The other week, I took a deep dive into Cornerstone OnDemand’s 2025 Predictions Report, and as someone who lives and breathes Learning Operations every day, I found myself nodding along to their vision for where our industry is heading. But, what struck me most was that while analysts are forecasting these trends, we’re already seeing them play out in real-time through the data flowing through Cognota.
Having spent the last decade in learning and development, I’ve watched too many predictions come and go. What makes these different is that they’re not theoretical, they’re operational realities that forward-thinking L&D teams are already implementing. Our platform data from Q4 2024 through Q1 2025 provides a unique window into what’s actually changing inside talent and learning organizations, not just what we think should change.
From ROI to ROV: Value Engineering
Cornerstone’s first prediction centers on HR’s shift from Return on Investment (ROI) to Return on Value (ROV), prioritizing value creation over cost control by measuring employee engagement, retention, and capability building. This is a fundamental reimagining of how we justify learning investments.
The data from our platform tells a compelling story here. In the past two quarters, 82% of learning programs tracked through Cognota included strategic goals beyond completion rates, things like job performance improvements, behavioural change indicators, and what we’re calling “intangible benefit metrics.” These aren’t vanity metrics, they’re sophisticated attempts to quantify what actually moves the needle for business outcomes.
As Brandon Hall Group notes in their recent 2025 upskilling analysis, “leading organizations are transforming their upskilling approaches to address these critical business challenges” by focusing on measurable results rather than activity-based metrics. What we’re seeing through Cognota aligns perfectly with this trend. L&D leaders are becoming value engineers, not just program managers.
The most mature teams in our customer base are going a step further. They’re creating direct line-of-sight connections between learning programs and P&L impact. This isn’t about proving that learning matters, it’s about proving exactly how much it matters and where. That’s the beginning of true value engineering, and it’s how L&D earns its seat at the strategy table.
AI Integration Means Process First, Tools Second
Cornerstone’s second prediction hits on something we see daily, real AI gains come from reimagining work, not just adding tools. The temptation is always to bolt AI onto existing processes and hope for magic. The reality is messier and more nuanced.
Here’s what our data reveals: less than 15% of L&D teams using Cognota are actively applying AI in structured ways, things like project scoping, effort estimation, and strategic planning. This isn’t because they lack interest in AI (quite the opposite), but because they lack process readiness.
You can’t automate chaos. AI amplifies whatever systems and workflows you already have. If your learning operations are ad hoc, adding AI won’t make them systematic, it’ll make them chaotically fast. The teams seeing real AI impact are those who first built repeatable, measurable processes and then layered intelligence on top.
The path forward isn’t AI-first, it’s operations-first, with AI as an accelerator.
What we’re seeing work is a progression. Teams start by standardizing their project intake, move to systematic resource allocation, then add predictive analytics, and finally layer in generative AI for content creation and personalization. Each step builds on the previous one. Skip the foundation, and the whole thing crumbles.
Skills as Business Assets
The third prediction that resonates most strongly is around skills data becoming core to business agility. Cornerstone argues that organizations will treat skills as measurable business assets, linking them to performance, valuation, and competitive advantage. This represents a fundamental shift from skills as learning outcomes to skills as business intelligence.
Our Q1 2025 data shows 36% of customer programs tracking skill application or performance impact, not just completion rates or satisfaction scores. These teams are moving beyond “we trained people” to “we improved specific capabilities that drive specific business outcomes.” Some are already mapping learning programs to business goals inside Cognota, creating real-time visibility into how skill development translates to organizational capability.
This isn’t just skill-building anymore, it’s skill accountability. And it’s where high-maturity L&D teams are separating themselves from the pack.
The most sophisticated organizations in our customer base are building what I call “skills intelligence systems”, platforms that connect individual skill development to team capability to business performance. They’re not just asking “did people learn?” They’re asking “did learning create the organizational capabilities we need to execute our strategy?”
What This Means for Your Team
If you’re reading this and wondering where to start, focus on foundations first. Before you chase AI tools or skills taxonomies, ask yourself: Do we have systematic processes for planning, executing, and measuring learning programs? Can we tell you what’s working and what’s not, based on data rather than intuition?
The teams winning in 2025 are those who built operational discipline in 2024. They’re the ones who can confidently say they’re creating value because they’ve built systems to measure and optimize that value creation.
And remember, those systems and that data doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t tied to buisness outcomes. We covered this in our recent webinar “The Alignment Conversation: Strategies to Align L&D Investments to Business Objectives”.
The future of L&D isn’t just about better content or cooler technology, it’s about better operations. And for the teams ready to embrace that reality, the future is already here.
Ryan Austin is the founder and CEO of Cognota, the world’s first LearnOps platform. He’s passionate about helping L&D teams operate like strategic business functions through better processes, data, and accountability. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn or learn more about Learning Operations at LearnOps.com.
