How can managers align training with business goals?

Shouldn’t all training be aligned to a specific goal? Especially for adult learners, explaining the goal and the purpose is important for initial engagement, understanding of the training, and follow through of the learning. If learners do not feel connected to the training, there’s a chance that the learning will not be meaningful and therefore not improve the process, system, etc it was originally designed for.

I think it's inherently "human" -- especially within larger organizations -- to just view your role as a "role" vs. a vital component in reaching your business' next goal. In my humble opinion, training should always be done within the framework the current needs and goals of your team and organization. That being said, changes in organizational and/or team objectives merit a reframing of the day-to-day duties, tasks and foci of your team. Anecdotally, exploring the various "whys" behind objectives can* help people understand shifts in their duties and/or allow them to realign themselves (and their work) with new priorities.

A training needs assessment starts outside your organization, in the larger industry your organization occupies, and in the various fields and specializations your individual team members work. Ex: If you're a marketing agency, where does your agency's tech stack sit against a competitor, an industry leader or the 'best'? Additionally, you need to be honest and transparent about your own knowledge and skill gaps -- both as a leader, and as a participant in what likely is a rapidly growing industry. If you don't have the strength to determine where your deficiencies and opportunities lie, how can you reliably, honestly and accurately do it for your employees, teams and organization?

The impact of training can be measured through honest and intentional tracking of KPIs and metrics in relation to projects executed using new skills, approaches, tech, etc. If you're building web pages in a new platform, how are those pages performing vs. pages that haven't been moved into the new platform? You could look at sessions, core web vitals, etc. to determine net success of this new implementation. Similarly, if you've trained your copywriters to write emails in a direct-response marketing style, you could look at email metrics like opens, click-thru, conversions, scroll depth, etc. to determine effectiveness vs. your old style. (And please, consider A/B testing first ??)

You need to be fluent in the language(s) of your stakeholders -- and I don't mean Spanish, English, Chinese, etc. For example, a marketing team at a service company can have stakeholders in outside sales, IT, HR, finance, and a variety of other teams that you'll have the opportunity to share the value of your training with (as it relates to their requests and any net lifts the training has brought to those requests). This can be as simple as relating this to revenue (which may apply to all stakeholders), or breaking down the merits of your training into the lowest-common denominator (LCD) metrics for each stakeholder. For sales it could be leads, for HR it could be applicants or retention, for IT it could be web page sessions, etc.

If you want to foster a culture of learning and development, you need to almost enforce and encourage it. I've worked at organizations that have offered and encouraged the use of ancillary learning resources, but the demands and expectations of the role I occupied overtook those opportunities. And you need to know that not every person has the knack to identify moments to learn, or the time management skills to benefit from potential opportunities. Account for that. Address that. Lastly, don't be a hypocrite. It's so easy to fall into the "we've always done things this way" or "this way has always worked" mantra (passively or actively) which kills motivation to explore new possibilites. Encourage. Acknowledge. Implement. Repeat.