3 Ways to Retain Employees on Your L&D Team

As technology advances and the workplace continues to shift, skills gaps are on the rise. According to a recent McKinsey global survey, 87 percent of companies claim they are already facing challenges because of employee skills gaps or expect to face them in the next five years. 

We’ve radically changed how, when, and where we work. This accelerated skills gaps, especially as increased digitization and remote work schedules demand new skills from employees and leaders alike. 

So, how do you motivate your employees to develop their skills, making them future-ready? Well, with the demand for L&D professionals increasing 94 percent, you may have your answer.

53 percent of companies believe L&D should have a seat at the C-suite table, up 29 percent from 2020. Additionally, companies with successful internal mobility “retain employees for an average of 5.4 years nearly twice as long as companies that struggle with it, where the average retention span is 2.9 years.”  And what propels internal mobility?  Learning and development.

But while L&D professionals train on career development skills, boosting the knowledge of your workforce, how will you retain your L&D professionals?  

Let’s look at three ways to retain employees on your L&D team.

Prioritize Aligned Goals, Boosting Your L&D Culture

When you hired your L&D team, you more than likely aligned their goals with those of the company, making sure those candidates shared a collective vision with your organization.

Promoting this shared vision shouldn’t stop at hiring or onboarding. Instead, you should continue highlighting common goals and desired outcomes all throughout the employee experience.  

Another thing that aligned goals promote? A healthy, positive culture. According to a recent study, almost half of the employees surveyed stated that they prefer organizational cultures where they can be themselves and positively impact society while feeling heard and valued. 

To foster a robust L&D culture, connect these roles to purpose. Here are some questions to ask yourself when establishing those connections:

• Do your L&D employees feel like they’re making a difference internally?
• Are your employees’ and organization’s L&D efforts and contributions meaningful and valuable?
• Does your company encourage your L&D employees to focus on areas where they bring the most passion?
• How do your L&D employees’ efforts fit into future roles?
• What internal goals can you sync on?  For example, consider employee wellness, happiness, or satisfaction. 

When building a corporate culture that prioritizes aligned goals, don’t forget that retaining employees is key. Empowering your L&D employees to live up to (and exceed) shared values can give you that competitive edge needed in today’s talent market.

Encourage open communication and feedback

Another critical component of employee retention is encouraging open communication and feedback.  While we touched on this above, we thought it deserved its own section.

As stated above, employees want to bring their authentic selves to work, knowing they can speak up and be heard. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg (although an important tip!) when it comes to internal communication.

For example, when building connections within the workplace, encourage communication around mentoring, coaching, and advocating – helping employees grow in their positions while preparing for their future selves. 

Additionally, openly discuss your internal roles. Empower your L&D team to find their next role within your organization, allowing this talent to grow with your company – not with another. 

Also, encourage feedback and recognition. In a 2021 study, Gallup found that 84 percent of employees stated they were more engaged when receiving meaningful and approachable feedback within the last week. Just think about that. Fast feedback (as Gallup calls it) fuels growth, engagement, and trust – helping your employees and company achieve success.

Invest in Your L&D Team

Mckinsey found that failure to provide new learning opportunities is a primary driver of quitting. So, while this gives more support to hiring a strong L&D team, allowing your employees the opportunity to grow while keeping their jobs challenging and interesting, don’t forget to invest in your L&D team as well. 

Today, employees are looking for strong, clear job trajectories while upskilling or reskilling – preparing them for new roles or new levels in their current roles. And, your L&D professionals want the same for themselves.  

Identify your high performers and those employees with potential. Then, offer them opportunities to continue growing and developing while helping them expand their careers. Investing in your L&D professionals will not only grow and develop them, but they’ll feel like they matter – increasing their commitment and loyalty to your organization and their job. And, your success in retaining employees increases as well.

L&D is transforming before our eyes.  And with this transformation, company leaders not only understand the importance of L&D but that it needs to be implemented cross-functionally throughout the organization. However, throughout these continued developments, we need to keep talent where they excel – including our L&D teams. 

Want to learn more about L&D talent management solutions? Contact Cangrade today to retain employees and boost your company culture.