With unemployment, job vacancies and attrition rates at an all-time high, the war for talent is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. It will be therefore be crucial for employers to focus on retention strategies as a way to create a sustainable workforce for the future. 

Attrition research shows that a key factor seeing people resign from their current role is lack of career progression and learning and development opportunities. Employees are wanting to gain new skills, challenge themselves and be increasingly engaged with the work they perform. 

Showing employees that you care about their career goals and professional growth by facilitating L&D isn’t just beneficial for individuals – it significantly aids in organisational productivity and success. By engaging employees through learning and giving them opportunities for internal mobility, organisations are ensuring that critical skills and knowledge are moving within the business, rather than out of it. 

While many larger organisations will already have strategic L&D systems in place, it’s beneficial to revisit these following the pandemic to ensure there is still alignment with current strategic direction. However, for many SMEs, there may not be such structured programs in place. 

In fact, research from a leading UK leadership institute found that only 19 percent of companies with less than 50 employees have formal talent development plans, compared to 71 percent of larger organisations. 

So whether you’re revisiting or starting from scratch, here are some of the essential components you’ll need to devise a successful L&D strategy. 

Alignment with business strategy

While retaining employees, boosting productivity and improving workforce satisfaction are among the benefits of an effective L&D strategy, one of its primary objectives is to build the capabilities that are required to fulfil an organisation’s short and long-term priorities. 

For example, if one of the business’s strategies is digital transformation, L&D will focus on building the necessary people capabilities to make that possible. 

While this may seem self-explanatory, a US study found that only 40 percent of companies say that their learning strategy is aligned with business goals. This leaves 60 percent with learning that has no explicit connection to the company’s strategic objectives. 

In order to establish an L&D strategy that truly reflects business priorities and strategic objectives, L&D leaders should re-evaluate this alignment on a yearly basis. This will be particularly poignant following the pandemic, which saw words like “pivot” and “shift” quickly become commonplace. Any changes that have been made with regards to organisational direction and goals during this time should be factored into any L&D strategy. 

For SMEs who may not otherwise have such strategies already in place, this provides the opportunity to assess your business’s direction and build a learning strategy that will facilitate this. While your business may not have a dedicated L&D manager, it is a good idea to appoint an appropriate person within your team to manage this area. 

Assess the current skills gap 

After identifying your organisational priorities, assessing the gap between these and the current capabilities of your workforce will be the next step. This is something many organisations talk about, but don’t necessarily get done in a coordinated way. This will likely be particularly beneficial following the upheaval caused by the pandemic, as many employees may have been quickly moved into a new role and feel as though they don’t have the skills or support to succeed. Once understood, it will be possible to create a L&D that addresses and closes these gaps. 

Design the learning pathway 

When it comes to designing L&D programs, there is no “one size fits all” approach, as the needs and resources of each organisation will vary significantly. For example, an international organisation may be able to draw on a large budget and involve more staff in the creation stage compared with a business that has less than 50 employees. This does, however, not mean that an effective L&D strategy cannot be created. 

According to McKinsey, traditional L&D programs typically consisted of several days of classroom learning with no follow-up sessions, despite people often forgetting what they learnt without regular reinforcement. To counter this, many L&D functions are moving away from stand-alone programs and are designing continuous learning opportunities that occur at various times in various formats. This can look like a combination of self-guided digital learning, social learning, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, and short workshops, to name a few, as well as formal training and education. 

Get employees involved 

Every job within an organisation should have a clear career pathway and development plan that leads to future roles. But this doesn’t necessarily mean it should be set in stone. When it comes to professional opportunities, there needs to be a level of fluidity and consultation between management and employees. 

Just as an L&D program might not align to an organisation’s direction after a few years, it will be important for employers to understand that their employees’ professional and personal goals will also likely change over time. Furthermore, individuals will find certain types of learning more effective – some may prefer a hands-on approach, while others a more academic style. 

By regularly communicating career pathways and allowing a level of co-creation with their workforce, employers have a greater chance of increasing job satisfaction, loyalty and, with these, retention. 

If you’re looking for staff, or require workforce management assistance, contact Bayside Group today.