Written by: Raveena Elizabeth

We’ve seen it all too often. L&D is seen as a support function (a.k.a backup) or a rapid response team (aka fixer) when the business suddenly needs to manage a people gap problem. L&D can be viewed as a secondary infrastructure and called upon only when help is needed. It doesn’t have to be like this. L&D professionals need to understand business strategy and then create an aligned L&D strategy for the business's success.

Enter the L&D Strategy and it’s 5 steps

Do we really have clarity and know the business strategy and needs? Most of us get our understanding from the few lines written inside a Training Needs Analysis document.

A learning and development (L&D) strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how an organization will meet its professional development needs and achieve its business objectives. It is time-bound, meaning it has a specific time frame for completion, and sets measurable goals and objectives. Failure to do this just makes the L&D function out of scope, outdated, and an unwanted distraction from “real” work.

The goal of an effective L&D strategy is to provide employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve their performance, enhance their engagement, and contribute to the overall success of the business. This blog post will explore the different types of business goals and how L&D teams can design and implement an effective learning and development strategy.

Step 1: Understand the Types of Business Goals

The first step in developing an effective L&D strategy is to understand the types of business goals that an organization can have. These goals can be broadly categorized into two kinds: business-related goals and employee-related goals.

Business-related goals are focused on improving the overall performance and success of the organization. These goals include increasing revenue, reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing market share.
Employee-related goals, on the other hand, are focused on improving the skills and knowledge of the employees. These goals include improving employee engagement, enhancing employee performance, and developing a culture of continuous learning.

How To
Often the need of the organization will include both in a single intervention by L&D. Here’s the key, even when it seems like a simple request in an email, always schedule a call with the stakeholders – decision makers, potential participants, and perhaps any other people that the training can impact. Often we will find that there is a notable difference between what is written in an email and what is revealed in a meeting. The details you get in the meeting help you to craft a more focused and accurate L&D solution. Don’t skip the meeting!

Once you gain clarity, it’s time to move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Conduct a Skills Gap Analysis

*Steps to conduct employee skill survey and gap assessment*

This involves evaluating the skills and knowledge required to achieve business goals and comparing that to the skills and knowledge currently possessed by employees. The analysis can be conducted using a variety of methods, such as Training Needs Analysis (TNA), surveys, assessments, focus groups, or interviews. Once the skills gap has been identified, organizations can create targeted training and development programs to close the gap.

How To
It’s crucial to ask BOTH the employee what they view as their gap and also their line manager to see what is the gap of the employee. Do not communicate the results of the other party to each of them until both of them have completed this process. This is to prevent bias and also groupthink between both the results.

Step 3: Design Learning Programs

Effective learning programs should be designed in a way that aligns with business goals and addresses the specific needs of the workforce. This involves using various learning methods such as Instructor-Led Training (ILT), eLearning, On-the-Job Training (OJT), Gamification, Simulations, Mobile Learning, and Social Learning to cater to different learning styles and ensure that employees can apply the new knowledge and skills to their jobs.

How To
Remember it’s not the type of training that matters – that’s the method only. Use whatever method that gives the best results. Some methodologies may be more suitable for high engagement and practical applications such as gamification based simulations.

Step 4: Measure and Evaluate L&D Effectiveness

To ensure that L&D programs are effective and contribute to business goals, this can be done through various methods, such as surveys, assessments, and performance evaluations. This helps identify areas where improvements can be made and ensures that the organization is getting a return on its investment in L&D.

Step 5: Communicate and Collaborate with Key Stakeholders and Measure and Evaluate L&D Effectiveness

Effective communication and collaboration with key stakeholders are critical to the success of aligning L&D strategy with business goals. This includes working closely with senior leaders, managers, and employees to ensure that the training and development programs are aligned with the overall business strategy. Also, help to identify areas where improvements can be made and ensure that L&D efforts are relevant and practical.

To illustrate the importance of aligning L&D strategy with business goals, let's take a look at a real-life example (studied by Deloitte, 2023) A major German information and communications technology company faced several challenges: A lack of highly demanded IT skills, a low turnover rate, a high average age of the workforce, and insufficient business performance.

To overcome these challenges, the management team of the company decided to kick off a large-scale agile transformation that involved over 60% of its total workforce. By re-up-skilling existing staff into agile roles and adopting agile methodologies, the company not only significantly increased its business performance but also developed a thorough learning culture within the organization that made learning in the flow of work a key pillar of its strategy.

This case study highlights the importance of aligning L&D strategy with business goals. The IT company recognized the need to re-skill its workforce to meet the demands of the market and improve business performance. By aligning L&D initiatives with the company's strategic goals, the company was able to achieve a successful transformation and develop a culture of continuous learning within the organization.

However, if the company had not implemented an L&D strategy that aligned with its business goals, it may have continued to struggle with a lack of skills and insufficient business performance. It may have also missed the opportunity to develop a learning culture that could drive innovation and growth.

In conclusion, it's crucial for organizations to align their L&D strategy with their business goals to achieve success. However, it's equally important to continuously evaluate and update the strategy as the business landscape evolves. I encourage you to take action and regularly assess your L&D strategy to ensure it remains aligned with your business goals and helps drive your organization's success.

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