7 minute read
L&D success means business success
Tasked with the goal of aligning employee goals and performance with those of the organisation’s, Learning and Development is enjoying its turn in the spotlight. Here’s how to nail it. LinkedIn's Senior Director, ANZ Talent & Learning Solutions, Adam Gregory explains.
If the findings of LinkedIn’s 6th annual Workplace Learning Report are anything to go by, the value of L&D in the workplace is coming into its own, and it’s a field set for a major revolution. Adam Gregory Senior Director, ANZ Talent & Learning Solutions, LinkedIn says more than 72% of the professionals surveyed for the 2022 data driven report say L&D has become a more strategic function of their organisation, and 74% agree it has become more crossfunctional.
The 2022 industry report, designed to deliver data and advice on what matters to L&D professionals today, in jam packed with L&D professionals’ insights on the current challenges, goals, budgets, and positioning within their organisation, all ready for savvy companies to leverage.
Employees need to feel cared for, valued, and like their skills are being put to good use
Gregory says L&D activity is an ideal way to deliver on these needs and light up company culture. He says learning powers culture, and culture powers engaged employees who are energized to innovate, delight customers, and beat the competition. Conversely, LinkedIn’s report found employees who feel their skills are not being put to good use are 10 times more likely to be looking for a new job than those who feel that their skills are being put to good use.
Glint data found that having opportunities to learn and grow is now the highest ranked factor people say defines an exceptional work environment. The Workplace Learning Report also noted employees who rate their culture highly are 25% more likely to be happy at work and 31% more likely to recommend working at their organization.
It’s an approach favoured by big business. Amanda Kowal Kenyon, Chief Employee Experience Officer for Ketchum says they’re focussing on embedding learning and skill building in people’s actual day-to-day experiences to make them a long-term, attractive career home, where staff have many opportunities to move up and around into different teams and projects.
Managers matter
Last year’s report declared managers the “secret skill-building weapon” – and their importance has only grown — especially for remote and hybrid businesses where employees have fewer serendipitous meetups to build their networks and increase their sense of company culture. LinkedIn’s data revealed the most critical factor in a caring employee experience is each person’s manager – almost half (49%) of L&D professionals surveyed put increased attention on manager training and support this past year. However, only 25% of respondents indicated their organizations are prioritising manager training focused around work-life balance and well-being.
“Now more than ever, my manager is equated with my experience in an organization,” says Danny Guillory, vice president and chief diversity officer at Dropbox, which has launched quarterly summits to support managers.
Organizations need to future proof their teams as change occurs at lightning speed
L&D is at the center of this, answering employees’ renewed calls for growth and purpose, and those in the field are grappling with the urgent challenge of upskilling entire workforces. This is transforming the function of L&D into a strategic, businesscritical role that learning leaders must quickly grow into.
“Employees expect opportunities to learn and grow without limitations, managers who understand individual working styles and environments, and companies that offer flexibility as a standard of employment, ” says Gogi Anan, Senior People Science Consultant, LinkedIn.
This doesn’t have to translate to stressed out L&D staff. As with most sectors, technology is offering up new and innovative ways to help companies streamline activity and support their staff. Stella Lee, PhD Director at Paradox Learning told LinkedIn’s researchers that AI-enabled ed tech products, in combination with other emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) can support workplace learning.
She adds personalized learning content using recommender systems, push content via chatbots, peer-based knowledge sharing on collaborative platforms, and the integration of curated external content (third-party content) with custom internal in-house content are all options.
In an interesting, if not ironic twist, LinkedIn’s data indicates increased workloads has seen L&D learners spent 23% less time learning in 2021, and 35% less time learning compared to their HR colleagues. Lori Niles-Hofmann, Senior EdTech Transformation at NilesNolen suggests the solution lies in thinking strategically, recommending L&D professionals ensure their learning is aligned with business skills. “Rather than looking at hours of learning and course completion rates, instead focus on identifying what skills are lacking in your organization. With that alignment and clarity, L&D can create a skillbuilding program that’s in lock-step with your business strategy,” she says.
L&D leaders agree value’s skyrocketed
In an interesting, if not ironic twist, LinkedIn’s data indicates increased workloads has seen L&D learners spent 23% less time learning in 2021, and 35% less time learning compared to their HR colleagues. Lori Niles-Hofmann, Senior EdTech Transformation at NilesNolen suggests the solution lies in thinking strategically, recommending L&D professionals ensure their learning is aligned with business skills. “Rather than looking at hours of learning and course completion rates, instead focus on identifying what skills are lacking in your organization. With that alignment and clarity, L&D can create a skillbuilding program that’s in lockstep with your business strategy,” she says.
Recreating the L&D machine requires collaboration
Creating meaningful, successful L&D activity within companies requires a shift in thinking from ‘vertical silo’s’ to working horizontally across its organization – or in layman’s terms, working closely with HR counterparts, executive leadership, and department heads to craft learning strategy.
“In a unique moment in time, when organizations can rethink their approach to many aspects of HR, the collaboration between L&D and people analytics is resulting in more effective, fact-based, and impactful learning experiences,” says Nigel Dias, Managing Director at 3n Strategy.
While LinkedIn’s data show many L&D professionals have gotten more cross-functional this year, there is room to grow in terms of the HR partners they’re working with. Talent acquisition is a big area of opportunity this coming year, as skills-based hiring becomes more important, and people analytics could become a strong partner to illuminate the business impact of skill-building programs.
Neither last nor least, when it comes to transforming L&D activity, don’t forget to engage the employees themselves – after all, the best source for understanding what employees want and need is employees themselves.
Unfortunately, while the report noted more businesses kept an active ear on employee sentiment by deploying more frequent surveys and L&D pros increasingly turned to employee engagement surveys to gauge the impact of their programs in the past year, there is still progress to be made. This year’s Workplace Learning Report survey revealed a mere 20% of learners agree their ‘organisation’s leadership values learning more now than ever before’. In short - it’s time to work smarter – not just harder.
Get in touch to schedule a free demo and discuss how LinkedIn Learning can help you navigate transformation while employees learn relevant skills, achieve goals and make a greater impact.
