leadership and development Keeping up with the L&D revolution
More than fifty years ago, Bob Dylan sang the times, they are a changin’. This sentiment echoes now more than ever in relation to the general approach to learning and development within business, writes Ross Owen Williams
The era of “orientation, handshake and good luck” has been replaced by an age in which most companies prioritise the development needs of their staff and have created learning and development programmes for their business. It’s highly encouraging but the reality is that not all L&D initiatives are created equally. As industry standards improve, staying ahead grows increasingly challenging. Perhaps your business has drastically improved its professional development programme recently – but if it can’t compare to advances made by your competitors, you’re still playing from behind.
The benefits of a market-leading L&D offering go beyond maximising quality and efficiency. A clearly structured, comprehensive programme is vital for both attraction and engagement. In the current climate, companies that demonstrate commitment to the ongoing development of their staff will win the ongoing war for talent.
As mentioned above, not all L&D initiatives are created equal – but there are two common areas where a number of professional development programmes fall short.
The first area is in understanding that L&D is a marathon rather than a sprint – it’s not something solely for the induction and probation period. One of the main reasons employees disengage between six months to two years of employment is because they aren’t receiving adequate training support. This period is when an employee is most vulnerable as it’s too early to have fully grasped all facets of the job nor long enough for an emotional investment in a long-term relationship. Any workers who feel unsupported during this period will question how seriously the company is taking their future. Equate it, in general terms, to being a teenager. Just because the individual has most of the physical and mental competencies of an adult, it does not mean that they no longer require guidance – leaving them to their own devices and hoping for the best is a recipe for disaster.
The second common problem is companies attempting to do everything themselves. Having a fantastic internal L&D function is commendable but ignoring the considerable benefits of integrating external training into this is an error.
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An internal-only programme cannot have the level of objectivity that a combination of internal and external training support can offer. Even if a business only uses external training once or twice each month, the wealth of knowledge that can be shared by an individual or company who has a vast amount of experience of different companies, practices and procedures is something that will help encourage evolution in line with progress elsewhere in the market. On top of this, an external voice is often heard more clearly than that of the internal trainer, if for no other reason than it is different and fresh. It can also be a support system for the internal trainer – having an external expert corroborate the messages delivered internally will only strengthen the position of the company’s own training team.
Another factor affecting the training landscape is the increase in online learning. Increased time constraints can limit learning opportunities so having training resources available to use when convenient has become vital. Furthermore, bite-sized modules of e-learning can be easier to digest and revisit as required. Offering these L&D elements together is a powerful combination to achieve successful business growth and retain top talent.
Despite having been formed less than a year ago, Recruitment Guide has already taken on clients globally to deliver direct training and share their free and subscription video modules. The message is clear – companies worldwide are taking L&D seriously to stay ahead of their competition. Now, more than ever, it is vital for any forward-thinking business to regularly review its own L&D initiative and ask – without ego – are we really giving our employees the very best we can?
Ross Owen Williams (@ RecruitMentor) is the head of global online content and a business consultant for James Caan’s Recruitment Guide, the world’s leading multi-approach recruitment training offering which provides a subscription service to video training content, as well as live online and in-person training.
Ross Owen Williams James Caan For more information:
recruitmentguide.com @recguide
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2017
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