavy lifting for you.
You can still filter in Report Builder first, so the workbook only shows the data you want to focus on. That could be by organisation structure, courses, course type, people, job roles, or any combination that matters to you. That means you stay in control without wading through everything.
And yes, it looks clever. No, you do not need to understand how it does it.
Using the workbook in three simple steps
Use Report Builder to get the view you need
Export the report with the expected columns, in the correct order
Paste the export into the workbook, then go to the results sheets: Org Data and Org Graphs
Top tip: Use Paste Values when you paste the export into the workbook. In Excel, this is the “123 paste” option. It pastes the data without bringing over extra formatting, which helps the workbook keep working properly.
Download the workbook here:
Learning Insights Dashboard v1_22.xlsx
When you open it, start with the Instructions sheet. It tells you exactly where to paste your data and what not to change.
This is one of those rare moments where reading the instructions actually saves time.
How the workbook turns export into insight
Watch this if you want a simple walkthrough of how to take your export, drop it into the workbook, and start getting useful results quickly.
A few things worth getting right
The workbook is simple to use, but a few basics are worth keeping in mind:
keep the export columns in the expected order
filters in Report Builder are a powerful way to focus the workbook on just the data you want to see, so keep track of which ones you have used
paste new data into the raw data sheet, not over the output areas
use Paste Values
only change the orange cells in the workbook
If those stay right, the workbook will do the rest.
Start simple
You do not need to do everything at once.
Start with one question. Pick the simplest tool that answers it.
Use dashboards for quick checks, Report Builder when you need detail, and the workbook when you want a clear, shareable view without building your own reporting setup.
That is usually more than enough to turn learning data into something useful.