Don't Let Your L&D Funds Go to Waste: My Tips for Optimizing Your Learning and Development Investment

Imagine being handed $100, $1,000, or even $5,000 and then throwing it away. Sounds absurd, right? Yet, many people do this with their yearly learning and development (L&D) budgets.

If you're fortunate enough to work for a company that allocates funds for your professional growth, why let it go to waste? Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common. As someone lucky enough to work for a company that provides us with an annual budget to grow and develop, it hurts to see others not use this opportunity. That’s why I’m here to help!

When I see friends or colleagues not using their L&D budget, they typically fall into one of two categories:

1. They don't know what to spend it on: They feel overwhelmed by the choices or don't want to think about it.
2. They think they have nothing to spend it on: They believe they have all the certifications they need or that their role doesn't have relevant events or training.

Here’s how to overcome these barriers and maximize your L&D budget. I'll share real-life examples of how I use my L&D budget to inspire you to do the same.

"I Don’t Know What to Spend It On"

• Review Your L&D Documentation: Check your company's L&D documentation to understand any limitations and get initial ideas. For example, my company has a robust page listing suggestions like software, books, coaching, training, events, and language courses. This jumpstarted my brain into all the possibilities and led me to realize we could use some of our budget for career coaching (more on that below!)
• Connect with Peers: Reach out to your peers to see how they have utilized their budget. Don’t limit this to people at your company or your role. You may be surprised by people's ideas and might even find a group to attend events or training with you.
• Use AI Tools: Ask ChatGPT or similar tools for relevant training and events that may be a fit for you. Provide details about your role, industry, company, interests, and goals to get personalized recommendations.

"I Have Nothing to Spend It On"

• Think Beyond Your Role: With my budget this year, I attended a transformative multi-day conference in Austin, Texas, which most people consider a music and film festival. However, when I researched the conference more, I realized that much of the event covered professional topics relevant to my industry, company, and role, such as the Future of Work, Training through Storytelling, and Utilizing AI. By thinking bigger than just "Customer Success Management" conferences, I expanded my horizons and brought back valuable insights to my team and company.
• Focus on Future Steps: Don't just think about your current role; think about the role you want! For example, if you're a sales development representative wanting to work with data or an individual contributor aiming for management, consider the training needed for that next step. This mindset led me to obtain my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification last year. Although my title isn't currently project manager, I wanted to improve customer onboarding and work on project-heavy company OKRs. I knew that this certification would help me with these initiatives and would also be a credential I could keep with me throughout my life.
• General Professional Development: Think holistically about yourself as a professional and use career coaching, leadership development coaching, and professional peer groups to grow. At the beginning of the year, I took feedback from performance reviews and other areas I wanted to improve and booked sessions with a career coach on BetterUp. In the past, I have also used my L&D budget to join Ellevate Network, which led 12-week peer coaching groups. This was a fantastic experience and helped me expand my professional network.
• General Professional Skills: If you can’t think of training for your specific role, you can also consider skills that benefit any profession, like presentation building and communication. Earlier this year, my company allowed us to use our budget to take a change management course with our colleagues, which was helpful with managing change with my customers and internally at the company.
• Creative Development: While I haven’t done this myself, some companies allow you to spend L&D budget on development unrelated to your role or company. A friend used their L&D budget for art supplies and music lessons, as their company valued overall personal growth.

Final Tips

If you find a development opportunity that seems like a stretch or won't be approved, don't be afraid to ask your manager or L&D team! The worst that can happen is they say no. With that being said, make it easier for them to say yes. Come prepared with the cost, a description of the event/training/etc, and an outline of how it will benefit you and the company. Additionally, come up with a plan for how you will share the knowledge you gained with your team after the event.

Please don't let your L&D budget go to waste. Take charge of your professional growth and seize every opportunity to learn and develop. If you have any tips or ideas on how you've used your budget, please let me know!