Your Chief Virtual Learning Architect

Learning to Performance

Read More
Custom Design & Delivery

Read More
Predictive Evaluation

Read More
Enterprise Learning Strategy

Read More

› ‹

1
2
3
4

Dave Basarab Consulting has elevated the training experience, offering an end-to-end comprehensive approach that includes training strategy, instructional design, development, delivery , post program training transfer, and evaluation (via the unique Predictive Evaluation methodology). Virtual Chief Architect Dave Basarab has combined all of these individual training elements with his user-friendly, comprehensive Learning to Performance approach, which significantly increases companies' training ROI.

Why we are different

Innovation: Our primary focus is creating learning programs using a Learning to Performance approach.
Expertise: Dave offers the depth and breadth of his experience, including working internally at prestigious companies (Motorola, Ingersoll Rand and Pitney Bowes) as well as his knowledge and expertise as a highly-respected, sought-after consultant.
Partnership: Basarab collaborates with companies, serving as their own Chief Learning Officer whenever they need to plan, strategize, or implement training initiatives.

Training Services

Enterprise Learning Strategy

Enterprise Learning Strategy

At Dave Basarab Consulting, we're experts in creating Enterprise Learning Plans. We work with you to develop your company's learning strategy and direction.

Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom Design, Development, & Delivery

Custom training is an effective way of developing the capability required to execute your strategy. We are a custom design house that creates programs specific to your business.

Learning Burst Development

Learning Burst Development

We can create and deliver your courses via our unique Learning Burst Method - keeping your employees at their jobs while receiving world-class training.

Predictive Evaluation

Predictive Evaluation

We predict the ROI for your courses and establish success gates. We then evaluate the course against the success gates to show value realized and continually improve results.

Leadership Development

Leadership Development

Turn-key virtual custom leadership development program that combines world-class leadership speakers/educators with post-event personalized coaching to provide you with a cadre of highly skilled leaders.

Predictive Evaluation

How to use predictive evaluation to set realistic training completion targets

Training completion targets often begin as a percentage chosen for convenience: 90% by the end of the quarter, or 100% before an audit. Such figures can create false confidence when employees lack time, managers provide little reinforcement, or the course has limited relevance to daily work.

Predictive Evaluation offers a more defensible approach. It uses evidence about learner behaviour, workplace conditions and expected business outcomes to forecast adoption and impact before an organisation commits to a target.

For Australian organisations, the operating environment also matters. A course designed for a Sydney head office may not suit field teams in regional Queensland, while shift workers in Melbourne warehouses may need different completion windows from office-based staff. Hybrid work, changing skills requirements and the obligations created by the Fair Work Act all influence what is achievable.

The objective is not to lower expectations. It is to set a completion target that reflects capacity, risk and business value, then use reliable evidence to improve the result.

Connect completion with business need

Start by defining why the training exists. A compliance module may require near-universal completion, while a leadership programme may be intended for a carefully selected group of managers. Treating both programmes as 100% completion exercises produces poor planning.

The business and learning connection helps clarify whether completion is the main success measure or simply an early indicator. If the goal is fewer safety incidents, faster customer resolution or stronger supervisor capability, participation should be linked to those outcomes.

Build a forecast from evidence

A realistic target combines historical learning data with current operating conditions. Review completion rates for comparable courses, time available during work, manager support, access to devices and the effort required to demonstrate competence. When no internal data exists, use a small pilot to establish a baseline rather than relying on an optimistic assumption.

Segment the forecast by role, location and work pattern. A national retailer may have different adoption rates in Brisbane stores, Perth distribution centres and remote locations. A single enterprise-wide percentage can hide these differences and make some teams appear to be underperforming when the target was unsuitable.

Evidence worth collecting

Historical enrolment, attendance and assessment completion
Available learning time within paid working hours
Manager reminders, coaching and local accountability
Technology access, language needs and accessibility requirements

Use this evidence to estimate a range rather than one precise figure. For example, a programme might have a likely completion range of 72–82%, with 85% achievable if managers schedule protected learning time and regional teams receive offline access.

Choose the right target type

Completion targets should reflect the learning design and the consequences of non-completion. A short learning burst can reasonably have a high participation expectation, while a multi-day course requiring practice and manager observation may need a staged target.

Training situation	Useful target	Main evidence
Mandatory safety or regulatory learning	95–100%	Risk exposure, legal deadline, roster coverage
Short product or process update	80–95%	Release timing, relevance, access
Leadership development pathway	70–85%	Nomination quality, manager support, workload
Optional capability programme	40–70%	Perceived value, career relevance, incentives

These figures are planning ranges, not universal benchmarks. A completion percentage should be adjusted for the number of learners, delivery channels and consequences of delay. The target also needs a deadline that matches operational reality, such as roster cycles or peak trading periods.

Avoid rewarding activity that has no evidence of learning. Attendance can be recorded while learners click through content without applying it. Include assessment performance, workplace practice and manager observation where those measures are relevant.

Set targets by learner segment

A segmented target is usually fairer and more useful than a single corporate number. Separate learners by role, work pattern, location and prior capability. A new customer service employee may need a longer pathway than an experienced team member completing an update.

Set a minimum acceptable level, a forecast level and an ambitious level. The minimum protects business requirements, the forecast reflects probable performance and the ambitious level shows what additional support could achieve.

Actions that make targets attainable

Allocate protected learning time in rosters and team plans
Give managers simple prompts for follow-up conversations
Offer mobile-friendly or offline options for dispersed workers
Schedule reminders around local workload and shift patterns

In Australia, these actions should fit existing employment arrangements. Learning completed outside ordinary hours may raise questions about pay, recording time and workplace expectations, so implementation should align with organisational policies and applicable workplace law.

Measure adoption without distorting it

Predictive Evaluation becomes stronger when early signals are reviewed during delivery. Monitor enrolment, starts, progress, assessment attempts, withdrawals and time to completion. Compare those signals with the forecast and investigate meaningful gaps quickly.

Data can mislead when system activity is mistaken for genuine participation. Impact data can be misleading when shared logins, automatic enrolments or incomplete records inflate apparent engagement. Validate learning data with manager feedback, learner comments and workplace performance indicators.

Do not change the target every time the first week is slow. Identify whether the issue is awareness, access, relevance or workload. A revised intervention, such as a manager briefing or a shorter learning burst, is more useful than simply lowering the expected completion rate.

Link completion to transfer

Completion matters because it creates an opportunity to use new knowledge. Track whether learners apply the skill, whether supervisors reinforce it and whether the intended business measure moves. For example, a sales course may be complete while conversion rates remain unchanged because the process, pricing or customer demand has shifted.

Use a short evaluation cycle: forecast before launch, check leading indicators during delivery, measure behaviour after learning and compare business results with the original rationale. This keeps completion in proportion to impact rather than treating it as the final result.

Embed the forecast in delivery practice

A target should appear in the project brief, learner communications, manager responsibilities and reporting dashboard. Each stakeholder needs to know what the percentage means, how it was calculated and what action follows if performance falls below the forecast.

Practical sample courses can help teams test the level of effort, sequencing and assessment before scaling a programme. A pilot with a representative mix of metropolitan and regional learners can expose access or workload issues early.

The practical takeaway is simple: set completion targets from evidence, express them as realistic ranges, segment them by learner circumstances and keep checking whether participation is leading to workplace use.

Learning to Performance

Learning to Performance, a complete training approach, gives companies world-class training to drive significant return. This approach includes upfront work (Impact Mapping, design), training (for staff and company executives), and post-training efforts to ensure training transfer. This unique recipe - the key for successful training and adoption - is changing the way companies implement training. This methodology could work with any content for organizations in any industry.