Over the past several years, we’ve heard a lot about what learning and development (L&D) needs to do to earn its “seat at the table” in today’s business environment. As long as it’s viewed primarily as a support (aka cost) function, it will continue to be viewed as a cost to be minimized.
Many of the L&D professionals and consultants we work with are leading the way in what’s known as “high-value L&D.” They don’t look at L&D as a function that provides some training and resources to employees, with a primary goal of checking the box to show that you’ve done it. Instead, they’ve turned L&D into a strategic enabler of the business, one that drives specific and mission-critical business goals. Their focus is, as author Mike Hawkins explains, “on shaping the desired culture, fostering new ways of thinking, developing new behaviors, and driving strategic opportunities.”
This is one of the reasons our global innovation team has been working behind the scenes over the past several months to explore new and different ways in which we can support the high-value L&D objectives of our clients.
