The Assets of the Learning Function

Learning & Talent Development practitioners enter the field with the intent of helping fellow employees be successful on the job. And, like the participants learning new skills in our classrooms, we want our contribution to be valuable. To be valuable, we must proactively – and strategically – position ourselves to be able to fulfill our purpose within organizations.

The purpose of the Learning & Talent Development function is to develop organizational members to be able to carry out the strategies of the organization. This development comes not only from the lessons learned in the classroom, but also lessons derived from the performance feedback that may be leveraged to aid decision-making. Supplying timely and accurate performance feedback is the job and fulfills the purpose of the Learning function.

The current methods we are using to provide performance feedback, however, are not answering the questions we really want the answers to. For example, reporting the reactions of participants that attended your Customer Service class will not tell us what we really want to know – did the Customer Service class affect the service performance of course participants. Or, did we realize an increase in sales? Or, are our external customers more satisfied with the service they are receiving? By connecting the work of the Learning function to the business we can then extract the performance information we really need to know and can also inform our progress toward our purpose. Like all other functions in the organization, Learning & Talent Development contributes more than products, yet we favor measuring what we put into a product, the activities we completed for the product, and the output, or product itself. Could you imagine evaluating the entire Information Technology function by the implementation of one system or program? By looking only to the products we have delivered in the past, we miss the opportunity to proactively participate in the formulation of the desired future. Your Learning function has much more to offer than products (such as training classes) and, as such, requires a holistic view of the total, strategically valuable contributions.

Employers are receptive to viewing training as strategically valuable; yet, we do not often demonstrate a comprehensive view of the strategic investment of training in organizations and if such investment equates to improvements in firm performance. In an example, a Learning function that responds to training requests without aligning to strategic priorities risk over-investment (in dollars and other resources), affecting the performance of the firm, and consequently, reducing the real and perceived strategic value of the Learning & Talent Development function. Those functions that can measurably connect the work they do to the strategic needs of the organization are positioned to demonstrate their work is strategically valuable.

Consultants at IFNAE are currently engaged in research that seeks to uncover the specific ways the Learning & Talent Development function may increase their strategically valuable contribution to organizations – and ways in which this may be demonstrated so that the perception of the function is elevated to an equal, contributing formulator of organizational strategy.

Take a look at these questions below. If you seek input into the answers to one or more of these questions, contact Karen@www.ifnae.com to discuss how your Learning function can move toward connecting their work to the business and ways in which these valuable accomplishments may be demonstrated in your organization.

1. How does your Learning & Talent Development team strategically influence the performance needs of your organization?
2. How does your Learning & Talent Development team impact strategic decision- making? Strategy formulation? Strategy implementation?
3. What levers can your Learning & Talent Development team influence to impact the success of the business?
4. Are your Learning & Talent Development activities aligned with the goals of the organization?
5. Is your Learning & Talent Development team engaged in activities that are non-essential to business success?
6. Is your Learning & Talent Development system aligned to create, deliver, produce, and sell products and services that gain competitive advantage for your organization?
7. What is the current level of value your Learning & Talent Development team is providing to its stakeholders? In what areas may you improve to offer additional value to your stakeholders?