Learning and development (L&D) is more important than ever in a marketplace where skills quickly become obsolete and hiring remains competitive. How will L&D executives respond to the ever-changing work landscape while aligning with organizational goals?
The September EN:Insights Forum, “L&D Executives: Priorities and Perspectives,” provided a sneak peek to recently released SHRM research analyzing L&D leaders’ priorities for the next 12 months, their biggest challenges, and identifies emerging workplace trends.
The forum featured Ragan Decker, SHRM-CP, Ph.D., manager of Executive Network and enterprise research at SHRM, who shared what L&D leaders are prioritizing in the year ahead and what they’re targeting for skills development. The biggest trend to watch? The increasing role of artificial intelligence and analytics in L&D work.
Below are four key insights from the presentation.
Research Insight No. 1: L&D leaders recognize the need to address high-level demands and on-the-ground realities.
The top two priorities for respondents are L&D strategy and skills training (cited by 33% each). L&D executives’ third-ranking priority is skills identification and gap analysis (25%).
The research also revealed top focuses within L&D strategy and skills training:
- 26% of respondents said learning culture and engagement is their top L&D strategy focus.
- 31% said role-specific training is their top skills training focus.
“L&D leaders are thinking both strategically and tactically and trying to build systems that are aligned to organizational priorities while also delivering … concrete learning experiences to upskill or reskill employees,” Decker said.
Research Insight No. 2: Power skills are becoming the cornerstone of leadership and manager development.
L&D leaders named leadership skills and manager skills, respectively, as their top priorities for leadership and manager development. They plan to prioritize power skills (such as empathy, communication, and inclusivity) over other competencies for managers (stated by 51% of respondents) and leaders (47%).
For L&D leaders to succeed, however, they’ll need to improve engagement, especially of managers and champions.
“Over half [of L&D leaders] report difficulty engaging managers in continuous learning opportunities or preparing first-time managers for success or even effectively developing their leaders,” Decker said.
Research Insight No. 3: L&D leaders face large skills gaps — and limited budgets.
L&D leaders recognize the pressing need to address skills gaps through upskilling, but they don’t always have the means to do so.
“With shifting market conditions, tighter budgets, it can be a challenge to balance those limited resources and still deliver impactful development programs,” Decker said.
The SHRM survey of over 175 L&D executives found that:
- 11% named skills shortages as their top macroeconomic challenge.
- 30% cited addressing skills gaps as their top organizational challenge.
- 21% highlighted limited budget or resources as their top L&D functional challenge.
Despite recognizing skills gaps as a pressing concern, L&D leaders might struggle to act because of economic uncertainty and resource constraints.
Research Insight No. 4: The AI-powered revolution is fueling L&D content creation, but that only scratches the surface.
While 87% of L&D executives expect AI to play a greater role in generating training content, that’s not the only AI trend they see expanding in the next year.
Other AI areas that L&D executives expect to be more prevalent include:
- Conducting skills gap analyses: 81%.
- Forecasting skills trends: 80%.
- Personalizing learning and upskilling: 79%.
- Supporting leadership and manager development: 78%.
“We’re viewing AI as a strategic tool. It’s not just being used to create content, but being used to guide workforce development, personalize learning, and make data-driven decisions,” Decker said.
With AI becoming a C-suite priority, embracing the tool could help L&D executives upskill the workforce, align with organizational goals, and secure the resources they need. You can read the full report, L&D Executives Priorities and Perspectives for more insights.
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