Emerging from the foxhole

Summer music festivals are a British tradition but sadly so too is unpredictable weather. As one of the 75,000 revellers at the recent Isle of Wight Festival, I can report that relentless rain didn't dampen the spirits of my fellow festival-goers. Some did seek shelter during the final day's non-stop downpour; hunkering down, they hoped the bad weather would pass. But the majority knew that staying dry was fruitless. They refused to let the rain spoil their experience.

Hunkering down through an unpleasant climate, of a different sort, is what many L&D practitioners have been doing recently. Economic conditions though, unlike the Isle of Wight's rain, haven't been so quick to blow over.

Over the past couple of years, many organisations have simply switched off much of their training activity. In trying to ride out the storm, they've completely cut back on their investment in people development. Others have endeavoured to slash their training budgets by switching to whichever providers or interventions offered the lowest unit cost. Neither of these 'solutions' could be described as sustainable in the long-term.

Now, though, the market is experiencing a sea change. Not that L&D practitioners are suddenly saying "everything's better now, let's go back to the way things were". What seems to be happening instead is that a resilient, survival-instinct mentality is rearing its head. The thinking seems to be: you can't hide in a foxhole forever. There's only a certain amount of time that you can hold back on development and expect everything to carry on working. Business depends on effective people performance. In the workplace, development needs will always arise and sooner or later you have to address them. The rain may still be coming down but eventually you have to put a coat on and do what has to be done.

What's interesting, I think, is that those successful L&D practitioners who are venturing out there are taking a much more business-aware approach to target and champion learning that measurably works. More than ever, they want value from their training budgets but the emphasis now is on securing quality and results - thinking like an ambitious investor rather than a risk-averse cost accountant.

This brings us back to the ever-present challenge of business partnering. The whole point of providing training is to help people to do their jobs better, so they become more productive and their employer becomes more profitable. To do this successfully, L&D has to uncover and prioritise the most pressing people development needs; those that will improve the organisation's performance.

The only way to do this is through coalface business interaction. You have to get involved in the business and boldly highlight where you can actively make a difference by spearheading learning and collaboration projects that will deliver results. But it is not easy to engage with business areas that are often running to stand still. Doing so will undoubtedly make you feel exposed but that's what's necessary if improvements are to be made.

This, in turn, demands the discipline of measurement. Tracking and measuring your activity is an important part of ensuring that you're implementing the right solutions for your business. If you can measure something, you can then make a decision on whether it is right for you. You're not second-guessing yourself about whether or not you're getting value. Plus, the management information you gain - by tracking who did what, when and why - can help you to better plan for events in the future.

Coming out of their foxhole, L&D teams are embracing a new mentality. Are you prepared to get your raincoat on and drag yourself out of the mud? If you're planning to go to any of the remaining summer festivals, the same question will probably apply.

Al Bird is learning consultancy director at KnowledgePool. He can be contacted at al.bird@knowledgepool.com