Lower the Barriers, Raise the Bar: How to Build Strong L&D Programs

Most employees want to grow. They want new skills, more responsibility, and a clear path forward in their careers. Yet many of them never enroll in the learning programs their employers offer, even when those programs could change their trajectory.

Often the reason is not a lack of interest. It is a stack of barriers. An employee may not be able to cover tuition up front. A schedule may leave no room for a live class. A manager may never approve the request. Each obstacle quietly shrinks the return on an organization’s learning and development (L&D) investment.

A new report from Guild, an education benefits platform, Building Workforce Adaptability with Education Benefits, shows how much these barriers matter. When comparing high-performing L&D programs with low-performing ones, the strongest remove obstacles that keep employees from learning, whether those obstacles are financial, structural, or cultural. High-performing programs deliver significantly better outcomes in retention, internal mobility, and workforce skill readiness.

Financial Barriers: The Cost of Waiting for Reimbursement

For many employees, the biggest hurdle comes before the first class starts. According to Guild’s report, only 37% of organizations offer an upfront payment option. Everyone else expects employees to pay tuition themselves and wait to be reimbursed.

“For those who cannot afford the initial expense, it can be a significant barrier to participation,” said Matthew Daniel, senior principal, talent strategy and mobility at Guild.

That barrier hits hardest for frontline and hourly employees, who often have the most to gain from new skills. Guild’s data shows high-performing programs take this challenge seriously. Of high-performing programs, 46% offer upfront payment, compared with 29% of low-performing programs.

High-performing programs were also nearly four times as likely to have changed their payment structure in the past two years, at 35% compared with 9% of low-performing programs. “This suggests they view financial barriers as something they can address through program design,” Daniel said.

Funding levels follow the same pattern. Guild found 73% of high-performing programs invest beyond the $5,250 tax-free employer education limit, compared with just 43% of low-performing programs. Many degree, certificate, and technical programs tied to critical workforce needs cost more than $5,250. Investing beyond this limit puts relevant programs within reach for employees who could never afford them otherwise.

Daniel cautioned no single factor causes better outcomes. Strong programs design the benefit around workforce strategy “rather than allowing the tax threshold to determine the strategy.” This is especially important in light of shifting L&D budgets. Spending on L&D dropped 28% from 2025, according to SHRM’s 2026 L&D Executives Benchmarking report. While spending fell, the median hours of L&D per full-time employee remain unchanged. This indicates the importance of L&D in the face of budgetary constraints, and emphasizes lowering financial barriers is one part of an intentional, strategic approach.

Sample Policy: Professional Development Reimbursement

Structural Barriers: Who Gets Access and How

Even when funding exists, the path to enrollment can stall. Eligibility rules often decide who participates, and the wrong rules can shut out talented people.

Nearly half of high-performing programs base eligibility on department or function, compared with just 10% of low-performing programs. Low-performing programs lean more on manager approval, at 64% compared with 40% of high-performing programs.

According to Daniel, high-performing programs “are more likely to use consistent and objective criteria tied to workforce priorities rather than rely on individual manager discretion, which can have bias inherently baked in.”

For HR leaders, this offers a practical step. Review your eligibility rules and ask whether they connect to business needs or depend on one person’s judgment. Clear, objective criteria open doors fairly and help you build the skills your organization needs most.

Retention agreements deserve the same review. Jim Link, SHRM-SCP, CHRO at SHRM, notes these agreements are increasingly common, though required service periods vary widely. Guild’s research urges caution. Retention agreements can “place financial risk on employees, which our data shows may discourage participation in the benefit altogether, especially by the most marginalized employees who have the most to gain from the programs.”

Time Barriers: Meeting Employees Where They Are

Time is one of the most common reasons employees skip learning. Many juggle shifting schedules, caregiving duties, and full workloads. Asynchronous learning, which lets people learn on their own schedule, removes much of the pressure.

“I believe the evidence is indicating that people who are able to do it in an asynchronous way are more likely to engage,” Link said. “They’re more likely to complete it, and they’re more likely to find value.”

SHRM has applied this lesson. It recently shifted some early-career manager training from an expensive cohort-based model to a more flexible online platform, aiming for the same or better results at a lower cost.

Flexibility should never come at the expense of quality, though. “Many effective programs combine the two, giving employees flexibility while incorporating live moments that create connection and accountability,” Daniel said.

Link also stressed that learning should tie back to “your organization’s values or guiding principles,” so flexible programs still reflect your culture.

Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Development and Training

Cultural Barriers: When the Workplace Holds People Back

Some of the most powerful barriers are invisible. An employee may have funding and a flexible course, yet still feel unable to take part.

“No matter how much training you put into somebody or something, if they’re not paid enough or if they have a [bad] manager, none of that’s going to matter,” Link said. When something is broken in a workplace, he added, “people are going to be less inclined to sign up for learning in the first place.”

Daniel pointed to two signals of a culture which welcomes learning. First, employees get real time and financial support, and learning does not “feel like one more thing they have to squeeze into an already full workload.” Second, employees can see how new skills lead to more responsibility, new roles, or career growth inside the company.

Before you expand your L&D budget, or while you do, take an honest look at how your organization rewards, manages, compensates, and promotes people. Each of these systems shapes whether employees feel safe and motivated to learn.

Article: Build the Learning Culture You Want to See

Measuring What Access Makes Possible

Lowering barriers is an investment, and investments need proof. “I always try to focus on the things that I can measure because if I can measure it, then I can prove it,” Link said.

Track participation and completion alongside retention, promotion rates, internal mobility, and engagement. Over time, connect those results to business outcomes like revenue and profitability. Strong results build confidence: 82% of high-performing programs reported a budget increase over the past two years, compared with 41% of low-performing programs, according to Guild’s report.

Keep the Door Open, Especially in Tough Times

When budgets tighten, L&D often becomes an easy target. Link calls this “the first big mistake” many organizations make. At a former employer, his team chose to invest in learning during the pandemic instead of cutting it. “We gained market share during the COVID-19 crisis because we were investing in our [people],” he said. The company returned to profitability ahead of its competitors.

Your employees already want to grow. By removing the financial, structural, and cultural barriers in their way, you give them the chance — and you build a more skilled, loyal, and adaptable workforce ready for whatever comes next.