Planning and implementing an effective learning and development (L&D) strategy for your team or organisation is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it enhances your team’s capabilities in alignment with overall business goals. Secondly, it plays a vital role in attracting and retaining talent, especially as professionals increasingly seek the right fit for their skills and aspirations. Thirdly, keeping your team informed about the latest regulations, techniques, and processes is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. Additionally, a well-defined L&D strategy motivates and engages employees by providing clear learning pathways. Finally, an effective L&D plan aligns closely with knowledge management—the process of creating and retaining knowledge within your organisation.

But how can you formulate a robust learning and development strategy? Like any strategic initiative, it requires time and thoughtful planning; however, it doesn’t need to be overly complex. This article breaks the process down into seven manageable components.

1. Align with Business Strategy

For any learning and development strategy to succeed, it must align with the overarching business objectives and clearly defined goals. A long-term strategy enables a proactive approach, but short-term solutions will always be necessary, necessitating a more reactive stance. For instance, if your business plans to integrate big data and artificial intelligence into its manufacturing processes over the next five years, as a leader in manufacturing, you must begin developing your team accordingly. This could involve starting with basic training for yourself, followed by more advanced technical training for your team.

2. Identify Skills Gaps

It is essential to assess the current skill sets of your workforce and determine what they need to achieve your business’s objectives and priorities. This step is closely linked to the first point. Once you understand your personnel’s future direction (in alignment with your business goals), you can map out a journey to get there. Begin by identifying existing skills gaps and where your team needs to be in the future. Your learning and development plan should align with business objectives, assessing the required skills and outlining a strategy for upskilling.

For example, many pharmaceutical and biotech companies are gravitating toward advanced therapies. These technologies are expected to become integral to their future portfolios, prompting significant investments in research. However, the novelty of these technologies often means that expertise among employees is lacking.

If possible, quantify this knowledge gap. What will it cost the business if these skills are not developed? How much would it cost to hire a new team of experts or consultants in this area? Ensuring that individuals with transferable skills receive training will be crucial in the coming years.

3. Secure Buy-In from Leaders and HR

To successfully execute a learning and development strategy, it is important to gain the support of key stakeholders in your organisation, including your manager, HR, and leaders from other departments. Maximising the value of any planned development requires collaboration and alignment with their needs and perspectives. A successful L&D strategy should be developed from both the bottom up and the top down.

4. Utilise a Mixture of Learning and Development Tools

Numerous tools are available to help your team acquire new skills and develop professionally. After identifying skills gaps and considering your business goals, decide on the tools and methods that best suit your needs. Here is a list of some effective tools and methods:

• On-the-job Training: This widely-used method involves one-on-one learning with a more experienced colleague. It should be structured with specific activities and tasks designed to develop the desired knowledge and skills.
• On-demand Materials: Create a resource pool of how-to guides and training materials, allowing your team to learn independently when they need it. This can include reading materials and videos.
• Shadowing: Shadowing is an excellent way for team members to learn from more experienced colleagues. Ensure you select someone patient and willing to assist, while being mindful that the person being shadowed may not be as efficient as usual.
• Coaching and Mentoring: Implementing a coaching and mentoring scheme can significantly aid in developing your team members. Pairing them with more experienced senior colleagues will facilitate their growth.
• Job Rotation: Rotating team members through different departments can enhance their skills and knowledge. While there may be initial resistance, this approach benefits the organisation in the long run.
• Training: Training can be both formal and informal, offered internally or externally, and delivered online or in-person. Importantly, these sessions allocate dedicated time for learning.
• Internal Training: Your organisation may conduct internal courses focused on your specific products and processes.
• Team Training: Training together as a team or department can foster collaboration and help address specific challenges you all face.
• External Training: If certain topics are not covered internally, consider seeking external training providers. This will enable your team to gain insights and skills from experts and connect with professionals from other organisations.
• Blended Training: Combining online and in-person training keeps the learning experience engaging and diverse.

5. Create Meaningful Learning Journeys

Designing learner journeys is crucial for the success of your training initiatives. It is vital to utilise the previously discussed tools and create tailored learning journeys for each individual and the team as a whole. Remember that each person is unique and requires a personalised learning pathway based on their experience, learning preferences, the complexity of the knowledge or skills being developed, and the importance of achieving business goals.

Gone are the days of lengthy classroom sessions where employees are expected to absorb all the information in one go. Learning should be viewed as a continuous process, incorporating feedback and reinforcement over time. Consider employing a variety of learning and development tools to foster knowledge acquisition. For example, include both online and classroom training, delivered by internal and external facilitators.

Most importantly, employees must have opportunities to apply their newfound knowledge in a practical environment. Developing skills and knowledge that the organisational structure does not allow them to utilise is futile. Development should not rely solely on training courses; the environment should promote learning, embrace mistakes, and encourage change. Practical implementation, ongoing feedback, and reinforcement are essential for continuous learning. Consider integrating mentoring and on-the-job training before and after formal training courses to enhance the learning experience.

6. Execute the Plan

Once your L&D strategy is planned, it’s time to put it into action.

7. Measure the Impact on Business

Evaluating training effectiveness is crucial for garnering company-wide support and securing additional resources in the future. Initial feedback and evaluation can be relatively straightforward; however, assessing the long-term impact of training and its return on investment (ROI) is more complex. Understanding whether behaviours have changed typically involves a long-term, ongoing process, much like learning itself. Various methods can be employed to calculate ROI, with Kirkpatrick’s model, Brinkerhoff 101, and the Anderson model being among the most popular. If you can quantify the value of the skills gap during the planning phase, this will greatly aid in the evaluation stage.

Summary

By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive learning and development strategy that not only enhances your team’s skills but also contributes significantly to the overall success of your organisation.

Written by Daniel Harding and Alexander Pearce

Daniel is a Director at Educo Life Sciences and has experience developing team training solutions for (bio)pharmaceutical and medical device clients. He has helped clients achieve business objectives with learning programmes that meet their specific needs and requirements.

Alex is a Director at Educo Life Sciences and has extensive experience designing technical training programmes for the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices industries. He has developed both classroom and online training to support the development of life science professionals.