How to build a great Learning and Development strategy in 2021

Over the past decade or so, the global workforce has undergone a massive shift in their mindset and ways of working. Accordingly, the Learning and Development strategy of an organization has also witnessed major changes.

For most organizations, the L&D function has evolved over a number of years.  In some instances though, it just serves as a basement storage locker where L&D solutions are simply created and used over a period and then it just gathers dust. However, taking an opportunity to revisit and redefine your organization’s L&D strategy is not just a good thing but also speaks volumes about the vision of the organization.

Today, we are going to discuss the top 6 considerations that should be contemplated while defining the L&D strategy for an organization. 

1) Ensure your L&D strategy aligns to the business priorities

Your L&D strategy should be aligned to the overall business strategy. Remember the needs of your organization are different, hence the learning strategy should be aligned in a way that it is able to meet the company’s overall business priorities. For example, if your business has prioritized brand marketing strategy as one of its goals for the financial year, make sure to incorporate marketing courses in your learning strategy.   

2) Become more agile and ready to scale

With the advent of new tools and technologies, businesses have to go through a major shift in mindset and become ready to adapt to the changing circumstances. Likewise, an L&D function must also be prepared to launch capability programs to transition the staff to new processes and business environments as and when there is a need to do that.

Further L&D functions can enhance their partnerships with different business units to establish a governance structure which will help the organization to share the responsibility of defining, prioritizing, designing and securing funds for the various programs. 

3) Assess internal stakeholders

You may want to conduct an internal stakeholder assessment to understand what you require from your L&D strategy. You can further get buy-in to make them a part of the employee development plans. For example, quoting the above scenario where branding marketing strategy is a business priority, you need to consult with the marketing team to understand the performance gaps and how an effective L&D strategy helps them meet those gaps. 

4) Consider the best learning tools and technologies

When you are formulating your L&D strategy, you must prioritize to make sure you are using the best learning tools and technologies available in the market. Few of the top rated tools come with multiple benefits, such as guided case study analysis, leadership exercises, leadership coaching, flexible distance learning, global learning in the best business locations, and so on. 

5) Consider the recruitment and retention rate

Never forget that recruitment and retention of employees is an interconnected process. Hence, the L&D programs should contribute as a value proposition to your employees. The expected impact should also be taken into account in your L&D strategy. 

6) Keep in mind the future requirements

While building a great learning strategy, you should always focus on the future needs of your organization and employees. You should take into consideration your management objectives and goals while formulating a strategy. 

Conclusion

Creating a meaningful L&D strategy contributes to a great extent in shaping up the future of the organization. Every single solution defined by the L&D strategy should have a target group, purpose, and value. 

L&D strategies should never be formulated with a mindset of “how many calendar days of training do I need to attend”.  Rather it should be seen as an investment in the overall development of the employees and not just something that the Human Resources department should take care of. 

An effective L&D strategy should be the goal of every employee and to effectively implement it, you will need the support of a reliable LMS. Contact us today to book a demo of the Totara LMS.