Blogs on Human Resource and Organizational Success

Learning and Development (L&D) has been part of the corporate world for decades. Modern-day L&D practices have been evolving from as early as the 1940s, if not earlier. What began as an initiative to train new employees in their roles has evolved into something that can have a significant impact on the organization's overall development. However, the real question to be asked is, “What is the true impact of L&D on an organization’s development?” “True” being the operative word here. Is L&D truly contributing to an organization’s trajectory? Or is it a mere support function tucked away in the background to schedule training, mark attendance, and provide reactive support? As a talent development professional myself, at the risk of sounding biased and tooting our own horn, I can vouch that L&D can make meaningful contributions to an organization. However, the caveat is in how you approach L&D. Consider a scenario in which the business asks L&D to design a refresher course for 45 minutes on a business process topic “X.” L&D takes in the request, runs a session the following week with an in-house process expert, makes logistical arrangements, gets the attendees to attend, has the expert facilitate the session, marks attendance with 100% adherence, and closes out the session. A few months down the line, L&D is looking to measure the impact of the refresher program and establish the return on investment (ROI). Surprisingly, none of the business metrics show significant improvement. There are no significant measurable metrics or factors that account for the impact of the program. Sounds familiar? Have you or your L&D team been in a similar situation? In the scenario presented, would you say that L&D did not make an impact at all, despite 100% attendance? Why was L&D not able to show the impact? The answer is simple; in this case, L&D acted reactively to the request, and that’s why it may seem like the L&D initiative failed.  While the pressing and dynamic nature of businesses compels them to request training and learning programs on demand, it is the responsibility of the L&D teams to perform due diligence in analyzing the request and providing the right strategic solutions. Let’s discuss some of the key strategic approaches L&D should adopt for an effective learning intervention with ROI that can be measured and reported. Training Needs Analysis L&D should perform an elaborate learning/training needs assessment to understand the gap in skill, knowledge, behavior, or competency. This analysis should dictate the learning program design, content, duration, target audience, mode of instruction, and the goals being aimed at. The impact of bridging a gap may be immediate or long-term, and must be identified upfront—since L&D cannot measure long-term cultural or behavioral change within just a few months. Setting the right expectation ahead of time can avoid disappointments and false or negative readings of impact.  Program Goals and Metrics L&D should design effective program metrics and goals from the start to measure and track the effectiveness of the program. These should be valid program metrics and not just vanity metrics like attendance percentage, course completion rate, etc. The program metrics should directly or indirectly tie to at least one of the business metrics for effective measurement. Having learning program goals and metrics in place helps track, monitor, and control the quality of the program. More often, it is the lack of objective goals, metrics, and data that falters L&D ROI rather than the actual program. Resource Optimization L&D should leverage the right set of resources: from effective trainers, software applications, digital tools, and mechanisms, delivery type, to content sourcing, that are cost-effective and efficient. The program design should also support scalability to meet growing business needs. Right L&D Team Having the right L&D team with experienced and knowledgeable professionals can make a huge impact on how learning programs are designed and implemented. More often than not, L&D is considered a support team running administrative tasks, and unfortunately, businesses assume that anyone can perform those L&D tasks. This leads to any professional donning the hat of an L&D professional without the foundational knowledge and nuances associated with L&D and running learning programs that are not designed for impact.  Design, Measure, Deliver: The L&D Difference Remember, often it’s incorrect and irrelevant data and metrics that mispaint L&D programs as failures. L&D can truly make a mark in an organization’s development by crafting the right strategy, performing effective gap analysis, designing the right programs, goals, and metrics, leveraging the right resources, and hiring qualified L&D professionals, much like any other department that contributes to the organization’s success. The next time you call out an L&D program as a non-value add or failure, ask yourself the following questions:  Did I design the program right? Did I measure the right metrics and data? Did I leverage the right resources and professionals to implement it? Cover of Learning and Development Essentials L&D is one of the key drivers in training and providing learning opportunities for employees to perform well in their current jobs and upskill them to take on new challenges/ roles within the organization. Learning and Development Essentials delves into the fundamental theories, principles, and concepts of L&D to help you gain a holistic understanding of the L&D function in the HR space. If you are new to the concept of L&D and want to learn how to leverage it to build a robust organization with future agility and capability, this is the right book for you. This book is a part of Vibrant Publishers’ Self-Learning Management Series and is suitable for entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals. Find out more about the book here:Link to the book: Learning and Development EssentialsAuthor: Albert SinghAlso Read:Does Cross-Functional Training Promote Loyalty?The Role of HR Analytics in Human Resource ManagementThe Performance Management Cycle

Running a business can be quite unpredictable, even if it’s just a small-scale one. However, through cross-functional training, you can manage such uncertainty by creating teams that have a broad range of skills. Basically, cross-functional training aims to form groups made of individuals with varying skills then have them work towards a common goal. In most cases, it will involve individuals from various departments like marketing, human resources, finance, etc. However, despite being practiced by a number of companies due to its benefits, there are still companies that are quite hesitant to start cross-functional training due to a number of reasons. The Biggest Benefit of Cross-Functional Training: Perhaps the biggest benefit that cross-functional training has to offer is that it promotes loyalty. In general, training has the ability to make employees feel that they’re valued by the company. After all, you as the business owner invested time and knowledge in them, with the aim of letting them learn new things and expand their knowledge and expertise. As a result, employees will appreciate the business more, and they will get the feeling that they belong in a family along with their new teammates. Ideally, this can significantly reduce the rate of resignations. Apart from that, employees who have undergone cross-functional training will be less prone to boredom compared to workers who do the same, repetitive tasks every time they log in until they leave the office. This is because cross-functional training will challenge them as they get to learn and practice new skills, and as a result, this makes them enjoy their jobs even more. Not only that, but they also become empowered to make decisions regarding where their efforts are highly needed during a particular time. They can also pass on their knowledge to each other whenever necessary, essentially making them better coworkers and allowing them to develop leadership qualities. But here’s the real question we haven’t tackled yet: does cross-functional training actually promote loyalty? The Connection Between Cross-Training and Loyalty: According to an article by Harvard Business Review, 75% of all cross-functional teams end up failing. There are a number of factors behind them, and some of them are present in all projects: serving customer needs, staying on the schedule and budget, and sticking to specifications. Most of the troubles experienced by cross-functional teams come from departmental silos. People have a tendency to be in a group with similar people who has the same thinking that they do. And just like regular teams, cross-functional teams also require someone with strong leadership traits and communication skills. So why bother anyway when it has a higher chance of failing? It’s because cross-functional communication is a form of art. As long as leaders can get it right with their time management and leadership skills, they can expect significant improvements in revenues, product appeal, and even brand loyalty. As long as leaders build trust with their team members, cross-functional training will have a higher likelihood of succeeding. Achieving Positive Results: As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why most cross-functional teams end up failing is due to departmental silos. For example, designers don’t do well when paired with engineers, and so on. One solution to this problem is to encourage your project managers to lead by example. This could include demonstrating active listening skills, meeting deadlines, and upholding promises. As team leaders, they should set the bar for their members. On the other hand, you can show trust in your project managers by giving them critiques in private then encouraging them to try new ideas. It also helps to give them permission to fail. As the head above it all, you should also possess some form of a leadership skill which can be any of the following: Servant leadership Transformational leadership Situational leadership Transactional leadership Democratic leadership During cross-functional training, you can encourage everyone to communicate more openly with each other. You can also schedule meetings to allow different teams to interact with each other, share each of their progress, and even share new ideas. By doing so, your company can benefit from such a form of training (even if it ends up failing) by just gathering people from various departments all in the same room. The Bottom Line: Everyone in a company should feel the satisfaction of pouring their effort into a business initiative while gaining the recognition they truly deserve for all the hard work they’ve done. You might think that it’s not really that necessary, but for cross-functional teams, getting the glory they rightly deserve for successfully completing the challenge of inter-departmental collaboration is a big deal, and it’s one that can certainly create a sense of loyalty for your company.