Realizing ROI with L&D
I’ve often joked that if someone paid me to stay in school for the rest of my life, I probably would. “Learner” is at the top of the list of my five signature strengths, per the CliftonStrengths assessment. And I always have a running list of books to read, classes to take, and courses I’d like to complete....someday.
We all have limited resources, be they time, money, or attention spans. This may be especially true if you’re responsible for learning and development (L&D) in your organization. But in these times of accelerated change, with new technologies, workplace modalities and an increasingly intergenerational workforce, high-quality L&D programming is more than a perk; it’s a business strategy.
It’s not new-news to say that ongoing professional development is critical to organizational health and growth potential. First, human capital is your biggest expenditure if you’re a service business – up to 80% of your operating budget according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. And second, maintenance of this huge investment requires much more these days than routine upskilling on new technologies such as AI. It actually requires doubling-down on the interaction skills that drive collaboration and decision-making and the mindset skills for self-management in a world where exacerbated uncertainty and stress can derail personal health and professional productivity.
This may feel overwhelming, but L&D does not have to be overly complicated in scope or lengthy in duration; it just needs to be effective. Here are four obstacles that often undermine ROI for L&D programming:
Outcomes are unclear. Many organizations start with an inventory of competencies that have an unknown provenance when they should start with their desired business outcomes and reverse engineer the behaviors and skills required to achieve them.
Focus is limited. Professional and personal development is important for leaders at all levels, not just the ‘high potentials’ or ‘recently-promoted’. Sadly, many senior leaders do not participate in formal learning programs (with the exception of executive coaching) despite the fact as they ascend in an organization the opportunities for directed learning, especially through feedback, greatly decrease.
Transference never happens between classroom and workplace. In a rush to scale (or save money), an over-emphasis on online/on demand learning may undermine engagement with the material and reduce its real-world application because the most impactful learning experiences happen in a social context – something that can be achieved in both virtual and physical environments if properly designed.
Evidence of impact is missing. To state the obvious, gathering feedback is a must and yet it is rarely captured. Or if it is captured, it’s rarely applied. As with most high-quality products and services, taking an iterative approach will ensure your programs are having the intended impact and actually contributing to business outcomes.
Each of these obstacles, if properly addressed, can become a value-driver for L&D. Rather than avoid investment, what would be possible if you could clarify the business outcomes that L&D needs to address for your organization, prioritize the associated skills and behaviors, and deliver well-designed learning experiences that show measurable results?
If you’d like to explore, I’m here for you.