If you’re in education and don’t have access to a business intelligence team or fancy analytics dashboards, you’re not alone.
Research shows that 30% of education leaders are tasked with proving their program’s value without the resources to do so easily. But here’s the good news: You can still show the impact of education, even when you’re flying solo on the data front.
Here’s how to get scrappy and strategic about measuring impact—no BI team required.
Start with Strategy, Not Spreadsheets
Before you worry about what you can measure, focus on what you should measure. Start with your company’s business goals.
Education initiatives that tie directly to outcomes like retention, growth, performance, or cost reduction are much easier to justify and defend. If your business is prioritizing customer retention this quarter, ask yourself: How can education help?
Maybe it’s through onboarding content that reduces ramp time. Maybe it’s training that increases product adoption. Either way, form a simple hypothesis you can test:
“We believe that customers who complete our onboarding course will adopt new features faster and are more likely to renew.”
“We believe that employees who complete our onboarding program will reach full productivity faster and are more likely to stay with the company beyond their first year.”
Now you’re measuring something meaningful—even without deep analytics.
Use the Data You Have
You might not have access to a data warehouse or event-level tracking, but chances are, you have something. Don’t underestimate the power of basic education metrics:
- Course completions
- Video views
- Time to first engagement
- Certification attempts
- Learner feedback and NPS scores
Start by tracking these metrics in your LMS. Then compare across time, content types, or learner cohorts. Even simple comparisons like “course A had higher completion and satisfaction scores than course B” can be actionable.
And don’t forget qualitative data. Comments from learners, quotes from customer success managers, or patterns from post-training surveys can tell a compelling story, especially when paired with directional metrics.
Work With What’s Around You
No BI team? No problem.
ChatGPT analysis
If you have access to different data sources (like your HRIS, CRM, or product analytics), you can conduct your own analysis using AI. Here’s a step-by-step guide to using AI to measure the impact of education.
Don’t have access to other data sources? Not to worry. The 2025 State of Education-Led Growth Report found that 62% of education leaders surveyed don’t have access to other platforms that hold key data for analysis. Oof.
If that’s the case, here are a few internal allies that can help:
RevOps or SalesOps
These teams often have access to tools like Salesforce, and they’re pros at running cohort comparisons. If you have a list of trained users, ask:
“Are trained users more likely to renew, expand, or engage with the product?”
They can pull a basic report comparing trained vs. untrained accounts, helping you draw a direct line between learning and business outcomes.
Customer Success (CS)
Customer success managers often have anecdotal evidence of education’s impact. Ask them:
- Are trained customers easier to support?
- Do they ask better questions or escalate less?
- Do they adopt features faster?
You can even run a short internal survey asking CSMs how education has helped their accounts.
Managers
The same is true of managers. If you’re creating education for internal audiences, then survey managers to get a feel for impact. Ask them:
- Do trained employees perform at a higher level?
- Are trained employees more likely to be engaged at work?
- Do engaged employees sell more or have a deeper understanding of our product?
Support
Look at support ticket trends before and after education content is released. A drop in tickets around a specific topic may point to successful training, even if it’s not fully instrumented.
Enlist an Executive Sponsor
Having an executive champion can unlock more than just visibility—it can get you access.
Research from 2023 shows that education programs with executive sponsorship are more likely to have analytics support and demonstrate business impact. Ask your sponsor to:
- Advocate for data access or support
- Help align education metrics with leadership priorities
- Secure time in a quarterly or strategic review meeting for you to present results
Tell the Story, Not Just the Stats
Executives love results, but they remember stories.
When presenting impact, pair data with human moments. Share a quick narrative:
“One of our key accounts renewed for another year after using our academy to train new hires, and their CSM credited education as a key driver.”
These stories give life to your numbers and help stakeholders understand education’s real-world value.
When reporting, keep it tight:
- Highlight 1–3 top business metrics (retention, expansion, satisfaction, etc.)
- Use visuals when possible
- Always tie the results back to the business goal you set out to impact
Need help? Check out Nancy Duarte’s book “DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story.”
Be Scrappy, But Be Smart
You don’t need a BI tool to track progress. Start simple:
- Log key metrics in a Google Sheet
- Track initiatives, hypotheses, and outcomes
- Look for patterns over time
Can’t prove causation? No worries. You can show correlation:
“Trained users are 2x more likely to adopt this feature.”
“Accounts with certified admins renew at a higher rate.”
“Departments with certified new hires ramp up faster and hit performance goals sooner.”
And if anyone pushes back, ask this powerful question: “What do we think would happen if we removed education from the experience?”
If the answer is “things would get worse,” then you’re already proving impact.
Make Impact Visible
Not having access to analytics tools or BI support shouldn’t stop you from showing the value of your work. The most successful education teams don’t wait for perfect data—they get creative with what they have.
Start with business outcomes. Use the data within reach. Find internal allies. Share real stories. And above all, be relentless about showing how education drives the business forward.
Because at the end of the day, education is impact—you just have to help others see it.
