4 Key Strategies for Driving Business Impact with Learning and Development Programs

Learning and Development (L&D) has been part of the corporate world for decades. Modern-day L&D practices have been evolving from as early as the 1940s, if not earlier. What began as an initiative to train new employees in their roles has evolved into something that can have a significant impact on the organization's overall development. However, the real question to be asked is, “What is the true impact of L&D on an organization’s development?” “True” being the operative word here.

Is L&D truly contributing to an organization’s trajectory? Or is it a mere support function tucked away in the background to schedule training, mark attendance, and provide reactive support?

As a talent development professional myself, at the risk of sounding biased and tooting our own horn, I can vouch that L&D can make meaningful contributions to an organization. However, the caveat is in how you approach L&D.

Consider a scenario in which the business asks L&D to design a refresher course for 45 minutes on a business process topic “X.” L&D takes in the request, runs a session the following week with an in-house process expert, makes logistical arrangements, gets the attendees to attend, has the expert facilitate the session, marks attendance with 100% adherence, and closes out the session. A few months down the line, L&D is looking to measure the impact of the refresher program and establish the return on investment (ROI). Surprisingly, none of the business metrics show significant improvement. There are no significant measurable metrics or factors that account for the impact of the program. Sounds familiar? Have you or your L&D team been in a similar situation?

In the scenario presented, would you say that L&D did not make an impact at all, despite 100% attendance? Why was L&D not able to show the impact? The answer is simple; in this case, L&D acted reactively to the request, and that’s why it may seem like the L&D initiative failed. 

While the pressing and dynamic nature of businesses compels them to request training and learning programs on demand, it is the responsibility of the L&D teams to perform due diligence in analyzing the request and providing the right strategic solutions. Let’s discuss some of the key strategic approaches L&D should adopt for an effective learning intervention with ROI that can be measured and reported.

Training Needs Analysis

L&D should perform an elaborate learning/training needs assessment to understand the gap in skill, knowledge, behavior, or competency. This analysis should dictate the learning program design, content, duration, target audience, mode of instruction, and the goals being aimed at. The impact of bridging a gap may be immediate or long-term, and must be identified upfront—since L&D cannot measure long-term cultural or behavioral change within just a few months. Setting the right expectation ahead of time can avoid disappointments and false or negative readings of impact. 

Program Goals and Metrics

L&D should design effective program metrics and goals from the start to measure and track the effectiveness of the program. These should be valid program metrics and not just vanity metrics like attendance percentage, course completion rate, etc. The program metrics should directly or indirectly tie to at least one of the business metrics for effective measurement. Having learning program goals and metrics in place helps track, monitor, and control the quality of the program. More often, it is the lack of objective goals, metrics, and data that falters L&D ROI rather than the actual program.

Resource Optimization

L&D should leverage the right set of resources: from effective trainers, software applications, digital tools, and mechanisms, delivery type, to content sourcing, that are cost-effective and efficient. The program design should also support scalability to meet growing business needs.

Right L&D Team

Having the right L&D team with experienced and knowledgeable professionals can make a huge impact on how learning programs are designed and implemented. More often than not, L&D is considered a support team running administrative tasks, and unfortunately, businesses assume that anyone can perform those L&D tasks. This leads to any professional donning the hat of an L&D professional without the foundational knowledge and nuances associated with L&D and running learning programs that are not designed for impact. 

Design, Measure, Deliver: The L&D Difference

Remember, often it’s incorrect and irrelevant data and metrics that mispaint L&D programs as failures. L&D can truly make a mark in an organization’s development by crafting the right strategy, performing effective gap analysis, designing the right programs, goals, and metrics, leveraging the right resources, and hiring qualified L&D professionals, much like any other department that contributes to the organization’s success.

The next time you call out an L&D program as a non-value add or failure, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Did I design the program right?

• Did I measure the right metrics and data?

• Did I leverage the right resources and professionals to implement it?