Learning and development (L&D) is a major business priority for companies, however cost and lack of resources is holding it back, according to a new report.
Research from recruitment firm BIE Executive found 68% of companies preferred to promote from within, leading to L&D being a ‘critical’ or ‘moderately critical’ objective for 86% of them.
Despite being a priority, 50% said their L&D measures are hampered by costs, while 47% cited access to resources as a hinderance.
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Ian Luxford, learning specialist at The Motivation Agency, said it is important to remember why training is happening in the first place when factoring in cost.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “It is positive to see that so many organisations see the development of their people as a high priority and it is also understandable that money and other resources are currently presenting even more of a challenge than they do in better times.
“When we are looking at the costs of training, we need to always keep sight of the value it generates and the risks associated with not doing it. These have to be part of the equation, alongside the costs, to enable informed and rational judgements about where to invest.”
Effective training doesn’t need to be expensive – 39% of respondents said mentoring and job shadowing were the most effective methods of employee development.
Luxford added: “It is also important to remember that, as a discipline, training is enormously flexible. When you are able to engage learners and help them commit to learning, there can be multiple ways of making the learning happen.
“Saving money does not have to mean compromising on quality and if we maintain our focus on value, we can avoid choosing ineffective solutions just because they are cheaper.”
Hybrid learning was flagged as a major issue for L&D teams and 92% said their employees had a greater expectation for hybrid working after the pandemic.
Amanda Baldwin, Mace Group’s chief people officer and executive board member, said: “It has been a challenging problem in terms of our early talent being able to observe and be part of the fabric of teams and the last few years there has been limited opportunity for direct colleague proximity, to observe people working and learning alongside them. So there are definitely some challenges there that we are trying to address.”
BIE Executive surveyed 200 HR leaders.
