We are living in unprecedented times for businesses. The pandemic was a huge challenge, and now we are faced with economic and social uncertainty. In order to thrive in challenging times, you need employees who are willing to develop their skills to meet new challenges.

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Learning and Development (L&D) is an important part of your people strategy; investing in your employee’s growth ensures their goals and performance are aligned with those of the organisation.

Developing the capabilities, skills and competencies of your workforce is the foundation of the success of your workforce.

The key areas in which L&D support an organisation’s success are:

Employer Brand

Having the right people is vital to the success of your organisation. You need a team that is efficient, and effective, delivers the right innovation, skills, and insights to meet organisational goals and stay ahead of your competition. This can be ‘mission impossible’ if you cannot attract the right candidates during the recruitment process.

“Employees expect opportunities to learn and grow without limitations, managers who understand individuals working styles and environments, and companies that offer flexibility as a standard of employment” – Gogi Anand – Senior People Science Consultant LinkedIn

Fortunately, having a good people strategy in place could help make your business an “employer of choice.” A good strategy creates a flow of talented people who naturally gravitate towards your business.

However, in using L&D to build your brand as an employer, avoid sheep dip, generic, one size fits all development solutions – they will fail and have little or no impact overall.

It’s important to note that people are used to personalisation in their day-to-day lives, and that should be replicated in your L&D activities. People expect individual development plans with clear pathways and use of tech with individual logins and dashboards enabling them to track their progress. This further supports the promotion of your business as an employer who encourages and supports self-lead capabilities.

Talent Management

It makes sense that investing in L&D is essential to attracting the best people in the recruitment process, but equally as important is the onboarding experience. It’s a vital component.

Research has shown that employees who have a good onboarding experience are 18 times more committed to their employer – (Source Bamboo HR) By taking the time to train new employees at the onboarding stage, new employees are shown that they are already valued, and that the business is committed to them, which in turn increases retention.

By investing in your people, you are investing in your business growth and sustainability. In short, by ensuring L&D is part of your people and business strategy, you have a far greater chance of attracting and retaining top talent.

Employee Engagement

Now more than ever, keeping employees engaged is a constant endeavour. Finding a single approach or solution to successful employee engagement isn’t possible.

Creating a companywide learning culture is an effective L&D strategy that will engage and motivate your employees. Unite and engage your entire workforce by making learning a shared standard practice. Through this approach, businesses can harness and leverage the power of engagement across the board, leading to higher employee engagement overall.

Company Culture

Post-COVID, we are seeing more remote and hybrid workplaces. This model presents new challenges, especially as it affects developing and maintaining company culture. Businesses are having to rethink strategies, and press the reset button on values and culture, driven largely by their employees. This is where L&D can help build a sense of community and a value-based culture even with a hybrid workforce.

As a business, creating a culture of being a ‘learning organisation’ is the best approach. Doing so means that development is no longer seen as ‘have to do’ activity with no value. The culture of a learning organisation elevates L&D as a strategic and necessary investment that will support the business to thrive, grow and increase its market position.

People and Capability Development

When the speed of innovation increases, knowledge and skills become outdated more rapidly. That means the value of your people decreases, which in turn creates the need for new learning and relevant work experiences to keep you ahead of the curve.

In support of this, there has got to be focus on L&D. When commitment and investment in developing your employees is made, you will see the return in higher productivity and efficiencies.

To run a successful, thriving, business today, you need a competitive advantage, and that edge, your advantage, is your people.

“You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build your business” – Zig Ziglar

If you would like to discuss how we can support your development please contact the team on 01603 791256 or email hello@mad-hr.co.uk

MAD-HR is an acronym representing our mission to ‘Make a Difference’ We are committed to helping businesses thrive and succeed and help you get the best out of your people.