Best Practices and Strategies to create an Effective Learning and Development Program

Viren Kapadia February 15, 2021
Best Practices and Strategies to create an Effective Learning and Development Program

Opportunities are a pathway through which organizations develop, grow, and prosper. Failure to explore and exploit opportunities is sure to trap them in a downward spiral of inactivity, decline, and final extinction. But how many companies create opportunities in a dynamic business environment characterized by overcapacity, saturated markets, and fleeting competitive advantages? The answer lies in the organization’s persistent learning and development plans for exploring opportunities for continuous value creation.

The current business environment is fast-paced, challenging, and constantly evolving. Your employees need the skills to face ever-new situations, so their development as leaders can't be left to chance. A good learning and development strategy incorporates senior executive training, so their leadership skills are continually sharpened.

How is training different from development?

Employee training and development is a crucial part of human resource function and management. Both the activities aim at improving the productivity and performance of the employees. The training program is organized to develop knowledge and skills in the employees as per the requirement of the job. On the other hand, Development is an organized activity in which the manpower of the organization learns and grows; it is a self-assessment act.

Best Practices for Successful Learning and Development:

If you’ve ever experienced training that wasn’t as impactful as it could have been or leaves you feeling a little less than sure that you know what you’re doing, then you know what we’re talking about. Not only can unproductive training really damage your organizations' bottom line, but it also creates a culture of hindrance and dissatisfaction within your workforce.

Designing an impactful training and development program within your organization is the first step in not only creating more efficient, productive employees, but also happier, more satisfied as well.

So, let’s dive into the best training and development practices to incorporate within your organization; ensuring that not only ‘what’ but ‘how’ you train your employees sticks with them, and really makes a difference in your company’s day-to-day operations.

  • Identify your Audience and Performance Challenges :

    If you don’t know who your audience is and what they’re struggling with, then you’ll eventually struggle—with presenting the right info and aligning it with your organization’s needs.

    Think about your employee’s education, work experience, and routine life. Were they in a college classroom just a few years ago or has it been decades since then? Try to consider their experiences and offer content in a language that’s easy for them to understand. If you’re working with a dissimilar group, it may take more time to create a training plan that works well for everybody.

    Focus on what your employees are motivated by and what tasks they seem to blunder over with the most; don’t be afraid to get specific. What specific behaviors or challenges do your employees need to work on to develop better habits or a more efficient workflow? Displaying employees how your training could positively impact their careers, as well as your organization, will go a long way in creating the right tone and impact for the information you’re presenting.

  • Create a Flexible and Accessible plan :

    Make your training and development program as easy as possible for everyone to access. How? We always recommend designing a training plan that’s easily accessible via mobile devices. By making your training mobile-friendly, you’re creating an environment where learners can learn at their own pace and in their own time. Proposing a plan that’s mobile-friendly and accessible anytime and anywhere means that you’re creating the most effective training—the kind that always meets a learner’s schedule. Not only will you increase your team’s enthusiasm, but from a bottom-line angle, you won’t have to stop production or sacrifice office hours to have your employees complete their training either.

  • Include Assessments to Test your Employees’ Knowledge to make adjustments :

    Incorporating both formative and summative assessments into your organization’s training offers several benefits. Formative assessments present testing points as criteria for learners along the way, making them more likely to self-assess and review information to ensure they’re prepared for their evaluation, while also helping to break up the flatness of a long course. Summative assessments not only let management know how their learners are progressing but give an organization the ability to incorporate adjustments and course alterations to their training along the way. If a particular lesson isn’t effective, having an assessment will allow you to see the issue more quickly and adjust your training to address any concerns.

Ways to create an effective Learning and Development Program

A learning and development strategy is a vital tool for organizations to align the corporate training with business objectives. It has the following benefits:

  • It ensures that staff learning and development needs are effectively met.
  • The company's skills requirements for senior management are being developed.
  • Despite knowing these benefits, questions still remain.
  • What are the best ways to create an L&D Strategy?
  • How do we make it efficient and effective?

A learning and development strategy aims to achieve the following goals:

  • Formalize your corporate training :

    A formal learning and development strategy allows the HRD and the company as a whole to have a clear vision of their learning and development strategy objectives. It also allows people in the business to see how such plans backing the overall corporate strategy.

    In other words, developing a clear and well-written learning and development strategy will help you achieve a better response from both the senior management team and employees throughout the organization.

  • Set clear corporate training objectives :

    In your learning and development strategy, clear objectives should be set to ensure that it hits the mark on various levels. It should include clear goals and objectives relating to organizational development, employee satisfaction, solidifying the talent channel, and the growth of the learning and development strategy as a whole.

  • It should be geared towards employee satisfaction :

    Employee satisfaction does not always depend on monetary rewards. Most employees pursue greater benefits by being able to learn new things and upgrade their skills and technical competencies.

    Top professionals and HRs in the corporate industry usually seek an employer that will support their learning and development needs. You must create policies that encourage on-the-job employee training and development programs.

Thus, creating training and development programs for employees is of huge importance, and needs to be treated with the respect that it deserves. In order to deliver the desired results, the program requires a dedicated team.

At GyrusAIM our modern, user-friendly LMS – can support up to two million learners. Cloud-based and fully responsive, it can be accessed on any device from anywhere with an internet connection. For more information on the features and future development, and how it can fit with your business needs, get in touch. It comes without saying that e-learning is the best way to manage professional development. Hence, most companies love investing in a business LMS to fulfill their employee and customer training needs. Right from multinational enterprises to medium and small scale businesses, an LMS has become an innovative business tool that saves them not just money, but time as well. So, if you are eagerly looking for a convenient online training solution for your employees, it's time to get started with our GyrusAim business LMS.