There are several factors that make The Corporate Research Forum’s (CRF) latest research significant. With recession looming, organisations will inevitably review budgets yet, learning can make a significant contribution if it has the right approach and focus. Understanding the organisation and the strategy allows L&D to focus on outcomes.
What is keeping business leaders awake at night?
Certainly not what leadership programmes are being offered! 87% of executives report skills gaps in their organisations! Knowing their issues and helping solve real business problems gets people’s attention and adds measurable value. Seeking out data and being able to consider the measurement of the intervention allows for the alignment of resources and a focus on the skills or behaviours required to drive improvement.
How would L&D reduce error rates that lead to customer dissatisfaction for example?
Measuring the real cost of not fixing the problem versus an intervention can generate support and ensure that where skills are developed, people can see the relevance of building and developing them. A recent McKinsey survey found that only 25% of respondents believe that training measurably improved performance.
This isn’t to say that L&D departments need to be removed, rather about shifting to how the function adds value and clearly talking to the organisation in those terms.
What is the story about how investment is measured and how the activity and energy in development will make the organisation stronger or more able to keep up with the demands of the market or customers?
Getting outside the function and being curious about the organisation and how it works and provides products or services is essential. What experiences can L&D provide to develop skills? At APS we have been focused on skills development rather than knowledge for a long time. We developed SkillsPilot for this reason.