Why Do Savvy Planners Look Beyond MS Teams for L&D Excellence

Investing in strong learning and development (L&D) programs has become essential for organizations to remain competitive. It not only supports keeping talented workers within a company but also encourages employees to acquire new abilities and enhance their current ones. 

According to this stat, Career development is the top factor driving learning and development for 62% of organizations, followed by the need for employees to develop new skills (49%).

In fact, investing in learning and development creates a win-win scenario for both the organization and its employees. Let’s explore the diverse benefits of L&D programs one after another:

For Organizations

• Improves Employee Retention – Nowadays, retaining top talent has become crucial for any business as it preserves valuable skills & knowledge, reduces recruitment costs, as well as helps maintain a productive and innovative work environment. 
  
  

Organizations that support employee growth and development demonstrate their dedication to employee skill development, which helps keep top talent within the company.

For example, if you train your employees on new software relevant to their specific role, they will become more skilled, feel valued, and be encouraged to stay with the company longer.

• Attracts Top Talent – Top talent often seeks opportunities for continuous development. When potential candidates notice the company is investing in its employees’ growth and development, they are likely to join that enterprise. If a company specializes in training or certifications relevant to a candidate’s field, then it will attract a lot of potential candidates for sure. 
  
  

In a competitive market, companies that strategically emphasize learning and development (L&D) in their recruitment efforts have a higher chance of attracting and securing the best talent.

• Leadership Development – L&D programs play a vital role in preparing employees for leadership roles. When organisations hold leadership workshops and enhance employees’ skills such as strategic thinking, communication, time management, teamwork, and more, they help develop great leaders. Many leadership development programs include mentoring and coaching, which help accelerate future leaders.
  
  
• Builds Strong Learning Culture – Since training and development (T&D) focuses on the skills and development of employees, it significantly helps create a strong learning culture within the organization.
  
  L&D programs often incorporate collaborative learning activities, such as group projects, knowledge-sharing sessions, and more, which build a sense of teamwork and shared learning, resulting in a culture that values continual growth and knowledge exchange.
  
  

• Enhance Organization Performance – Implementing L&D initiatives helps employees acquire the necessary knowledge and skills that enable them to perform high-quality work. 
  
  

When organizations hold L&D programs in a variety of forms, such as workshops, online courses, mentorship, and on-the-job training, it helps address skill gaps in their workforce and prepare them for their roles, which in turn leads to effective work and improved organizational performance.

For Employees

• Gains New Knowledge and Skills – L&D programs are often designed to provide employees with new knowledge and skills so that they can perform their best. Based on this stat, Less than half (47%) of employees feel that their employer invests in the skills they need to advance their careers.
  
  

(For example, the company implemented a digital marketing-focused L&D program for employees in which employees learned new skills such as SEO optimization, social media, email marketing, influencer marketing, and more that would enhance employee knowledge so that they could apply it to their daily work.)

• Enhances Employee Job Satisfaction – When companies invest in the growth and development of their employees through learning and development (L&D) initiatives, they feel valued and heard. Plus, this investment creates a sense of support in employees, which in turn increases their morale and job satisfaction.
  
  
• Creates Career Advancement Opportunities –  L&D programs identify gaps in an employee’s existing skill set, which helps create a customized program that enhances those skills. Plus, they focus on the skills needed for higher-level positions in the organization, opening the door for employees to pursue careers within the same company.    
          
• Keeps Up-to-date With Industry Trends & Best Practices – Several L&D programs feature a curriculum that focuses on emerging industry trends and new technologies so that employees stay up-to-date with relevant and current information. Employees are not only provided with current knowledge, but they are also given tools and resources that they can use on a daily basis to perform their tasks quickly and effectively.