When evaluating training effectiveness, it is customary to consider an additional level of the Kirkpatrick’s model, namely, the ROI methodology, developed by Jack Phillips in 1991. This methodology enables one to express the evaluation data obtained on the fourth level in terms of money, and then compare the estimated profit figure with the expenses the training program incurred.

The head of the company would require information about the projected costs of a training program before giving it the green light, especially if the budget is tight. In most cases, it is the management that insists on using the ROI methodology for assessing the results of training and personnel development. This makes the use of the methodology more or less a given when trainings are conducted.

The ROI methodology is often used to estimate the potential profit from conducting a training program, and to make sure that the projected costs would fit the budget.