They want measurable results.
IMD’s custom programs turn your executive development spend into performance gains, cost savings, and ROI you can defend to your board.
Your C-suite doesn’t want good intentions.
They want measurable results.
IMD’s custom programs turn your executive development spend into performance gains, cost savings, and ROI you can defend to your board.
Leadership program investment is growing. Is it paying off?
Investment in leadership development keeps rising, but proof of its value rarely follows. At IMD, we measure success by what changes in the business, not by how a program feels on the last day. Our research shows how leading companies link leadership learning to performance, productivity, and financial results.
Proven, not assumed
There are five levels of impact measurement: reaction, learning, application, business impact and ROI. Most programs measure the first too without much difficulty. Yet while 96% of organizations agree that impact should be tracked all the way to ROI, only 4% measure it. Bayer and Absa are among them. Here is what they proved.
In 2021, only half of Bayer’s employees had a development conversation, and 40% of leaders struggled to evaluate performance. This was a costly gap for a company built on R&D and fast decisions. After a first program for top leaders, Bayer asked IMD to scale it to 5,000+ leaders within a year. IMD’s blended “Sprint” format reached 12,826 leaders in less than 15 months with an 83% completion rate, delivering 66% ROI (€1.66 per €1 invested) and €23 million in annual efficiency savings.
“It was a peer-sharing experience, and it became a movement of people that wanted to participate because they saw the benefits of those who had already gone through,” said Beatriz Rodriguez, Bayer’s Chief Talent and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.
Absa used to measure its leadership programs by attendance and satisfaction, which never showed whether they created value.. Using the ROI Methodology® with IMD, each participant in its 12-month LEAP program committed upfront to a specific business outcome. The result was an 89% ROI against a 25% target, which earned IMD and Absa the ROI Institute’s 2025 Best International Implementation Award.
“What stood out the most was the way the course seamlessly integrated theoretical knowledge with practical applications, ensuring that every concept felt relevant and actionable,” said Noxolo Mnguni, LEAP 2024.
When we say “real learning, real impact”, we mean it – and we measure it
At IMD, we measure impact beyond participant satisfaction. Using the globally recognized ROI Methodology®, we evaluate how learning translates into behavior change, business results, and organizational value. Five measurement levels target specific aspects of the learning experience, offering you a clear understanding of how your investment translates into tangible organizational benefits.
Our methodology
Discover how we measure impact:
Reaction
Participant Satisfaction
Learning
Knowledge & skill acquisition
Behavior
Application of learning at work
Business & career impact
resulting from behavioral change
ROI of the program
Leading companies choose IMD because we approach leadership development differently. From diagnosis and design to implementation and impact measurement, every program is tailored to your context, your leaders, and the results you need to achieve.
Discover Stories of Impact, a collection of real journeys from organizations we’ve partnered with that went on to win awards. From leadership transformation to measurable business results, each story shows how IMD helped our partners tackle their toughest challenges and succeed.
More organizations are choosing to measure and publish the impact of their leadership investments. If yours could be next, let’s talk.
