3 Benefits of a Data-Driven Learning Strategy

In the face of rapid change, people and organizations must continually build new skills to prepare for what’s ahead. And everyone’s turning to L&D leaders to map a strategic way forward. According to our recent Workplace Learning Report, 68% of L&D pros agree that the level of urgency around launching learning programs has risen significantly over the last year. 

To be successful, L&D pros first need a thorough understanding of where their organization and people currently stand in their skills journey. That means greater access to relevant and actionable data. In turn, data empowers L&D teams to act on insights by intentionally closing skills gaps and curating tailored learning programs that further develop their employees’ skills in alignment with business objectives. 

The future of learning and development is data-driven

While most business functions understand the value of data, it’s only recently that we’ve seen the phrase “data-driven” rise in importance for L&D teams. As industry analyst Josh Bersin explains, infusing data into your skills strategy “is not a project, [it’s] a muscle.” 

“This is an ongoing expertise and business practice that you have to do overtime,” Josh writes. Increasingly people are realizing that L&D needs as much data as marketing, sales, finance, and virtually all business functions to be successful. 

Data enables L&D pros to more confidently partner with leaders across an organization to curate the most impactful learning strategies, and provides the tools to share out your successes. And with learning and growth opportunities now being a key driver of employee happiness, a skills-based approach to your talent strategies is imperative. Below are three key benefits to putting data at the center of your L&D strategy. 

1. Deliver highly curated learning experiences

One of the most popular ways to assess the value of learning emerged over the last year: employee engagement surveys. That’s because creating a learning strategy that leads to high learner engagement requires understanding your learner profile. 

“We’re talking to our internal customers more about what they want to learn and what the best format will be,” shares Jacqueline Gay, Talent Development Program Manager at TomTom. “We’ve been joining our software development teams’ virtual stand-ups every week and using Glint surveys to identify focus areas like collaboration tools. We’re able to go back to them with the right, relevant solution rather than just the programs we think they want.” 

You can spend months creating learning modules to train your workforce, but it’ll all be all for naught if you’re not giving your people what they want and in the format that’s most conducive to their learning.

Combining qualitative data from employee surveys with quantitative data on learner activity like course popularity and completion rates in your Learning Management System (LMS) or LXP (Learning Experience Platform) can help give a comprehensive view of your learner profile. These insights become more powerful when you slice and dice by function, team, job titles, etc. Then, you can use that data to fuel your learning curation and ensure that you’re matching learners with the most relevant and impactful content. 

2. Intentionally close skills gaps

Knowing your organization’s skills profile and future business needs can help you identify and close skills gaps that are critical for your business. Use these insights to recommend learning content and a strategic roadmap designed to further develop those skills.

“When a large group of employees needs to be deployed into new roles, first evaluate their knowledge, capabilities, and skills. If possible, give them options that are both a good fit for their skill sets and what best serves the business,” advises Lou Tedrick, VP of Global Learning & Development at Verizon. “Once they choose a career path, then focus learning programs on closing the skills gaps required for the new role. Lastly, evaluate the effectiveness of that training and their performance to ensure a successful transition.”

Whether prompted by a change in external or internal environments, our workplaces are constantly evolving. A well-oiled learning strategy ensures that your organization and its people can keep up and stay competitive. It’s important for L&D pros to connect learning pathways to tangible skills. That way you can track and measure progress towards closing skills gaps.  

Measuring progress on closing skills gaps is a useful way to showcase the impact of your learning plan. Not only does it enable you to intentionally curate the right content for your learners, but it also gives you the information you need to grow and iterate on your future plans. 

3. Fuel equitable internal mobility and succession plans 

Putting skills insights at the heart of your talent strategy enables a more thoughtful, objective, and ultimately equitable approach to talent development. With data insights, you can track individual, team, and company-wide progress towards learning course completion and skills development. 

These metrics should play an important role in your performance management cycle. It can help you identify how people are using their newly acquired skills, and to what effect. L&D pros can then partner with functional leaders and managers to take the next step and define skills competencies that fuel internal mobility and succession plans, ensuring that you’re identifying the right people to steer your organization into the future. This enables a more equitable approach to internal mobility and promotions, by steering the focus on growth and impact, rather than tenure or office politics. 

“One good indicator of L&D’s impact on the business is how we are building employee capabilities for the future,” explains Ann Ann Low, Senior Director of L&D at LinkedIn. “This can be quantified by the number of business-critical roles that can be filled by internal talent because of their learning and development journey, or how L&D is accelerating the leadership succession pipeline for the business.”

Organizations with well-structured and objective internal mobility programs also see great wins for employee experience, with employees staying 2 times longer than organizations without internal mobility—a great sign as businesses navigate the Great Reshuffle. It also reduces the burden on your hiring team, and can even be positioned as an attractive selling point for prospective candidates, especially in a hot candidate’s market.   

As LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky recently said, “creating internal programs that identify and address skill gaps not only helps prepare for future disruptions but also helps your strongest and most dedicated employees feel secure.”

Skills help your business thrive

Embedding skills into both your L&D plans and overall talent strategy enables your organization to view learning as a proactive tool that builds future-ready workforces. But before you can dive in, you need to take some time to collect data that supports your plans and gets everybody on the same page.

Creating a data-fluent culture around learning and skills development might take some time, but the rewards to your people and your organization will be well worth it.