State of HR: Make Time for Learning and Development
Learning and Development people: what a time to be alive! The embarrassment of riches available to today’s L&D professional knows no bounds.
Today’s Learning Management Systems (LMS) are light years ahead of what we’ve used in the past. They serve as centralized hubs for content, progress tracking, and development. Platforms like Cornerstone, Skillsoft, and LearnUpon provide customizable learning paths that adapt to individual needs in real time. I’ve personally used Cornerstone and Skillsoft for years, it’s amazing to see how these platforms have continued to evolve! These systems can deliver microlearning modules that are perfect for busy professionals.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are no longer just for Mario Kart. Companies like Boeing and Waltmart have been using these tools, offering safe spaces for employees to practice complex skills through simulated scenarios. These immersive experiences accelerate skill acquisition while minimizing real-world risks and resources (it’s good to have a few realistic feeling flights before you put that Boeing in the air).
Despite these powerful resources, many organizations still treat learning and development as an afterthought. The excuse? "We can't afford to have people spending time learning when there's real work to be done." This is shortsighted.
Learning and development isn't a distraction from work - it's an essential investment in work quality and efficiency. When organizations neglect L&D, they create a cycle of inefficiencies and repeated errors that drain more resources than the training would have consumed. Without ongoing development, employees become stuck in outdated practices while competitors adapt and evolve. This leads to declining performance and competitiveness over time. Smaller organizations are usually the more egregious offenders. An organization that will go unnamed still has employees that eschew Microsoft Excel because they prefer their good old paper (this was a true story in 2024).
By trying to save time and maintain productivity, organizations actually create larger inefficiencies. Underdeveloped employees take longer to complete tasks, make more mistakes, and struggle to adapt to change. The "savings" from skipping training ultimately manifest as increased errors, higher turnover, reduced innovation, bad breath, declining customer satisfaction, lower employee engagement, and a grab bag of other undesirable treats that I don’t feel like typing out.
I’ll say it again: learning and development isn't a distraction from work - it's an essential investment in work quality and efficiency. Organizations must recognize that the time spent on employee development pays dividends through improved performance, reduced errors, and increased innovation. The tools and resources are readily available. What's needed is the wisdom to see beyond the immediate pressure of daily tasks to invest in long-term organizational capability. Because remember: every time your organization makes a choice about employee development, it is shaping its future.
This article is part of a 10 article series I’m doing in anticipation of the Cleveland SHRM State of Human Resources event. Please join us on January 22nd, as I discuss the state of Human Resources with Cleveland SHRM’s President, Jared Daly. Registration: https://www.clevelandshrm.com/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1890209
