Strategy
Maximise investment in your line managers with an enabling environment
Line managers are pivotal to business success – support them to boost performance and drive impact with these tips from Steve Macaulay and David Buchanan Why do line managers matter to L&D? Line managers create the environment – the resources and support that allow staff to perform their roles. But are we creating an enabling environment for line managers? Here is how L&D and HR can help. Today’s line managers are your source of tomorrow’s top team Your line…
Make learning count: Leveraging feedback loops for business success
Feedback loops help L&D leaders refine strategies, align learning with business goals and drive success, writes Houra Amin In the rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to adapt and continuously improve is critical for success. Central to this adaptability are feedback loops – a concept that involves producing something, measuring the outcomes, and making improvements based on the data. A strong partnership between L&D and business leadership is crucial for ensuring alignment between the people-capability agenda and the overall business…
Uniting HR and L&D: A strategic imperative for future-ready organisations
We must ensure HR and L&D have a say in tech and change management discussions, writes Ted Miller Attend any board meeting today and it’s almost certain that the agenda will prominently feature discussions about the latest technological advancements and their potential impact on the company’s future. But amid the discussions on artificial intelligence integration and data analytics, one critical voice is conspicuously absent: Human Resources. Too often, HR is marginalised in discussions about technological integration and change management, despite…
HR teams are overwhelmed. But they can’t put L&D on the back burner
How to free up time and resources for HR teams to effectively prioritise L&D programmes, by Jeremy Walsh Human resources departments are often small, lean teams responsible for a growing list of responsibilities. But in many organisations, HR’s workload has become too much to handle: 95% of HR leaders report feeling overwhelmed and 81% are experiencing burnout, according to a report from Sage. Overburdened and understaffed teams find it challenging to handle their daily tasks, leaving HR leaders with little,…
Leaders are approaching skill building all wrong
It’s time to change “What’s in it for me?” to “What’s in it for them?” Stuart Cheesman explores an employee-centric approach UK leaders will be fully aware of their organisation’s skills gap, and HR’s struggles at filling the void. And with the World Economic Forum, stating that 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, learning and development (L&D) initiatives have never been more important. An ‘employee first’ approach to skill building bolsters inclusion, a sense of community and organisational growth…
After the implosion: 9 ways to rebuild employee trust after a crisis
Rebuilding workforce trust is challenging but achievable through proactive leadership and genuine engagement: learn how with these tips from David Ross These feel like increasingly tense times. Terms like ‘permacrisis’ have gained greater visibility as the world faces conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, global existential challenges including climate change and AI, and a litany of other significant, interconnected economic, social and environmental problems whose lack of resolution has not inspired great confidence. Trust is critical. Trust is such an importance currency…
Joining the dots . . . on how L&D can drive impact through continuous development
Do you want to think more broadly and engage more people in the L&D process? Get ready to unlock the potential of continuous improvement, writes Martin Couzins Return on investment is the Achilles’ heel of learning and development. It is hard to prove and yet people still talk about it and still want it. Rather than chasing something that is so elusive, try a different tack. Focus on continuous improvement. Why? Because it frees you up to think more broadly and…
UK workforce productivity stagnates as adult training declines
Revamping human capital strategies and transformational change in people practices is needed to boost productivity – Hugh Billot shares a human capital barometer The UK has seen a significant decline in adult education and training says the Institute of Fiscal Studies. My barometer of human capital performance (below) confirms the case. Workers in general are now less productive than in the past. Almost on all critical measures of human capital performance the outcome is poor. There has been a slump…
The missing link in L&D: Why action-learning deserves a comeback
Isobelle Keith looks at the learning intervention that time forgot The learning and development profession faces many challenges. Learning transfer from traditional training hovers at a dismal 12% (Collins 2023), and despite the billions spent on leadership development, the results don’t always bear out (Haslam et al 2024). Add to that the pace of technological change and the rapid advancement of AI and it’s clear that workplace learning needs a revolution. “There can be no learning without action, and no…
Leading beyond the pyramid: Crafting a culture of agile, empowered decision-making
Henrik Ekelund champions a shift towards decentralised decision-making in today’s fast-paced business environment Organisations today are struggling with decision-making more than ever before. In an era where technological innovations and global macrotrends are redefining the way we do business, the traditional hierarchical models of corporate governance are proving to be not just inadequate but a barrier to success. The old ways of command-and-control leadership slow down progress and stifle innovation. They create and reinforce silos and prevent those further down…
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