What’s the purpose of your L&D strategy?
13 December 2024
Amid the rush of pre-holiday tasks, are you losing sight of what truly matters? It’s easy to let urgent demands pull focus from critical priorities, especially at this time of year.
As an HR professional, if you’re not laser-focused on upskilling your workforce, it can be tricky to harness the energy and commitment required to get buy-in from the wider team. Understanding the purpose behind L&D programmes and expectations can help motivate action, promote productivity and contribute to job satisfaction – right across the organisation.
Tackling the to-do list
I frequently hear from HR and people managers who tell me their huge workloads are draining time and attention away from key priorities. When everything takes longer than planned, critical projects inevitably take a backseat.
One client said their employees are asking for soft skills training to be made mandatory, so they have ‘permission’ to allocate time for it in their busy schedules. Yet, this then just becomes another item on the ever-growing to-do list.
The role of purpose in employee engagement
A sense of purpose is essential for organisational health and performance. It strengthens employee engagement by helping individuals understand not just what they’re doing, but why it matters. Effective teams collaborate to achieve shared goals, but high-performing teams go further: they’re united by trust and a shared sense of purpose, and understand their contribution to organisational success.
Doing what we do on purpose and with purpose can give greater meaning to our working lives. Drifting from one task to another because we’re feeling overwhelmed does harm in the long run – both from a personal health perspective and a professional reputational one. Unproductive work is often a symptom of a lack of clarity of purpose, whereas if we only do the things that matter – things that move us towards our goals – we make progress.
Moving towards purpose-driven L&D
If upskilling your workforce is your mission, it needs to be driven by purpose. Where there’s drive, there’s energy, passion, enthusiasm and advocacy – all critical for success.
How can you harness these powerful forces to engage your people in learning which is not only good for them, but good for your organisation too?
1. Take purpose-driven action
What actionable steps can you or your colleagues take to advance the uptake of professional development across your organisation?
2. Have a purposeful schedule
Only commit to tasks that move you towards your goal. Lead by example by carving out time for your own L&D – and be clear on the outcomes you want to achieve. Encourage your team to do the same.
3. Promote the purpose of learning
Make the ‘why’ of learning crystal clear. How can you foster a culture where training is valued, not just tolerated? Align learning with organisational goals and values, so employees understand how it’ll contribute to their own success.
4. Measure outcomes with purpose
As the saying goes, “what gets measured gets done”. Define clear outcomes from the start and track how learning impacts performance. If employees know what they’re working towards, they’ll be more motivated to achieve results.
By taking these four steps, you’ll help your workforce view learning as an integral part of achieving their purpose – not just another box to tick in a packed schedule.
What one thing can you do today to motivate your people to embrace learning? Whatever you do, be purpose driven.
At Staff Skills academy+, we help businesses upskill and retain staff with our award-winning e-learning, in-house and blended training solutions. 700+ CPD and RoSPA-certified courses cover everything from mandatory training programmes to industry-specific knowledge. Plus, we have an extensive suite of soft skills courses to boost employee performance – and a range of fitness and meditation resources to boost their wellbeing.Could we be the right fit for your business? Why not have a look and see what we do, or book a call with one of our team today.
