5 Keys to Connecting Training Programs with Company Strategy

5 Keys to Connecting Training Programs with Company Strategy

Santiago, Chile, November 21, 2023

 

“It isn’t strategies that change companies, but their people and teams, who are their main competitive advantage,” said Carolina Altschwager, CEO of Almabrands, at the Red de Recursos Humanos Training Congress.

 

For about 10 years, the consultancy Almabrands has been working with companies to build organizational purpose, a process that could not be carried out in depth without a thorough understanding of the role of people within organizations. In this context, since 2018 the firm has been working to understand how trust is built within companies from the employees’ perspective, a model developed in partnership with OTIC SOFOFA Capital Humano; and a few months ago they released the results of the 2nd measurement of the 2023 Organizational Trust Study, a nationwide survey.

 

Given the competitive and differentiating advantage that people represent, and the importance of unlocking their full potential within organizations, a key question arises: How can Learning & Development (L&D) challenges be integrated with the company’s strategy?

 

“One of the most important challenges for today’s organizations,” says Carolina, “is not only designing good strategies, but making sure they are executed and come to life in a complex and competitive context, with constant uncertainty, where companies must embrace a new mindset, a different way of looking at the world, an awareness of the value of certain things, and that requires a reflective process.”

 

Here are 5 suggestions for integrating Learning & Development challenges:

Strengthen assessments to identify gaps Purposefully foster greater collaboration between the People team and the business units Integrate learning & development programs into the entire people management process Move forward in evaluating programs with impact metrics Place special focus and attention on leadership programs

 

Summary of the 5 points:

Strengthen assessments to identify gaps

To identify learning gaps, we need to integrate both the needs of the company and those of its people. To do so, we must first be able to ask ourselves the following questions: Do the teams have the knowledge, skills, and mindset to achieve the defined purpose and strategy? What are we missing (GAP ANALYSIS)? What programs do we need to implement to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and mindset?

We must be able to identify the gaps and define strategic objectives for each of them. For example, if my business objective is to reduce production time, my training objective should be to improve workers’ skills so they can use equipment more efficiently and manage their time more effectively.

 

Purposefully foster greater collaboration between the People team and the business units

If I aim to be number one in service, I must make sure employees are prepared to consistently deliver quality service that meets the expectations of their internal and external customers.

This is achieved through collaboration, with joint governance between the People team and the business units, to define, prioritize, design, and secure resources for L&D programs that enable the development of new skills.

 

Integrate learning & development programs into the entire people management process

Just as the concept of the customer journey has become popular when referring to external customers, we also need to work on an employee journey, managing the employee’s career path from recruitment and hiring, through development and training, to the moment they leave.

For training to have a lasting impact, it is key that it be a continuous process throughout the entire employee journey, with L&D programs well integrated into the full people management process.

 

Move forward in evaluating programs with impact metrics

Measuring the impact of training and learning programs is key to demonstrating their value to the organization and its development strategy. Even though measurement is complex, it must be done across the board, in pursuit of continuous improvement.

 

Place special focus and attention on leadership programs

Here, understanding that leaders exist at every level of the organization, we are challenged to achieve transformations that go beyond providing skills and knowledge; we must pursue deep shifts in mentality. A change in mindset involves everything, not just how a role is performed.

“We saw it during the pandemic, and this will only deepen. We are not a factory for making things; as people, we need reflective spaces to build meaning, and that drives many behavioral states. And in that sense, the leader plays a fundamental role,” adds Carolina Altschwager of Almabrands.

 

We invite you to download the presentation below.

 

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Presentation: How can learning challenges be integrated with the company’s strategy?