4 Tips for Maximising the Benefits of Your L&D Programme
As any well-run company knows, the benefits of effective L&D can be enormous. Nevertheless, it hasn't always had the best reputation, and it can be difficult to quantify its value compared with other support functions in a business. So to ensure your firm is getting the most out of its L&D programme, here are four pointers.
Target your skills gap
It is crucial to the effective provision of L&D that you know what you are attempting to change.
Ask your employees what skills they would like to gain or improve! Many companies focus on technical skills, but soft skills such as communication, teamwork and critical thinking often go underappreciated.
Building these skills amongst your best and brightest in the junior and midlevel ranks is key to ensuring you maintain a healthy leadership pipeline.
Offer flexibility
Many companies only do the basics when it comes to L&D, meaning a once-a-year training course which feels more like box ticking than genuine learning.
A recent study by LinkedIn found that the top reason employees feel held back from learning is that they don’t have the time.
Combine those two issues, and you have a often-found problem with L&D – lots of information dumped in one go onto employees who are likely to be clock-watching and thinking about how to make up the time this has taken out of their workday.
To solve this problem, offer opportunities to learn in small increments that can be easily integrated into a busy workday.
With the increasing advent of online learning, this is easier than ever before.
Market your offering
As the corporate world wakes up to what L&D has to offer, companies are investing more heavily than ever in capacity that has genuine value for its employees.
But many of them will still associate L&D with what it is likely to have been for much of their careers – annual snoozefests that don’t provide them with anything useful...
So it is important to dispel that perception by broadcasting exactly what you are providing.
This can be done through word of mouth and internal communications.
In particular, make sure managers are aware and on board with your programme – a 2019 LinkedIn study found that three-quarters of workers would take a course based on the recommendation of their manager.
Demonstrate value
Having management buy into the value of your programme doesn’t just improve employee participation rates, but will also make it easier for you to get the resources you need to maximise the benefits L&D can provide.
Make sure your programme is aligned with business strategy and you have an evaluation model that can accurately track results, which you can then bring to senior management.
Of course, the development of technical skills is easier to quantify than soft ones, but the latter can still be tracked through behavioural change, productivity and individual success.
At Camino Partners, we truly value L&D, and invest heavily in our internal capacity. We also work with some of the sharpest minds in recruitment L&D, and have a proven track record of providing seamless fits into L&D roles, creating significant value for our clients. To discuss your needs or for an informal chat about the market, contact us today:
