Learning and Development Strategy and Execution

Learning & Development Strategy & Execution

Best-Practices
1. Make the case for building a Learning &
Development strategy.
2. Develop a vision for Learning & Development.
3. Analyze critical issues impacting Learning &
Development.
4. Establish Learning & Development strategic
principles.
5. Apply the strategy across the Learning &
Development function.
Phase 1 Outcome:
• Completed vision statement and understanding of
future direction.
• Prioritized needs and issues to focus the strategy on for
attainment of future state.
Phase 2 Outcome:
• Strategic principles for Learning & Development
established.
• Initiatives for each function of L&D that align with the
strategic principles.
• A timeline for implementation of L&D initiatives.
• A plan for evaluating progress and communicating
successes.
1. Determine future and current
state of L&D
2. Establish and apply L&D
strategic principles
Learning & Development Strategy:
Process Overview

Establish and apply L&D
Phase 2:
Determine current and
future state of L&D
Phase 1
Determine current and future state of Learning &
Development
• Make the case
• Develop a vision for Learning & Development
• Analyze critical issues impacting Learning & Development
Steps:

An L&D strategy makes each of the L&D areas more effective
and better integrated
The Learning & Development function consists of the following areas:
Each of these programs sets the employee up for success and has a significant impact on the
business:
• Strong onboarding allows the employee to ramp up quickly and have faster time to effectiveness.
• Employee development contributes to a more skilled workforce, which increases overall effectiveness and productivity,
thereby increasing revenue.
• Management development is critical as the manager’s abilities affect the overall team performance.
• Leadership development results in quality leaders that contribute to the organization’s overall achievement of success
and improves employee engagement and workforce retention levels.
Onboarding
Employee
Development
Management
Development
Leadership
Development

L&D programs are better integrated with business initiatives, which results in
better delivery, support, and impact.
Programs are created to complement each other with predetermined desired
outcomes in mind, making resource planning and program design easier, and
resulting in time and cost savings.
All stakeholders know their roles and responsibilities, stakeholder
management is facilitated, and follow through on tasks is ensured by all key
players.
Overall goal setting for the L&D function ensures the L&D function follows a
set plan that spans three to five years and aligns with business goals.
L&D opportunities are selected based on the overall impact and value to the
organization.
The alignment of the L&D strategy to the business goals, involvement of key
stakeholders, and tracking of metrics to demonstrate value will improve buy-in
for the function and result in increased budget and resource availability.
An L&D strategy improves the effectiveness of the
organization and addresses key obstacles impacting L&D
Having an L&D strategy will help HR overcome common pain points often experienced
when executing L&D initiatives. These include:
…Solution derived from L&D strategy creationL&D issue…
Inward focused L&D programs that
fail to move in sync with
organizational objectives.
L&D initiatives don’t work well
together, gaps exist, and programs
are difficult to coordinate.
Managers, executives, and L&D
team members duplicate efforts or
balk their L&D responsibilities.
Piecemeal solutions result from a
response to immediate need.
L&D opportunities are available
but fail to produce meaningful
results.
Resource and budget constraints
exist for the L&D function,
impacting its effectiveness.

Step 1: Develop a vision for Learning & Development
1

Determine key stakeholders to ensure that all relevant
opinions are considered when developing the L&D strategy
Stakeholders Role Why they are essential players
Project sponsors:
champion the project and
set the tone for the
organization.
The management team has an on-the-ground perspective of
what the ideal state of Learning & Development should be,
particularly around leadership and management training.
Project participants: assist
by giving feedback which
helps to shape the strategy.
The executive team is responsible for setting the strategic
direction of the organization. They understand where the
organization needs to be in the future and the skills necessary
for achieving the future state of the organization.
Executive
Team
Management
Team
Employees Project participants: assist
Similarly, the opinions of employees from varying levels and
locations should be taken into consideration. Asking employees
for their input is also a good way to gauge how well employees
in general will buy-in to initiatives.
Project leader: drives the
strategy creation process and
brings stakeholders together.
The focus of HR is on the people resources of the organization;
they have a clear understanding of how and where the Learning
& Development function can support the business strategy.
Head of HR /
Head of L&D
a
HR will already be familiar with the L&D training in place, which
means they know what’s working and what isn’t. They also have
insights into HR strategy.
Project participants: assist
L&D or HR
Team

Establish your project team for crafting the Learning
& Development strategy (1 of 2)
Prior to holding an L&D strategy workshop, establish your team for completing the Learning &
Development strategic planning process – having the right people involved is critical to success.
1.1
a
To help with this task, think of individuals who exhibit some or all of
the following attributes:
• Team player
• Champion for the Learning & Development function
• Has clout/influence
• Is a high-potential employee

Establish your project team for crafting the Learning
& Development strategy (2 of 2)
5. Read the names under each group, and consider
reasons for their inclusion. Shortlist each group
to two or three individuals. If shortlisting is a
difficult process, with a great deal of debate, use
force ranking to help arrive at the top individuals.
6. Determine the process facilitator.
• Select a facilitator who is objective, and will
ensure all opinions are heard and that decisions
are arrived at. They will be responsible for
ensuring the strategic planning process runs
smoothly. This may mean going outside of the
project team so the project resources can fully
participate in the process.
• Choose a facilitator who is internal to the
organization and skilled at facilitating, or
someone external, like a consultant, for outside
expertise and knowledge of best practices.
1.1
a

The L&D strategy should flow from the overall
HR strategy, if this exists. If it doesn’t, then
look to the business strategy directly.
• Ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the
business strategy and initiatives for the next three to
five years (or as far as the business strategy extends
into the future) before creating the L&D strategy.
• This ensures that your L&D strategy will directly
support business initiatives.
• Identify business needs now to keep them top of mind
throughout the L&D strategy creation and ensure that
you create shared goals.
Align the Learning & Development function with the strategic
direction of the organization
Business
strategy
HR strategy
L&D strategy
b

Collect information related to the business strategy to gain
insight into long-term goals prior to seeking stakeholder input
Gather the following documents and information from the following
sources: Finance, HR, Executives, and your website.
b
Current
Performance
Document/ Information Insight Gained
Organizational-level competencies To gauge what knowledge, skills, and abilities are valued.
Metrics used to gauge company
success
To establish the current goals and baseline progress.
Organizational mission & values To understand the priorities of the organization.
Qualities that give your organization a
competitive edge
To understand your key strengths and areas of growth (i.e. your
organizational culture, or quality of your product, etc.).
FutureGoals
Current HR and organizational
strategy documents
To get an idea of where the organization is headed.
Organizational vision To understand the ideal state of the organization.
Internal memos or publications
communicating strategy
To understand future direction of the organization in place of formal
strategy documents.
Projected future metrics To see how the organization is tracking towards meeting its goals.
Impending initiatives or new markets To see what major changes in the business are happening.
Industry trends documents/reports To see how you can stay ahead of the competition.

Review strategy documents to highlight key themes
and understand the future goals of the organization
1. Review all documents, metrics, and competencies with a small group of members from the L&D
team by distributing copies to all participants.
2. Include the categories listed:
• Markets
• Products
• Competitive differentiators
• Metrics/Goals
• Process/Strategy changes
• Industry trends
3. Review the documents and discuss any major strategy points or initiatives they see. List these
on the chart paper under the appropriate category.
4. Start grouping the points by patterns or key themes.
5. Keep this list and bring it to the focus group. Discuss with key stakeholders whether these
themes are still relevant to the current strategy.
1.2
b

Determine how to seek stakeholder input effectively
1. With your L&D strategy team, brainstorm approaches for gaining
stakeholder input:
2. Discuss which approaches would be most appropriate to use with
each of your stakeholder groups based on:
• Timelines.
• Resources.
• Organizational culture.
Select the approach for each group that will prove to be the most
insightful and effective.
3. Document your decisions and assign accountability for gathering the
stakeholder information on the future vision of Learning & Development.
Set timelines for completion.
1.3
c

3. Document new learnings and key messages in the guide.
2. Take the lists of key strategic themes you uncovered earlier and ask
participants the following questions to probe for further
understanding:
• Do we expect these strategies to be a priority/focus for the next three to five
years?
• Which strategies are essential to moving our business into the future?
• What are the goals and desired outcomes of these strategies?
• How can the L&D function support the achievement of the strategies?
1. Put together a focus group consisting of a variety of your
stakeholders to discuss the organizational strategy and how L&D can
be of support.
• The focus group session should be limited to eight to ten participants to ensure
that all opinions can be heard and explored.
• Select participants based on their involvement in L&D and level of
interest/engagement.
• Allow broad representation from a variety of teams, levels, and tenure to
ensure the feedback is relevant to employees across the organization. Also,
make sure that participants are comfortable with each other to promote an
open exchange of information and opinions.
Use a focus group to fully understand the organizational
strategy and gain insights to shape the L&D vision
c

Align the Learning & Development strategy with the
organizational culture through support and communication
Review your current culture and determine if you have the desired culture
necessary for achieving your business goals, or if a shift needs to occur.
• Factors to consider include willingness to change, manager buy-in for initiatives,
and general attitudes towards L&D.
Select Learning & Development opportunities that closely resemble the work
environment and culture so that it makes it easier for employees to learn and
buy into the L&D opportunity. This approach makes it easier for employees to
see the parallels between training and their everyday work so they can more readily
apply it. You can do this by:
• Providing problems and examples that mirror real life.
• Ensuring that training matches your culture type
A strong Learning & Development function can actually influence the culture.
• Development opportunities are linked to improved employee engagement, which
can have a range of effects on culture from improved collaboration to higher
productivity.
• Getting buy-in from the top down impacts the success of L&D. Seek champions
from the executive team as you develop and implement your strategy.
• Clear communication will also help you attain employee buy-in. Always explain
why the strategy is being created, what you hope to achieve, and how it affects
employees.
d
*Adapted from Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s Competing Values Approach

Apply best practices for writing an L&D vision statement
• Take a long-term view when writing the vision statement. Even though your
vision statement and strategy document should be updated at least every three
years, when drafting it, describe the outcomes that are five to ten years away.
• Write the vision statement with a business-oriented tone; remember that
the L&D function exists to support and enable the business, and not as an
independent body. This should be reflected in the wording of your vision
statement.
• If you can, tie it back to the organizational and HR’s vision statements,
and Employee Value Proposition if you have one, so that L&D’s vision
becomes a piece of a larger puzzle.
• Write the vision statement in the present tense, as though the idealized
outcomes are already realized.
• Include a clear reference to the value you provide as a function, whether
it’s through cost savings, improved efficiency, or creating a competitive edge.
The goal of the vision statement is to inspire and help create a picture of the ultimate target of the
Learning & Development function. It should be a description of the best possible outcome.
e

Write a Learning & Development vision statement
1. Recall the information gathered from stakeholders while
reviewing the business strategy and organizational culture.
2. Based on this information, brainstorm on sticky notes what the
function of Learning & Development needs to accomplish in the
next five to ten years.
• Write one idea per sticky note.
• Write as many ideas as possible, suspend judgment, and build
on other ideas.
3. Read the ideas and sort them into natural themes, and ask:
• What ideas are similar?
• Is this idea connected to any of the other ideas?
4. Create group consensus by discussing the shared meaning of
each of the sorted themes. Try to limit the number of themes to
between four and six.
5. Create a short description of each of the themes that broadly
encompasses all the ideas contained on the sticky notes.
6. Use the short descriptions to write a paragraph that
communicates the vision statement and includes all the
overarching outcomes the Learning & Development function
will strive to deliver on in the next five to ten years.
1.4
e

Step 2: Analyze critical issues impacting Learning &
Development
After completing this section you
will have:
a) Collected and reviewed data
pertinent to the L&D function.
b) Learned internal and external
factors that impact L&D.
c) Performed a SWOT analysis to
identify gaps.
d) Completed a needs assessment.
e) Listed your priorities for Learning &
Development.
Section summary
1

Use the information gathered and assessed in this section to
later develop L&D strategy principles and initiatives
The information and insights gathered through the completion of “Step 2: Analyze critical
issues impacting L&D” will be used to define specific L&D strategic principles that align with
your unique L&D requirements and goals for L&D over the next three years.
Although some of the principles may remain the same even if your needs shift over time,
some of them may change. Be sure to review your principles any time your L&D needs
change to ensure alignment and clear direction.

Review existing data about the current state of your Learning
& Development function
• Use HR metrics or data to see the
trends and other information.
• Use focus groups
• Use surveys
• One-on-one interviews with senior
stakeholders
a
Use these resources to gain insight into your stakeholders’ opinions:

Review the impact of your program and if it is addressing
succession planning and workforce planning needs
a
Review the impact of your current program:
• Review performance appraisals across the company – are there skills that people are
performing really well or really poorly?
• If you have a training budget per employee, check how much of these budgets are actually
being used.
• Also review how many of the required training sessions are actually completed on average
by employees.

Understand the internal factors impacting Learning &
Development
The Learning & Development strategy is derived from the business strategy and must be aligned with it
to have any real business value.
Whether a business is in a state of start-up, growth, maturity, or decline will dramatically affect business
needs and objectives and how Learning & Development is leveraged as a tool to engage and retain
talent as well as meet specific organizational needs.
Know your organizational culture to avoid Learning & Development efforts that won’t gain support.
Alternatively, Learning & Development is an excellent way to communicate and drive a desired culture.
Now that you have the vision for your department, do you have the right people to get you there? You will
need team members who are capable of driving change, communicating the value of goals and
initiatives, and keeping business initiatives in sight.
The budget will dictate what kinds of learning will be available and how many opportunities there are.
There are ways to work around it, so you will need to evaluate which programs are providing the best
ROI.
Business
Strategy
Business
Lifecycle
Culture
L&D
Team
Budget
Many development opportunities for employees are identified by their managers. Talent assessment,
coaching, and mentoring also rely on their support or participation. If this is an issue in your organization,
or if managers don’t want to allow employees time to participate in training, it is a huge roadblock.
Manager
Support
b

Understand external factors impacting Learning &
Development
Some industries/professions require training in order to maintain certification. Industries that are
undergoing rapid growth may require specific Learning & Development opportunities to keep up
with the market.
The shift in workforce demographics means that increasingly senior leaders are heading for
retirement, and younger employees are entering leadership roles. This may call for a shift in
Learning & Development activities to prepare these younger employees for their new roles.
If you are currently relying on outside vendors or contractors for technology or instructors to
deliver your L&D initiatives, then the quality of their product is also something to evaluate under
your strategy formulation.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you might be required by law to provide training to your
employees. This may impact the budget for providing additional L&D initiatives.
Industry
Workforce
Composition &
Demographics
Legislation
External
Resources
b

Perform a SWOT Analysis to uncover internal and
external factors impacting Learning & Development
2.1
Strengths
The positive attributes internal to your organization and to
L&D – these are things within your control.
Questions to help uncover your strengths:
• What do you do well?
• What internal resources do you have?
• What advantages does your L&D program offer that are
unique to your organization?
Weaknesses
The negative aspects internal to your organization that
detract from the value of your L&D function.
Questions to uncover your weaknesses:
• What factors within your control detract from your ability to
use Learning & Development to obtain strategic goals?
• What does your Learning & Development function lack?
• What limitations exist on resources or budget?
Opportunities
External attractive factors that impact the likelihood for your
Learning & Development strategy to be successful.
Questions to uncover your opportunities:
• What opportunities exist in the market or the environment
that the L&D function can benefit from?
• Has there been recent market growth or changes that
create an opportunity for Learning & Development?
• Is the opportunity ongoing or is there a specific window in
which it must be addressed?
Threats
External factors beyond control that could place your
Learning & Development strategy and organization at risk.
Questions to uncover your threats:
• Who are your competitors for talent – existing and
potential?
• What situations could threaten your revenue or profits (i.e.
shifts in consumer behaviors, the economy, government
regulations, new products, new technology, etc.)?
c

Use the SWOT analysis to form L&D strategies that
address your organization’s needs and weaknesses
Use your SWOT analysis to brainstorm Learning & Development strategies that address the internal
and external factors impacting the function.
1. Use the following table to guide your strategy creation:
(Berry, “How to perform a SWOT analysis”)
2.2
Opportunities Threats
Strengths
Strength-Opportunity Strategies
Which strengths can be used to
maximize the opportunities?
Strength-Threat Strategies
Which strengths can be used to
minimize the threats?
Weaknesses
Weakness-Opportunity Strategies
What actions (opportunities) can you
take to minimize the weaknesses?
Weakness-Threat Strategies
How can you minimize weaknesses to
avoid potential threats?
2. Document the ideas that result from this brainstorming for prioritization in the following activities.
c

Perform a needs assessment (1 of 2)
1. Gather key stakeholders together to discuss the KSAs
(knowledge, skills, abilities) and/or competencies required to
achieve organizational goals and support strategy.
2.3
d
Organization-wide learning
requirements:
• What competencies are required to achieve
those organizational strategies and goals
discovered in the SWOT analysis?
• What competencies directly support the
organizational vision, mission, and values?
• What competencies contribute to our core
business, or help us to differentiate from our
competition?
By role/department as
required:
• What competencies can
managers identify that help their
department function more
effectively?
Individual learning:
(As identified by performance
objectives, manager, or IDP)
• What competencies do
individuals need to improve
upon to meet or exceed their
performance objectives?
Just focus on the organizational and role/department
competencies in this meeting. Individual learning can be
discussed between managers and direct reports at a later date.
2. Break down the needs for Learning & Development in three
ways:
1 2 3

Prioritize competencies to be addressed
1. Gather the L&D strategy project team together.
2. Present them with the SWOT analysis and the needs
assessment, or a list of the items that resulted from
each.
3. Give each stakeholder three (or an appropriate
number, depending on the number of issues to tackle)
voting dot stickers.
4. Instruct each participant to use their dots to “vote” for
the competencies that they feel are strategic priorities
or that will make the largest impact on the
organization and the achievement of the business
strategy.
5. Participants can spread dots amongst multiple topics,
or all on one.
6. Tally up results to help guide and prioritize future
discussions around setting strategic principles and
goals.
2.4
e

Establish and apply L&D
Phase 2:
Determine current and
future state of L&D
Phase 1:
Establish and apply Learning & Development strategic
principles

Step 3: Establish Learning & Development strategic
principles
After completing this section you
will have:
a) Established core principles for the
Learning & Development strategy.
b) Confirmed the strategy’s alignment
with your vision and priorities.
c) Catalogued current L&D initiatives.
Section summary
1

Develop your Learning & Development strategic principles
around these six core considerations
Now that you have a future vision and an understanding of what needs to be accomplished within
the L&D function to deliver on that vision, establish strategic principles to provide a foundation for
your strategy.
• Strategic principles must be developed in alignment with the outcomes of your needs assessment completed in the
previous section – they will directly enable the Learning & Development strategy execution.
• Use them as a check to ensure that any current or proposed Learning & Development initiatives are in alignment with the
L&D strategy. Any potential development opportunities or training should comply with all of the principles you develop.
a

Key Principle 1: Learning & Development aligns with the
organizational strategy and supports business outcomes
Ensure that Learning & Development initiatives provide
support where support is most urgently needed.
• If you do not have the capacity to support all organizational
strategies, select and focus on the ones that require the
greatest support and where Learning & Development can have
the greatest impact.
L&D needs to be flexible to move in line with organizational
needs.
• Apply this principle with both a short and long term view.
• You need to move towards building the capability of the L&D
function over time, but also be able to respond to business
needs that rise up in the interim. Ensure that your resourcing is
somewhat flexible so urgent needs can be addressed but that
long term initiatives don’t get thrown out or forgotten.
• The business needs should have already been identified in the
formulation of the vision and the needs assessment; refer back
to those as required.
Key factors to consider when customizing the
principle to your organization:
Alignment to organizational strategy
a

Key principle 2: Determine for whom the Learning &
Development strategy is designed
Determine whether L&D opportunities will be available for
every employee within the organization or select groups.
• While it is ideal to provide L&D opportunities for every
employee in your workforce, this may not be realistic.
• Determine if having targeted training for specific groups is
more appropriate, given your needs and resources.
Identify which groups of employees are a priority for
development. These groups often include:
• New leaders: Provide development for transitioning into a
management role, particularly if they have no prior
management experience.
• Employees identified in a succession plan: Prepare
selected employees to move into critical senior roles in the
near future by providing L&D opportunities.
a
Targeted participants

Key principle 3: Provide guidelines around the methods and
formats used for Learning & Development initiatives
There are three main delivery formats in which Learning &
Development occurs.
• 70-20-10 principle is a guideline, and the actual breakdown will
need to be tailored to best suit your organization and L&D
goals.
Within each delivery format, there are multiple methods of
providing Learning & Development.
• Select these methods based on the specific learning goal and
the needs of your organization. Examples include, but are not
limited to:
Experiential
• Stretch
assignment
• Special project
Relational
• Coaching
• Mentoring
• Peer
mentoring
Formal
• E-learning
• Workshops
• Conferences
• Classroom training
a
Methodology

Key principle 4: Decide the impact you want Learning &
Development initiatives to have on your organizational culture
Learning & Development can be a key method of reinforcing
and shaping your organizational culture.
• Consider the type of culture your organization requires and
how specific L&D initiatives can support this desired culture.
• Many organizations are moving towards the creation of a
“learning culture” – i.e. a culture that supports the sharing of
knowledge and experience.
Knowledge transfer is a great way to reinforce the learning
that occurred and help other employees learn by proxy.
• For example, to create a learning culture, place emphasis on
certain activities that encourage learning, such as:
o Mentoring or coaching relationships.
o Sharing of lessons learned from L&D experiences.
Much of the value in learning is derived from reflection that
happens after the learning event.
• By creating a culture of learning, and allowing time for
reflection, you ensure that concepts are engrained.
a
Impact on organizational culture

Key principle 5: Standardize and centralize Learning &
Development to ensure consistency across the organization
The level of standardization and centralization of your L&D
programs will depend on the size and requirements of your
organization.
• If needs vary across your different business units, it might
make sense to give approval rights/program design decisions
to key leaders in individual business units.
• Generally, sending power down the hierarchy allows for more
flexibility and responsiveness but less control and can result in
piecemeal and ad hoc L&D initiatives.
• In decentralized situations, the L&D opportunities can be
inconsistent between departments, and the employee
experience can vary dramatically from division to division.
You must decide how programs are approved, who is
responsible for selecting/designing, and how L&D budget is
allocated.
• Decide the constitution of L&D programs based on budget and
goals.
• Determine if all employees will receive a portion of the L&D
budget to spend on individual development goals or if
development takes place more universally.
a
Application of the strategy

Key principle 6: Determine how to evaluate and demonstrate
the success of the Learning & Development strategy
Measure against attainment of goals.
Clarify the purpose of evaluation by determining these three
factors:
1. What decisions are you aiming to inform or influence
with your evaluation?
2. What is the purpose of the evaluation? Often, evaluation
has multiple purposes, such as demonstrating the value and
impact of the L&D investment, and determining ways to
improve the specific L&D initiative to make it more effective.
3. Who are the stakeholders or audience for the evaluation
outcomes? Different stakeholders have various perspectives
on what a successful outcome looks like, as each stakeholder
will have their own priorities and goals.
Once these three things have been determined, you are better
prepared to design an evaluation approach that is effective.
Determine an approach to evaluation early.
• Evaluation should not be an afterthought. Start early by taking
baseline measurements to enrich your data prior to launching
the new L&D strategy and related initiatives.
(Hirsh & Burgoyne)
a
Evaluation of L&D outcomes

Establish your core strategic principles for Learning &
Development
These principles are a set of broad statements that describe what is hoped to be
accomplished by the Learning & Development strategy.
3.1
• Document principles
• Brainstorm to determine if any additional core principles that are unique to your
organization should be added.
a

Confirm that your key principles align with the vision
and the prioritized competencies that were identified
1. Read your vision statement.
2. Discuss – Are your strategic principles in alignment with
achieving that future vision?
If not, determine which part – the principles or the vision
statement – is not aligned to the organizational needs
and overall goals.
Rewrite any components that are not in alignment.
3.2
f
1. Review the outcomes of the needs assessment and prioritization exercise that was conducted in the previous section.
2. Discuss if your strategic principles are in alignment with addressing the key priorities.
If not, determine where the principles are contradicting or failing to meet your priorities. Rewrite any components to
ensure that the L&D strategic principles are responding to the priority issues.
The strategic principles must address your priorities.
The strategic principles must be
consistent with your vision statement.

Prepare to ensure alignment to L&D strategic principles
by bucketing your current L&D initiatives
For each function, brainstorm and list all training/programs that the
organization is currently offering. Think about the different methods of learning –
formal, relational, and experiential – to ensure that you create a comprehensive list
for each L&D function. Suspend judgment on the initiatives for the time being.
3.3
c

Step 4: Apply the strategy across the Learning &
Development function
After completing this section you will
have:
a) Formulated methods for achieving the
vision and strategic principles across
all functions of L&D.
b) Created a timeline for L&D initiatives.
c) Assigned responsibility for strategy
execution.
d) A plan for evaluating the strategy and
communicating successes.
Section summary
2

Ensure that your L&D strategy is integrated and aligned with
all other HR functions
Recruitment
• Ensure that you are hiring employees that are a good fit and are capable of delivering on
your organizational goals and objectives by aligning recruitment criteria with your
competencies.
• Promote your L&D initiatives as a part of your employer branding.
Succession Planning
• Ensure that core, functional, and leadership competencies align with business needs.
• Tie competencies to succession planning and use them as a baseline for identifying and
developing high potentials.
Organizational Culture
• Create a culture of learning by getting manager buy-in and showing how L&D programs
support organizational goals.
• Benchmark your L&D initiatives through satisfaction and completion scores, and set
goals for improvement.
HR Strategy
Employee Engagement Survey
• Learning & Development is an engagement driver. Monitor your engagement levels as a
potential gauge for success, and use L&D opportunities to motivate employees.
Employee
Engagement
a
Talent
Management
Talent
Acquisition

Performance Appraisal System
• Drive accountability for development by integrating competencies into your performance
appraisal system and using them for goal setting.
• Doing so helps employees to develop in ways that result in organizational success, and
also enables career path development.
• Use performance management outcomes to influence your L&D program content.
Ensure that your L&D strategy is integrated and aligned with
all other HR functions
a
Rewards and Recognition
• Link your compensation and recognition program to your strategic goals.
• This will prioritize and reinforce the demonstration of leadership behaviors and skills that
align with your competencies and strategic direction.
HR Technology and Communications
• Review your technology requirements as part of the new strategy. This could mean
updating any e-learning you currently have in place, or adding it to your current
programming.
• Ensure that your employee communications program is optimized to support employee
comprehension and buy-in of Learning & Development goals.
• Make any required amendments to L&D budgets or policies.
HR Operations
& Infrastructure
Performance
Management
Total
Compensation

Determine how you will evaluate L&D success
Level 4: Results
To what degree targeted
organizational or personal outcomes
occur as a result of the L&D initiative.
Level 3: Behavior
To what degree participants apply
what they learned when they are
back on the job.
Level 2: Learning
To what degree participants acquire
the intended KSAs, confidence, and
commitment.
Level 1: Reaction
To what degree participants react
favorably to the L&D initiative.
J. Kirkpatrick & W. Kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick’s Learning Evaluation Model:
The standard for measuring L&D effectiveness
Measure all Kirkpatrick levels to have a complete view of L&D effectiveness.
b

Communicate successes to maintain buy-in and momentum
for Learning & Development
1. Leverage analytics: Communicate using your metrics that
demonstrate the contribution of L&D to the business.
2. Be relevant: Tailor messages so that they address the stakeholders’
specific concerns.
3. Be clear: Keep communication short and to the point so key
messages are not lost in the noise.
c
Follow these best practices when communicating the L&D strategy successes:

Perform a complete refresh of the L&D strategy in alignment
with the organizational strategic planning process
1. A formal strategic planning process for the organization
typically occurs every three to five years.
2. Monitor the L&D strategy on an annual basis, at
minimum.
d
Commit to an annual review of the L&D
strategy to ensure that it remains on
target and is achieving its objectives.

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