Designing Learning & Development Programs for Impact – Best Practices, Tips, & Tricks Blog Series: Part One

Since our inception, NimblyWise has been helping businesses cultivate learning and development programs that generate big impact for their businesses. But with that, we also get a lot of questions about the potential, the design, and the application of such programs. So, for the next five weeks, we’re doing a deep dive with a Designing Learning & Development Programs for Impact Best Practices, Tips, & Tricks Blog Series.

We’ll uncover everything from building the foundation of your learning and development program to choosing the right participants to follow up to ensure long-term efficacy and ROI. All topics that we cover with our clients daily to ensure that their L&D programs are working for their business. We invite you to follow along and get in touch if you have questions at any point!

Up first, we’re talking about impact.

3 Impacts Garnered from Effective L&D Programs

94% of employees would stay at a company longer if they simply invested in helping them learn. 

LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report

We’ve shared this stat before, but it is so powerful. And seemingly the simplest way to keep your team engaged and excited about their own potential at your company. But regardless, many companies aren’t investing in L&D when they should be. 

Here are just a few of the potential positive outcomes when you deploy an effective L&D program:

Decreased Turnover Costs

We already shared this stat above, but learning and development opportunities play a key role in retaining top talent. Gen Z and Millennial employees are craving upward movement and development opportunities, and if they don’t receive them, they will move on. In fact, 70% of employees would consider moving on to a company that offered L&D opportunities.

Plus, nearly 80% of L&D professionals surveyed by LinkedIn for their 2022 Workplace Learning Report shared that it’s less expensive to reskill employees than it is to hire new employees. Internal mobility is key!

Enhanced Soft Skills for a Future-Ready Workforce

Skills gaps are an issue in every industry and business today. The World Economic Forum predicted pre-pandemic that nearly half of employees would need upskilling or reskilling by 2025. We’re sure that that number has grown as the pandemic forced many to adopt new technologies, widening skills gaps even further. 

But one thing remains consistent. The key to reskilling, upskilling, communication, and getting ahead of this skills gap is focusing on things like problem-solving, self-management, communication and interpersonal relationship building, etc.—all learnable soft skills.

The future of the world of work is fluid; it’s ever-changing and unpredictable. Those soft skills are applicable to diverse scenarios and help individuals overcome challenges that will inevitably shape the future of the world of work.

Greater Company-Wide Profitability

A study done by the Association for Talent Development found that companies that offer comprehensive training programs earn 218% more income per employee than those that do not offer a formal learning and development program. These same companies also have a nearly 25% greater profit margin company-wide. 

So, what influences those positive outcomes? They found that the increase in profitability was due to employees’ increased efficiency and skills base, directly nurtured during training.

Stay Tuned Next Week for Building the Foundation of Your L&D Programs

And these are just three of the many ways your company can benefit from effective L&D. The list goes on! 

Now that we’ve uncovered a bit of the potential of an L&D program for your business success, in part two of this special blog series, we’re going to get into the logistics. Every effective L&D program starts with a solid foundation and vision, so next week, that’s what we are going to work through together. Check back on Thursdays for the newest blog releases!

In the meantime, if you have questions about building your own L&D program, set up a time to chat with our program experts.