Aligning Learning & Development Strategy with Business

Figure 1-Learning and Development Tutorial

Learning & development aims to ensure that people in the organization gain and develop the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to carry out their work efficiently & effectively for the betterment of the organization & employees'.

Armstrong (2014) learning & development defined as the process of ensuring that the organization has the knowledgeable, skilled & engaged workforce it needs.

* Learning is the process which a person acquires and develops knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviors and attributes as per the job requirement.

* Development is the growth or realization of a person's ability and potential gain through continues learning and educational experiences.

Aims of strategic L&D

Strategic learning & development aims to produce a consistent and broad framework for developing people through a learning culture. It is therefore developing the intellectual capital required by the organization, ensuring the right quality people are available to meet present and future needs.

Figure 2-Armstrong, M.(2014). Armstrong's Handbook
of Human Resource Management Practice

Aligning L&D to the Business Strategy 

According to Dessler (2013) employers strategic plans should ultimately align with its training goals to identify the employee behaviors. Through that employer can execute its strategy & deduce what competencies employees will require to meet the present & future job requirements.

According to a survey done by Reiser (2007) establishing a linkage between learning and organizational performance was the number one issue faced by the training professionals. Training has a major impact on influencing performances of an organization.

"ADDIE" is the gold standard training model that training experts have used for years.

A - Analyze the training need
D - Design the overall training program
D - Develop the course.
I  - Implement training ( Ex - On the job or online training)
E - Evaluate the course's effectiveness

According to CIPD spring 2015 Employee Outlook survey, most frequently used & most effective L&D practices are,

*On the job training (Selected by 50%)
*Online training (29%)
*In house development programs (25%)
*Learning from peers( Through face to face interactions or online networks) (25%)
*External conferences, workshops & events (15%)

According to the above survey, on the job training was considered to be the most effective learning practice while online learning, mobile learning, external events and instructor led training off the job were among least effective.

References 

Armstrong, M.(2014). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 13th Ed

CIPD. (2015). Learning & development, Employee Outlook survey 2015

Available at : https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/learning-development_2015_tcm18-11298.pdf

Dessler, G.(2013). Human Resource Management. 13th Ed

Reiser, R. (2007). Trend  and  Issues  in  Instructional