L&D

Special

Strategy

Strategy

L&D
Special

Why L&D needs to be a

business
partner
The learning and development function is constantly changing, says Sunder
Ramachandran, Head of Sales Training for Pfizer India. Recent years have seen
it moving closer and closer to a role in overall business strategy

he role of the Learning and

changes and what partnering with
Development (L&D) function has
the business really means in 2014 and
evolved over the last few years. The
beyond.
hyper-connectedness and changing
Back in 2008-2010, the focus was on
needs of the business have placed the
informal learning and asynchronous
function at a pivotal point within the
e-learning programmes delivered
organisation.
through Learning
The learning function
Management Systems
2014 and forward will be
needs to look at its impact
which were then the
the time of
beyond the lens of just
game changers. During

leverage
and
portability

bottom line efficiencies

this time, organisations
or top line growth
transferred their
numbers. The impact on
facilitator-led programmes
people, culture, change
to online formats in order
and engagement are also
to cut costs and emphasise
for the L&D function
directly linked to efficiency
a return on investment and
and effectiveness gains for
value. The L&D story in this
the organisation.
phase was about helping organisations
The last few years have seen both
reduce costs and deliver value at the
disruptive technologies and a more
speed that the business demanded.
demanding customer, and learning
2010-2012 saw the changing
professionals need to reflect on these
landscape of the various roles in
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Strategy

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learning teams. For example, the

Training Manager evolved from being
a manager of teams who designed and
deployed content on behalf of their
internal clients to that of a supply
chain manager of knowledge. L&D
teams became internal consultants
who partnered with business to
identify performance gaps and analyse
requirements with much of the design
and delivery outsourced to third party
vendors. The L&D story in this phase
was built around the ability to become
a consultative partner to the business.
2012-2014 saw social media integration
within corporate learning. Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were
considered or used for corporate learning
and for staff professional development.
Gamification of learning journeys and
chunking of learning to be delivered
anytime, anywhere were emerging
as key themes. The L&D story in this
phase was built around responding to
the cloud and mobile-first ecosystem
that most enterprises have.
2014 and forward will be the time of
leverage and portability for the L&D
function. What this means is that we
are now in a position to apply a range
of various tools to achieve business
outcomes. If Learning and Development
continues to accept, learn and engage
with these tools, we will be in a
position where we can make a broader
organisational impact.

The learning function

needs to look at its
impact beyond the
lens of just bottom line
efficiencies or top line
growth numbers
Sunder Ramachandran,
Head Sales Training, Pfizer India

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The demands on the L&D function will

be even greater and new dimensions
of engagement will further transform
the function. Most L&D managers who
have kept pace with the changing needs
will now be called upon to engage their
functions for large enterprise wide
programmes, projects and initiatives.
Here are some aspects that could gain
prominence:
L&D as the Change Management
Champion
The roles are getting merged between
L&D and change management. Given
that most organisations are now

L&D
Special

driving towards collaboration and

change, the L&D function will be
increasingly called upon to champion
these efforts. For example, L&D may
work with teams such as Internal
Communications or Marketing to
design awareness campaigns and bite
size or micro-learning pieces. These
may be delivered as and when required
through the campaign to communicate
the benefits of the change as well as
to facilitate employee orientation
sessions for change.
L&D as the Employee Engagement
Champion
Most employee engagement surveys
identify that learning opportunities
are a key driver for engagement
within the organisation and the
training function is best suited to
champion this. Rather than just
solving a business problem, L&D will
create learning journeys that inspire,
engage and reconnect employees
with their organisation. Also L&Ds
contribution to the overall employee
value proposition will become further
pronounced.
L&D as the Collaboration
Champion
Most organisations are now
embracing enterprise social
networks to foster collaboration.

Given that this requires community

management and facilitation skills,
L&D is best positioned to support
the organisation and its people to
develop and use these new social
tools as well as role model the
online behaviour skills. Creating
communities of practice, training
community managers within the
organisation, and curating content in
these communities are some of the
areas where L&D can meaningfully
contribute.
L&D as the Employer Brand
Champion
The quality of learning that an
organisation offers plays a role in how
that employers brand is perceived.
L&D will need to broaden its scope
to external agencies to promote
and showcase innovative practices
in learning through social media,
and thereby attract the best talent.
The positioning of being a learning
organisation will offer a distinct
advantage to organisations in the
highly competitive talent landscape.
Given the rapid pace of transformation
in business, the L&D function cannot
procrastinate anymore. As L&D teams
are further reduced in size and costs
minimized, there is an opportunity to
reconnect with the business.
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