The impact of learning culture
You could argue that the different perceptions of HR DMs and employees about the amount and quality of learning is immaterial: it’s the results that matter. As long as both believe there is a productive, lasting change as a result of L&D programmes and staff are more skilled as a result, the objective has been met. Both HR DMs and employees do have the same beliefs on the outcome of L&D programmes – but they’re not exactly favourable.
Only around a third of both HR DMs (28%) and employees (33%) believe their organisation’s workforce has all the skills required to excel in their roles. Under a third of HR DMs and employees believe that their workforce will be supported in all upskilling required to meet the future demands of their roles.
Both agree there is a lack of learning culture within their place of work; only 28% of HR DMs feel their workforce experiences a learning culture that leads to continuous growth and development and 25% of employees agree.
Importantly, less than a third (30%) of HR DMs believe their workforce is clear on the learning and development strategy of the organisation and how it impacts each role, and less than a quarter (24%) of employees feel the same.
This last point highlights the shortcomings of learning and development plans with a focus on courses, which have an insufficient impact on strategy. The focus instead should be on offering a learning culture, not just learning content.
It’s clear that organisations are not satisfying the learning and development needs of their workforce today, so what are the financial implications of neglecting this element of their organisation? They appear to be a lot worse than employees potentially lacking the necessary skills.
