Developing an ROI Assessment Model for Employee Development Programs Implemented by California Transit Agencies

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to determine the extent to which transit agencies in California are implementing Return on Investment (ROI) assessments or otherwise evaluating the value and effectiveness of the employee development programs they administer, what cost and performance data they collect and track, and what resources or support are needed to support ROI assessment efforts. Transit agencies will necessarily incur expenses in efforts to improve the recruitment, retention, and morale of employees, but will struggle to solicit adequate funding unless they are able to demonstrate the value of such efforts to a broader audience. Thus, developing and implementing ROI assessments is critical. The literature review, survey, and follow-up interviews conducted by the research team found that program outcome measures and programmatic expense data required for ROI is similar across employee development programs but is not currently being uniformly collected across agencies. The research findings demonstrate the need for technical assistance if transit agencies are to successfully design and implement return on investment models for employee development programs they administer. Interview participants emphasized that transit labor shortages also extend into administrative and human resource divisions. A commonly voiced concern regarding ROI implementation focused on the additional staff capacity and know-how that would be required to systematically collect and analyze the wide range of operational performance metrics, human resource metrics, and expenditure data required to calculate ROI. This challenge is exacerbated by the outdated data systems found at many public transportation agencies. Agency representatives also expressed concern that to obtain meaningful ROI, a widely agreed upon and objective process to translate qualitative metrics like “employee satisfaction” into monetized benefit values is required.

Publications:

Developing an ROI Assessment Model for Employee Development Programs Implemented by California Transit Agencies (Full Report)

Research Brief

Authors:

TYLER REEB, PHD

Tyler Reeb, PhD, oversees a multimillion-dollar portfolio of research and learning development programs. He is the principal author and editor of the book Empowering the New Mobility Workforce (Elsevier 2019), which was endorsed by the late Norman Mineta. He is a member of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Rural Transportation Issues Coordinating Council (A0040C) and two standing committees focused on Native American mobility issues (AME30) and workforce development and organizational excellence (AJE15). His research-driven reports, publications, and workforce development programs promote innovation and civic partnerships between leaders in business, government, and education. “Transportation in GIS,” a pilot class Tyler developed in partnership with Los Angeles Trade Technical College, won the American Planning Association Award of Excellence for Opportunity and Empowerment. Tyler is currently teaching and developing new online curriculum for the University of La Verne’s Masters of Health and Public Administration programs. He is also pilot testing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and data science talent pipeline programs at CSULB in partnership with Gannett Fleming and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

SUSAN GALLAGHER, PHD

Susan Gallagher has over 20 years’ experience leading grant-funded projects focused on advancing transportation workforce development and education research. Her programmatic focus areas encompass stakeholder outreach and engagement, organizational and professional capacity building, industry-education partnership development, student research involvement and professional development, and K-12 outreach initiatives. She helped launch and manage the West Region Transportation Workforce Center, which seeks to communicate best practices, catalyze new strategic partnerships, and leverage resources to enhance the transportation workforce at all levels. Gallagher currently serves on the planning committee for the Transportation Research Board’s 2025 Workforce Summit.

Published:

December 2024

Keywords:

Workforce development

Education and training

Human resources management

Transportation departments

Return on investment