Are Companies Doing Enough to Meet Their Employees' Learning and Development Needs?

Trends come and go, but one thing never changes – humans seek knowledge and growth. It’s in our nature to be curious, ask questions, and look for new opportunities. 

We need relevant skills and abilities to keep from getting stuck, to keep our brain cells active, and to keep up with how quickly the world is changing. However, the pace of life often makes it impossible to spend enough time on educational courses and personal development.

The average person spends approximately one-third of their life at work. But people also need time for their hobbies, families, and friends. This makes continuing to learn and grow a luxury for most people. 

Even though everyone should take responsibility for their own lives, we also need external support and resources to achieve everything. That’s also why modern employees expect their workplaces to be a place of growth and not only a source of regular paychecks. 

Sixty-eight percent would rather learn within their work environment than at home. However, according to a survey conducted by The Execu|Search Group, 66 percent of professionals believe their organizations provide insufficient learning and development opportunities for those aspiring to leadership positions. 

Many employers don’t understand the importance of providing platforms and programs that nurture employee growth. But that could have dire consequences.

Why do Companies Have Insufficient L&D Programs and Opportunities for Employees?

According to a McKinsey survey, 60 percent of respondents plan to increase L&D spending over the next few years, and 66 percent will boost the number of employee training hours. Many recent questionnaires and studies revealed that companies want to expand their efforts in this area. 

In theory, they understand the importance of L&D and how it benefits businesses and employees. Yet, a recent research project led to a disgruntling finding – 74 percent of employees said they couldn’t achieve their full potential due to the lack of L&D opportunities.

Moreover, another survey revealed that 59 percent of workers had no workplace training and were self-taught. No wonder only 29 percent are happy with the career growth opportunities their companies provide. 

That highlights an evident gap between employers’ efforts and employees’ satisfaction with available L&D programs. Despite their willingness to improve employee training and offer stellar courses, many companies fail to meet their workers’ L&D needs. 

But how could that be if they’re investing in these programs and planning to reinforce their strategies? Perhaps the companies don’t encourage regular employee feedback or have no L&D reports with first-hand insights and results. 

Many business leaders prioritize initiatives and programs with a more direct ROI than career growth opportunities, as these are easier to track and measure. As a result, they might sideline the L&D accuracy and whether it aligns with the current moment and employees’ needs and capabilities. 

However, many companies have no employee training or professional development options in place. Instead, they encourage people to adopt new skills and knowledge outside the workplace or offer training only when necessary. 

For instance, employers often provide compliance training or training encompassing the introduction of new technologies. Continuous education and upskilling opportunities are a much rarer occurrence. 

Moreover, companies rarely personalize their training programs, even though that’s what 91 percent of workers want. Instead, they tend to follow the one-size fits all formula, forgetting it’s essential to tap into what their staff genuinely wants. 

Employers also overlook the importance of reskilling and ensuring people can transition into different job roles and do what suits their abilities and passions more. People evolve, and not every employee wants to spend their career performing the same assignments and chasing similar goals. 

Workers often discover their interests and sensibility align more with a different job role in the company but lack the necessary skills or knowledge to transition. However, companies benefit more from people who are passionate about their jobs and tasks, as these individuals are more willing to go the extra mile. 

Because of that, employers should research efficiently and reach out to their employees when developing L&D programs. They should also offer stellar upskilling and reskilling opportunities instead of leaving this to the workers. 

Nearly 60 percent of people invest in their own upskilling due to not having that chance in the workplace. However, employees should have well-rounded work experience, including access to modern and relevant learning and development programs. 

Docebo’s survey found that people learn ten percent of their abilities through formal training sessions. That number should increase and align with employees’ post-pandemic expectations. 

People are more interested in continuous education and want their employers’ support. The world is changing fasting than in the previous decades, and employees must keep up with these transformations by developing relevant competencies. 

Besides, companies can’t stay competitive and drive innovation without investing in their human capital. Employees require access to modern tools, resources, and materials to help them grow professionally and perform their jobs more efficiently. 

What Happens When Employees Have No L&D Opportunities in Their Workplaces?

Up-to-date L&D programs help employees adopt relevant capabilities and knowledge and be more innovative. It also allows them to keep up with emerging technologies and learn to use modern software and tools. 

Moreover, people start experiencing stagnation if they do not nurture their mental activity and learn new things. One can't understand the rapidly changing world without capacities, skills, and information that correspond with the current moment.

Knowledge is crucial for connecting the dots and comprehending how things function. You might feel lost or out of touch with current events if you don't have access to the latest data and abilities. 

And without that, you can hardly progress at work, reach your objectives, and climb the ladders. However, many employees have no professional growth opportunities in their workplaces and can't unlock their full potential. 

But when companies don't invest in their workers or implement strategies to inspire them, workers will feel stuck. The pandemic encouraged an increased introspection, triggering people to wonder if there's a point in staying in the workplace if they feel neglected and unable to grow. 

Lack of L&D opportunities leads to poor employee experience and disengagement. Since the Great Resignation is seemingly still in full swing, that could encourage many disappointed workers to quit. 

For instance, 86 percent of employees would leave their current workplace if another employer offered better employee training. Thus, 94 percent would stay with a company longer if it invested in employees' learning and development. 

Hence, companies risk high turnover if they fail to provide stellar career growth opportunities. Here's how they can meet their workers' L&D needs and offer effective programs. 

How to Meet Your Employees L&D Needs?

1. Analyze Your Employees' L&D Needs and Align Them with Your Business Strategy

Your learning strategy should depend on your talent strategies and the company's business. However, it's crucial to assess your employees' L&D needs and address them in employee training and related programs. 

Hence, your goal should be to support professional growth and develop capabilities across the departments and job roles - timely, cost-effectively, and efficiently. But you must also consider your business objectives and identify the best way to connect these two. 

For instance, if your current goal is digital transformation, you must cultivate relevant people skills and ensure your workers understand modern tech to enable that. Remember to include employees' unique L&D needs into your strategies, such as reskilling, learning to use specific software, or expanding knowledge related to their current job roles. 

2. Efficient Collaboration Between the HR and Business Units

Companies should work on building closer relationships between HR departments, L&D professionals, and relevant business units (e.g., finances). They should all be accountable for their part of the job in providing well-rounded employee training. 

Finance units should understand what L&D practitioners need to develop better programs and how that will benefit the business. However, L&D should also get the necessary support from the C-Suite. 

That means putting employee training among business priorities. Ongoing collaboration between HR and other business units is the key to developing up-to-date and well-equipped L&D programs that meet workers' needs. 

3. Assess Skill Gaps

Companies often develop employee training without previously analyzing capability gaps. Yet, that's a necessary step to offer relevant courses and education that drives business value and helps employees perform better. 

Skill gap assessment should include every level, even mid-level management, and senior leaders. Every program should have a purpose and lead to long-lasting positive change. 

That's why it's not enough to only determine employees' needs. After all, they're not always aware of workplace skill gaps. 

L&D professionals and relevant business units should collaborate on identifying the most significant abilities their company lacks. Thanks to that, they can develop an efficient program and determine its estimated value, ROI, and desired outcomes. 

4. Create Personalized Learning Journeys

Most employees hope to receive personalized L&D opportunities, which help them achieve their professional goals more than generic programs that fit everybody (but rarely suit anyone). Moreover, they are not interested in traditional classroom learning without access to online material and follow-up sessions. 

Consider abandoning the classic L&D model and establishing tailored learning journeys based on continuous educational opportunities, fieldwork, social learning, mentoring regular feedback, and engaging workshops. These will help employees build the necessary capabilities in an immersive and efficient way, making them more likely to use these skills in their jobs afterward. 

Many companies fail to meet their employees' L&D needs despite their investment and effort. Efficient employee training requires commitment and thorough research. 

But it's also important to find skill gaps and fill them with programs that are tailored to the business's goals. If not, workers might not benefit from the programs that are available, or they might find them too generic, forced, or old.