The workplace is changing and how! The corporate landscape is becoming more and more competitive, technology is evolving at breakneck speed, automation is everywhere and there are learning disruptions like never before. The work or the workers too are not the same anymore. With so many changes happening so rapidly, L&D has a lot on its platter for now!
However, in the recent past, there have been some not-so-encouraging numbers on the L&D front.
For instance, according to LinkedIn’s 2017 Workplace Learning Report, only 8% of CEOs reported that they see the business impact of L&D programs, and just 4% see the ROI. Gallup’s 2017 State of the Global Workplace report pointed that as many as 85% of employees are not engaged at work. Towards Maturity’s 2017 report stated that only 15% of L&D professionals claimed they noticed positive changes in staff behaviour pointing that the extent to which learning is having an impact on subsequent actions is insufficient.
In fact, in most organisations, it is not uncommon for the L&D to not get a seat at the table. Often they are left out of strategic discussions too. When times get tricky for businesses, the training budget is usually the first to suffer. Unfortunately, L&D’s relationship with the management is more like a chicken egg story in a way. If L&D cannot prove their value, they would never be valued. The only way to truly increase support and investment in L&D from company management is to prove value. L&D departments need to be ready to rise to the challenge and show their worth.
However, L&D cannot function by simply taking orders from businesses and delivering some tactical solutions to meet business demands. We need to develop the mindset for driving strategy and leading change. In essence, we need to think bigger and broader. We have to truly commit ourselves to doing better. The idea should now be to focus on making a difference to the business through what we do.
In short, it’s almost like a wakeup call to the entire L&D fraternity that it’s time to make the most of every learning initiative to ensure that the results are better. It is necessary to take actions that will put the maximum focus on making a business impact.
It is now the time to actually ‘Go Beyond’ all that is just the usual!
