The world of work today is a hugely competitive place.There are many more job vacancies than suitable people to fill them thanks to the impact of the pandemic and BREXIT, amongst other things. Providing a structured, engaging and tailored learning and development programme has never been more important.
The solution to the great war for talent and quiet quitting is ensuring that employees are fully engaged with their work and that their learning and development needs are being met. The focus has to be on retaining employees, to get out of the draining and costly never ending cycle of recruitment.
Another consideration is that today’s workforce now has four generations – Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, each with different priorities. Those at the beginning of their career are looking to continue learning and growing, something very important for Gen Z. Those towards the end of their career may need more support with the latest onslaught of tech that the pandemic fast-tracked.
Forbes have reported that a recent study released by Talent LMS and the SHRM explores the importance of L&D in the coming years in the midst of talent shortages and skills gaps. The study found that 76% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training.
Investing in employees learning and development is the right thing to do for both the employee and the organisation and the figures speak for themselves:
- 77% of UK employers believe that L&D is important foremployee retention (CIPD)
- 69% of UK employers believe that L&D is important foremployee engagement (CIPD)
- 59% of UK employers believe that L&D is important foremployee productivity (CIPD)
- Companies that invest in L&D are 21% more likely tooutperform their competitors financially (Deloitte)
So, what is the best way to tackle learning and development? The answer is with a structured, tailored L&D plan. There are many different ways to design an L&D plan. The best approach will vary depending on the specific needs of the business. However, there are some key elements that allL&D plans should include:
Clear goals or objectives.
What do you hope to achieve with your L&D programme? Do you want to improve employee performance, boost innovation, or attract and retain top talent?
Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start to develop a plan to reach your goals. Don’t try to do too much at once. An Annual L&D plan, will help you prioritise the L&D required and also help you to decide what needs doing now and what activities can go into next years plan.
Identification of target audience.
Who is your L&D programme for? All employees? Specific jobroles? Once you know who your target audience is, you can tailoryour programme to their specific needs.
Prepare a skills gap analysis
You then need to look at your team as individuals and how they perform against key areas of their job role. It could be your senior management team. How effective are they at recruitment, performance management, customer service standards?Drawing up a simple scoring matrix can help inform where the training priorities lie.
Consider a variety of learning methods.
Not all employees learn the same way. Some people prefer to learn by reading, while others prefer to learn by doing or listening. A good L&D programme should offer a variety of activities to accommodate different learning styles. Also consider different learning methods – group training, coaching, mentoring, online learning, on the job training, job rotation, secondments orin house development programmes.
Measure results.
How will you know if your L&D programme is successful? It is important to set some goals and objectives for your programme and then track your progress over time. This will help you to see if your programme is having the desired effect.
No matter what L&D strategy employers choose, it is important to make sure that the plan is tailored to the specific needs of the organisation and its employees. A well-designed L&D plan is a crucial part of the success of any organisation.
Employees now see a vibrant L&D culture as a key factor indetermining if a company is a great place to work.
A well-designed L&D programme can help businesses to attract and retain top talent, improve employee performance, boost innovation, and improve employee morale. If you are not already investing in L&D, now is the time to start.
