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The ten characteristics of world-class learningand developmentEngin Mustafa

In times of economic pressure, learning and development comes under additional

scrutiny to demonstrate its value.

Showing how learning and development provides a return on investment (ROI) is only part of

demonstrating its success. This article seeks to identify the other characteristics of

successful learning and development.

1. Align learning and development with strategic direction

The strategic objectives of an organization, coupled with its vision and values, provide the

direction an organization seeks to travel, as well as the culture that it aspires to.

The main components of a learning and development strategy need to be clearly linked with

the organization’s strategy and goals. Each point in the learning and development strategy

should refer to a corresponding one in the organizational strategy.

The organization’s vision and values should also be reflected in all learning and development

activity. This provides the opportunity to remind learners of how what they are undertaking is

helping the organization to fulfil its strategic goals.

2. Control learning and development activity

An effective learning and development function has a part to play in all organizational

learning and development, whether provided directly by the learning and development

team, others within the organization or external people.

The development that line managers and others in the organization can provide should not

be underestimated. If learning and development does not play a part in this by, for example,

ensuring the credentials of those who deliver, or the quality and consistency of materials,

there is the risk that it will be sidelined.

Where internal expertise or capacity do not exist, learning and development has a role in

searching for suitable providers and helping with the procurement process. This again

provides quality control and safeguards against criticism should the external learning not be

up to standard.

Learning and development needs to be mindful of the cost of external provision, particularly

if the development needs to be customized. It is too easy for the recipient organization to

develop an expensive dependency. Therefore, learning and development will need to

provide a business case for developing internal expertise.

Control of learning and development activity also extends to quality control and the

consistency of delivery, materials and messages. The organization should expect that

learning provided anywhere in the business is consistent in message and learning

outcomes.

DOI 10.1108/HRMID-08-2013-0056 VOL. 21 NO. 6 2013, pp. 3-5, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0967-0734 j HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST j PAGE 3

Engin Mustafa is a learning

and organizational-

development consultant.

The provision of quality branded materials for learning-service recipients creates a

standardized and professional image for the learning and development function. Delivery

should also follow a regular and consistent format so that learners know what to expect; for

example, a clear format to all workshops to identify a standard ‘‘topping and tailing’’ of each

course.

Finally, the quality-control mechanism should communicated with robust policies and

procedures that allow all employees to understand how they gain access to training, what

support they can expect and what their personal commitment needs to be. These should be

regularly updated in line with other policies.

3. Develop the learning and development team

The credibility of the learning and development function may rest partly with the

achievement of professional qualifications. For example:

B The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) provides a recognized

suite of professional qualifications that, when combined with experience and continuing

professional development, leads to a different level of membership.

B The Institute for Learning (IfL) similarly has levels of professional membership. It allows

those with teaching qualifications, through professional formation, to achieve qualified

teacher learning and skills status. This is recognized in law as equivalent to

qualified-teacher status.

These qualifications help to provide a recognized professional status. The affiliation of

learning-team members to a professional body helps to place them on a par with

organizational functions such as finance, which have less difficulty demonstrating their

professional credentials.

4. Quantify learning and development

Businesses are run by figures – how much, how many, turnover, profit, absenteeism and so

on. Learning and development needs to be able to show clearly and concisely what it is

doing in numbers.

Although of limited value, a good starting point would typically be data around evaluation –

gathered at the end of learning interventions. The collection of data around the time spent

identifying needs, designing courses, delivering them and evaluating is also useful.

There is, in addition, value in collecting data regarding the cost of externally delivering any

training provided in-house. It is one indicator of return on investment in learning and

development.

Any data gathered needs to be easily understood, so that people can see the contribution of

learning and development at a glance. A common approach to presenting this data a

‘‘dashboard’’ that can be regularly updated.

5. Seek external accreditation and recognition

The internal design and delivery of non-accredited learning and development has a clear

place to play. However, seeking recognition for learning and development activity by

‘‘ Learning and development should be present at a senior levelin the business and at operational business meetings. Thishelps to ensure that its activities synchronize with businesschallenges. ’’

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seeking accreditation from bodies such as the Institute for Leadership and Management

(ILM) for management workshops provides an opportunity for the learner to gain a

recognized qualification. It also provides an opportunity for learning and development to

show that it has the skills, knowledge and capacity to provide learning that is recognized

outside the organization.

A further opportunity to benchmark the learning and development function is through

awards. Winning, being commended or shortlisted can boost learning and development’s

internal standing and provide valuable kudos. Awards also enable learning and

development to develop its own best practice by learning from the activities of others.

6. Involve senior leadership

Learning and development should be present at a senior level in the business and at

operational business meetings. This helps to ensure that its activities synchronize with

business challenges.

Learning and development should involve managers in designing and delivering training.

Engaging with managers provides a platform of collaborative working that ensures that

learning and development is meeting organizational needs and providing development that

is operationally valued.

7. Establish a heightened profile

The business needs to know what learning and development is doing. Publicity falls into two

areas. First, learning opportunities need to be advertised trough e-mail, newsletters and so

on. Secondly, success should be celebrated through, for example, learners being

photographed and named receiving certificates.

8. Integrate technology in learning

People learn best in different ways. The advent of faster, more user-friendly technology has

opened the door to a host of potential e-learning tools that can be used to provide

blended-learning solutions, in a traditional workshop setting, in the office, at home or on a

mobile phone.

Learning technology also provides more flexibility in learning-management systems,

enabling learner progress to be monitored and assessed and learning data to be collated

across the organization.

9. Model best practice

Learning and development must be an exemplar in the areas in which it seeks to teach

others. For example, if it seeks to help learners to improve their customer-care skills, it must

have excellent customer-care skills itself. The credibility of the function will suffer if it does not

adhere to the rules and regulations that it seeks to endorse and promote.

10. Move the function outside its comfort zone

Learning and development needs to get involved in ad hoc projects that are ideally both high

profile and important to the business. An example might be helping with a management

conference.

Learning and development’s involvement in larger projects and its association with broader

business activities will help it to develop a more integral role in the business and heighten its

profile, demonstrating the value that it is adding to the organization.

In summary, a world-class learning and development function demonstrates the above 10

characteristics, and the path to achieving this status begins with firmly aligning its activities

with organizational strategic direction.

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