L&D success means business success

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Tasked with aligning employee goals and performance with those of the organisation’s, learning and development is enjoying its turn in the spotlight. Here’s how to nail it

IF THE findings of LinkedIn’s sixth annual Workplace Learning Report are anything to go by, the value of L&D in the workplace is coming into its own, and it’s a field set for a major revolution. Adam Gregory, senior director, ANZ Talent & Learning Solutions at LinkedIn, says more than 72% of the professionals surveyed for the 2022 data-driven report say L&D has become a more strategic function of their organisation, and 74% agree it has become more cross-functional. This year’s industry report, designed to deliver data and advice on what matters to L&D professionals today, is jam-packed with L&D professionals’ insights on the current challenges, goals, budgets, and positioning of L&D within their organisations, all ready for savvy companies to leverage.

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the way companies hire, market and sell. Its vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 800 million members and has offices around the globe.

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Learning leaders on the rising influence of L&D

“Throughout the tumult of the pandemic, learning and development has unlocked a mandate to deliver the skills workplaces need and that talent wants”

Adam Gregory, LinkedIn

Employees need to feel cared for, valued, and that their skills are put to good use Gregory says L&D activity is an ideal way to deliver on the needs of employees and light up company culture. He says learning powers culture, and culture powers engaged employees who are energised to innovate, delight customers and beat the competition. Conversely, LinkedIn’s report found that employees who feel their skills are not being put to good use are 10 times more likely to be looking for a new job than those who feel their skills are being put to good use. Glint data found that having opportunities to learn and grow is now the highest-ranked factor people say defines an exceptional work environment. The Workplace Learning Report also notes that employees who rate their culture highly are 25% more likely to be happy at work and 31% more likely to recommend working at their organisation. It’s an approach favoured by big business. Amanda Kowal Kenyon, chief employee experience officer at Ketchum, told LinkedIn the company was focusing on embedding learning and skill building in people’s actual day-to-day experiences to make Ketchum a long-term, attractive career home where staff had many opportunities to move up and around into different teams and projects.

Managers matter Last year’s report declared managers to be the “secret skill-building weapon” – and their importance has only grown, especially in remote and hybrid businesses where employees have fewer serendipitous meetups to build their networks and increase their sense of company culture. LinkedIn’s data reveals the factor most critical to employees’ experience of feeling cared for is each person’s manager – this past year, almost half (49%) of L&D professionals surveyed put an increased focus on manager training and support. However, only 25% of respondents indicated their organisations were prioritising manager training around work-life balance and wellbeing.

“Now more than ever, my manager is equated with my experience in an organisation,” said Danny Guillory, vice president and chief diversity officer at Dropbox, which has launched quarterly summits to support managers. Organisations need to future-proof teams as change occurs at lightning speed L&D plays a central role in future-proofing organisations as learning leaders answer employees’ renewed calls for growth and purpose, and those in the field are grappling with the urgent challenge of upskilling entire workforces. This is transforming the function of L&D into a strategic, business-critical role that its leaders must quickly grow into. “Employees expect opportunities to learn and grow without limitations, managers who understand individual working styles and environments, and companies that offer flexibility as a standard of employment,” says Gogi Anan, LinkedIn’s senior people science consultant. This doesn’t have to translate to stressed-out L&D staff. As with most sectors, technology is offering up new and innovative ways to help companies streamline activity and support their staff. Stella Lee, PhD, director at Paradox Learning, told LinkedIn’s researchers that AI-enabled edtech products, in combination with other emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, cloud computing, and the internet of things, could support workplace learning. She added that personalised learning content using recommender systems, push content via chatbots, peer-based knowledge sharing on collaborative platforms, and the integration of curated external content (third-party content) with custom internal in-house content were all options. In an interesting if not ironic twist, LinkedIn’s data indicates that increased workloads saw L&D learners spend 23% less time learning in 2021 and 35% less time learning than their HR colleagues. Lori Niles-Hofmann, senior edtech transformation strategist at NilesNolen, suggested the solution lay in thinking strategically, and she recommended L&D professionals ensure their learning was aligned with business skills. “Rather than looking at hours of learning and course completion rates, instead focus on identifying what skills are lacking in your organisation. With that alignment and clarity, L&D can create a skill-building program that’s in lockstep with your business strategy,” Niles-Hofmann said.

“The Great Reshuffle is transforming the way we live and work. With talent increasingly prioritising flexibility and fulfilment, L&D staff may hold key insights into how to meet these demands, while maximising productivity and success”

Adam Gregory, LinkedIn

Recreating the L&D machine requires collaboration Creating meaningful, successful L&D activity within companies requires a shift in thinking from ‘vertical silos’ to working horizontally across the organisation – or, in layman’s terms, working closely with HR counterparts, executive leadership and department heads to craft learning strategy. “In a unique moment in time, when organisations can rethink their approach to many aspects of HR, the collaboration between L&D and people analytics is resulting in more effective, fact-based and impactful learning experiences,” said Nigel Dias, managing director at 3n Strategy. While LinkedIn’s data shows that many L&D professionals have become more cross-functional this year, there is room to grow in terms of the HR partners they’re working with.

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74%

agree that L&D has become more cross-functional

had some to a great deal of involvement in helping their organisation adapt to change

87%

agree that L&D has become a more strategic function at their organisation

72%

agree that L&D is focused on rebuilding or reshaping their organisation in 2022

62%

Source: LinkedIn 2022 Workplace Learning Report

Talent acquisition is a big area of opportunity this coming year as skills-based hiring becomes more important, and people analytics could become a strong partner to illuminate the business impact of skill-building programs.

Increasing number of L&D jobs and promotions

Source: LinkedIn 2022 Workplace Learning Report

in demand for L&D specialists in July–Sept 2021 compared to previous quarter

Neither last nor least, when it comes to transforming L&D activity, don’t forget to engage the employees themselves – after all, the best source for understanding what employees want and need is employees themselves. Unfortunately, while the report notes that more businesses kept their ears open to employee sentiment by deploying more frequent surveys, and L&D pros increasingly turned to employee engagement surveys to gauge the impact of their programs in the past year, there is still progress to be made. This year’s Workplace Learning Report survey reveals that a mere 20% of learners agree their ‘organisation’s leadership values learning more now than ever before’. In short, it’s time to work smarter, not just harder.

L&D professionals promoted this year than their HR counterparts

94% rise

15% more

Get in touch to schedule a free demo and discuss how LinkedIn Learning can help you navigate transformation while employees learn relevant skills, achieve goals and make a greater impact.