As Henry Ford famously said, “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”
In today’s ever-evolving workplace, prioritizing continuous learning has become essential. The 2023 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report noted a 25% change in job skill requirements since 2015 — a number expected to double by 2027. With so many new skills to learn, it’s no surprise that the report also highlighted learning and development needs as three of the top five drivers of employee churn.
The takeaway? Companies that succeed in learning and development enhance employee engagement, minimize turnover, and stay ahead of the competition.
Building the right L&D program for right now
Learning and development (L&D) is a critical investment for any organization. In our recent webinar, L&D Strategies Gone Wrong: Delivering Better Training in 2023, we presented a collection of valuable findings and key insights on the following crucial areas:
- Data-driven approaches to designing L&D programs
- How to ensure successful program execution and scale-up
- Measuring the impact of L&D on business performance
- Leveraging the voice of the employee
The pandemic has led to unprecedented employee turnover, prompting organizations to recognize the value of human capital. Effective L&D programs help to nurture those humans by meeting one of their fundamental needs — the desire to grow and develop.
Show me the data!
Build a Data-Driven L&D Strategy
Measuring the impact of L&D programs
Wondering how to measure the impact of learning and development? Too often, organizations rely exclusively on operational metrics rather than business metrics. Ideally, both types of data should be used to balance the analysis.
A few examples of operational metrics used to evaluate L&D success:
- Number of employees enrolled in each training
- Course/program completion rates
- Number of hours spent learning
While these are useful data points, they don’t paint the full picture. Simply showing up isn’t the same as acquiring new skills! In fact, these are sometimes referred to as “vanity metrics” because they can make a program look good on the surface level.
Still, if people don’t show up, we can’t study the deeper metrics! A few examples of business metrics used to evaluate L&D success:
- Performance on post-learning assessments
- Progress toward closing existing skill gaps
- Improvements in employee performance reviews
Figuring out what metrics matter most for your organization can make a huge difference in designing an effective learning and development program.
Leveraging the voice of the employee
While Voice of Employee (VoE) programs can help in building a stronger understanding of the needs and experiences of all employees, it’s also critical to engage senior leaders in the design process.
As every good curriculum designer knows, successful program evaluation (and learning, of course!) requires starting with clear objectives, and if your leadership team will be doing the grading, you need to know what they’re looking for. Ask key questions (a survey like this can be helpful!) to help focus the discussion.
As the importance of upskilling and personal growth become core to employee and business success, learning and development is increasingly becoming a core function within organizations. Gone are the days when L&D was simply “HR’s job” — now, the importance of continuous learning requires everyone’s involvement in a culture of growth and development.
Are you looking to revamp your L&D strategy to ensure it meets your needs? Check out our session L&D Strategies Gone Wrong: Delivering Better Training in 2023. In this webinar, we explore how learning programs can guide your organization through transformation.
Ready to learn more about where your current L&D program is succeeding (or not)? Connect with our team today to start using your own data to plan your next steps!
