3 ways education benefits go from cost centers to C-suite favorites

In an economic environment where every budget line is scrutinized, education benefits have landed squarely under the C-suite microscope: do these programs justify the spend? Are they actually helping us close skill gaps and retain top talent?

The short answer is they can — but only with the right structure and strategy. Education benefits become invaluable when they are shown to deliver measurable ROI, scalable processes, and meaningful insights into employee progress. 

There’s no better time than now to optimize for that potential, as CEOs increasingly look to talent leaders to prepare their organizations for the resiliency and agility they’ll need to stay competitive.

Here are three key ways to ensure education benefits become true assets in a high-stakes environment.

Count more than costs.

Gone are the days when education benefits were viewed simply as table stakes in the “war for talent.” Today, these programs must perform as bona fide investments that deliver more value than positive engagement stats and net promoter scores. 

Yet for all the budgetary pressure, looking at cost alone is the ultimate half-measure when it comes to understanding the real value of an education benefit. If benefits are going to drive value, the focus needs to shift from cost-center thinking to strategic thinking: how these benefits contribute to meaningful outcomes like retention and talent mobility.

The ROI of education benefits must be calculated in the context of its budget line item (input) relative to the outcomes it drives for the business (outputs). The key factors that go into calculating ROI include: retention, job movement, talent attraction, brand perception, and DE&I outcomes.

That puts a lot of pressure on finding and vetting the right programs to deliver results. Leveraging the right kind of solution spares employees and administrators the burden of finding the best learning options among thousands of programs (assuming the vendor knows how to vet for the outcomes that matter).

Scale up efficiently. 

Scaling benefits sounds fantastic in theory but most of the time, systems simply aren’t built to do this at the speed of business. When they’re not, benefits leaders end up bogged down in more logistics, forced to micromanage details that an efficient system would handle automatically. In the meantime, the organization loses agility.

This is where technology and expertise come into play, providing the right approach that will enable organizations to grow their programs smoothly, without benefits leaders ending up as de facto Chief Logistics Officers.

Is your current approach able to scale efficiently? Ask these four questions to find out:

• What happens if we double in size? If the answer involves adding cumbersome manual processes or creating new spreadsheets to track every detail, it’s time to rethink. Doubling participants shouldn’t mean doubling your efforts.
• Will this system make sense if our goals shift? Programs should be able to flex as priorities evolve, not require an overhaul every time there’s an adjustment.
• Does our approach reduce friction… or simply repackage it? Tech should take over the logistical burdens and empower you to focus on high-value decisions that keep your organization agile. Tools that fail to do that are fancy-looking versions of old hurdles.
• Can we measure impact at scale? If scaling means losing sight of what’s working and what isn’t — or if it means your team has to suddenly wade through a swamp of data to figure it out — the approach is not truly scalable.

A scalable benefit that works for you (not the other way around) and can grow smoothly and strategically will demonstrate its value and protect employer investments in reskilling.

Measure quality and business outcomes, not just participation.

In a world where robust, predictable talent pipelines are becoming essential, being able to see employee progress through learning programs is non-negotiable. Knowing not just who participates but who’s actively gaining skills and gearing up for future roles is important for internal recruiting and workforce planning.

Data integration with learning programs is most valuable on that front. This can make real-time progress reporting possible and limit inaccuracies that can come with self-reported progress (for example, if an employee has to pause learning unexpectedly, letting the institution know but forgetting to update their status in the employer’s system).

A related metric is persistence rate: knowing not only who is progressing, but the degree to which participating employees are staying in a given program can help leaders make informed decisions about which programs they’re offering.

The national average for first year academic persistence is around 50% (closer to 40% for for-profit institutions). Two drivers can drastically increase that rate:

1. The way programs are curated. Flexible delivery, multiple start dates, and learning designed for working adults all contribute to persistence, on top of vetting to ensure programs can actually deliver the skills they promise.
2. The support services employees can access. Access to resources and services like coaching can support resilience, time management, and career growth preparation, helping employees stay motivated on their learning journeys.

Pair quality with cost efficiency. Privileging inexpensive programs can cost more in the long run if they fail to connect employees with business-aligned skills. Similarly, high-cost programs don’t automatically mean high quality. Failing to curate programs appropriately can hurt agility.

Conclusion

If a program isn’t designed to deliver, it isn’t an asset — it’s an afterthought. Effective education benefits must deliver on ROI, scalability, and visibility into employee progress to hold up in today’s environment —and there are strong steps leaders can take today to ensure their benefits are visibly maximizing value.

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