Has there ever been a more vital time for training material than 2020? Between shifting working environments, new workflows and rapidly evolving diversity initiatives, 2020 is a year of change, meaning 2020 is also a year for training. The premise for this article was first inspired by Harvard Business Review’s October 2019 article, “Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development.” A few statistics cited in the article underline major concerns in corporate training: “Organizations spent $359 billion globally on training in 2016, but was it worth it? Not when you consider the following: • 75% of 1,500 managers surveyed from across 50 organizations were dissatisfied with their company’s Learning & Development (L&D) function; • 70% of employees report that they don’t have mastery of the skills needed to do their jobs; • Only 12% of employees apply new skills learned in L&D programs to their jobs; and
| 22
• Only 25% of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey believe that training measurably improved performance.” It begs the question whether the 75% of dissatisfied managers work for organizations that treat L&D teams as thought leaders or production houses? If those L&D teams are only producing what’s asked of them without the ability to validate and evaluate training needs, then low utilization of and satisfaction with training should be a shared accountability with the business. As more budgetary scrutiny is placed on teams during these economically uncertain times, L&D teams need to showcase the value they bring. This article highlights valid concerns for L&D’s training efforts and showcases why discovering your organization’s L&D bottleneck is so essential.
THE BOTTLENECK When manufacturing is discussed in every basics-of-business class, the business principle of “the bottleneck” inevitably arises. In business, a bottleneck is often described as one process in a long chain of processes that limits the chain’s capacity to generate value. When bottlenecks are present in the supply chain, halts in
production, customer dissatisfaction and low employee morale are likely to occur. In modern L&D, the bottleneck isn’t suppressing available content, learning management system (LMS) capabilities, budget or leadership buy-in. Rather, the bottleneck exists in the limited utilization and misuse of training materials. Let’s evaluate why this is the case.
DO YOU CREATE NICE OR NECESSARY TRAINING? A friend of mine, Emily, told me about an experience she had in the early 2010s when she was newly hired into her role and received a sales training request.
DURING THESE ECONOMICALLY UNCERTAIN TIMES, L&D TEAMS NEED TO SHOWCASE THE VALUE THEY BRING.
