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5 Tips for Building a Winning Learning and Development Program
As the war for talent rages on, employers are implementing new tactics to engage the modern worker–and their changed tastes, attitudes, and behaviors in the wake of the pandemic.
For many companies, those tactics include increased investment in employee learning and development initiatives (L&D)–and for good reason.
In a study conducted by TalentLMS, Epignosis, and SHRM, 76% of employees agreed that they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training, learning, and development–a critical retention-focused finding in a labor market where turnover (and its costs) remain high. And, 55% said they need additional training to perform better in their roles.
Learning and development can also help employers close the skill gap at a time when top talent remains scarce. According to the same study, more than one in two companies is facing a skills gap, and half of them are addressing it by training existing employees.
In a trend coined “quiet hiring,” employers are leaning on learning and development to expand the skills and capabilities of their current workforce without increasing headcount–a win-win for employers and L&D-driven employees alike.
Designing an L&D Program That Attracts Top Talent
On this week’s episode of America Back to Work: Expert Interview Series Alex Genetti, Head of People at Enable, a global, collaborative rebate management platform, shared her secrets for building a successful (and affordable) L&D program.
Informed by her insights, here are our top tips for designing a winning L&D program at your organization that attracts top talent in today’s labor market (and beyond):
1. Start Learning and Development on Day One
Onboarding represents a rare time in which you have an employee’s complete attention—making it the perfect time to jumpstart your L&D initiatives. It’s also a time when learning is expected—making it a natural place to incorporate upskilling and education.
Early learning should focus on company history, mission, and culture, and help new hires learn the skills and tools necessary to succeed within your organization. You can also use onboarding as a time to set learning and development plans/checkpoints for each team member. After all, employees who feel they have a clear plan for their professional development are 3.5x more likely to say that their onboarding process was exceptional.
2. Identify Skill Gaps to Streamline L&D Initiatives
There are so many different routes you can take when designing an L&D program. To ensure you’re spending your time and money on the right areas, consider conducting a skills gap analysis to figure out what to focus on. This kind of analysis will help you align your L&D program with your overall business goals.
It might be helpful to complete several, focused training needs analyses based on department (i.e. sales vs marketing) or level (i.e. senior leader vs manager). This pre-work will empower you to create more targeted, personalized, and effective learning experiences for your employees–while boosting your “quiet hiring” program.
3. Get Employee Feedback to Hone Learning and Development
No one knows what they need to succeed better than your employees. That’s why 55% of workers self-reported that they need additional training to perform better in their roles in the TalentLMS L&D study.
Be sure to gather feedback from employees via surveys and conversations with managers about what they want to learn to get better at their jobs. Like a skills gap analysis, employee feedback is another great way to focus your L&D program while saving time and money.
4. Leverage Internal Knowledge to Cut Costs
Learning and development is expensive. According to the same TalentLMS L&D study, here’s how much U.S. Companies spend on L&D annually per employee:
During difficult times for businesses (like the pandemic or the impending recession), L&D budgets are often the first to go. But, learning and development doesn’t have to be expensive–especially when you already have experts under your roof!
Consider leaning on current employees–and their knowledge–to build out your learning and development materials. They can teach live courses, write articles, and record videos that help your larger employee base improve.
Employees are a great (and inexpensive) resource for teaching both hard and soft skills like time management, project management, leadership, and more. Plus, employees are more likely to deliver the information in a way that applies to your specific business (and business goals)!
5. Advertise Your L&D Program
Be sure to regularly share your L&D offerings with employees to drive adoption—otherwise, you’re wasting time and money.
Make employees aware of learning and development opportunities during onboarding. Announce any updates via company-wide meetings, internal communications (i.e. email or Slack), social media accounts, and blogs–and ensure that managers are regularly promoting L&D to direct reports. Plus, be sure to incorporate L&D into your employer branding on job postings and career pages to improve recruiting and hiring.