What is Learning and Development (L&D)? | Meaning & Definition | HR Glossary (2024)

What are the objectives of learning and development?

Keeping employees updated

Learning and development in the workplace helps employees stay updated with the latest skills and knowledge, which opens new opportunities for the employees to take up new projects, increase their productivity and efficiency and at the same time reduce the time taken to do a certain task.

Effective Management

Learning and development helps employers develop an improved management team that is capable of handling difficult situations and making quick decisions. With the knowledge gained from the activity, employees are able to handle tough decisions and are able to process tasks into simpler steps.

Increase employee retention

Hiring is more expensive compared to learning and while doing so employer also boosts employee motivation but also increases the trust between employer and employee, when the employee feels the sense of belongingness in the organisation.

Improving bottom-line employees

when learning and development is focused on filling the skill gap of the employee, the management can enjoy an increase in profit. As well trained employees do their job better and it's also the task of the manager to bring out the best in their employees.

What is the difference between training and development vis-a-vis learning and development?

Training and development is more of a job-focused where employees are trained on a specific product based on the organisation. They are equipped with all the skills necessary to get the job done.

Learning and development is more focused on career development where an employee gains more knowledge on other areas through learning and the employee has the opportunity to explore other areas of interest through this method.

How can you improve learning and development in the workplace?

• Managers can compare their employees with the competition, in what are they doing, how they are doing, where they are lacking and then plan accordingly.

• Managers can ask their employees about the organisation and get valuable feedback from them on what needs to be done, any areas of improvement, what kind of learning they need and many more.

• Allowing employees to get experience from any events and courses, which will help them in getting hands-on experiences and also utilize what they have learned to complete these tasks.

• Managers can also let employees learn by accommodating the needs of the people by letting them work in a group or individually to be able to learn on the job. This also will increase engagement between teams members and also people will come up more often to take up new projects.
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Does learning and development help our employees perform better?

Learning and development actually help improve employees' performance. When the company invests in development opportunities of the employees it shows that they are committed to employees and believe in their work which also sends the message that they also want commitment from your side. This activity helps address weaknesses of the employees in the workplace which the employee can work on improving those weaknesses and in time they will have a consistent and better knowledge about the product and role in the company.

How does learning and development contribute to employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the key to the success of the organisation and learning and development greatly contribute in employee engagement:

• Learning and development is not limited to one own team, many organisations carry out learning activities in a team of people from different departments when the employee learns about each other's roles it helps to bridge gaps between departments and reinforce an engaging, company-wide culture of learning.
• Through learning and development organisations send the message that they are committed to the employee and want the same from them and will also help them to learn individually with the freedom to choose programs and skills and allow them to play at their own strength.
• Learning and development have evolved for the remote workforce, and traditional models like instructor-led sessions or face-to-face coaching have changed to virtual learning sessions. With a live webinar, employees can chat with each other in real-time while listening to the instructor recreate L&D in a remote worker-friendly environment.

Why is learning and development important for employees?

Learning and development help the employees in the following ways:

• Performance Improvements from Employees by enhancing their skills and helping them get a better understanding of their work.
• Increased Employee Satisfaction as they now have access to those resources which was not available to them.
• Address Weaknesses Within The Company by bridging the skills gap and reducing the weak links within the company.
• Increased Productivity with the new-found knowledge as they are able to do the same task without any guidance.
• Reduce Turnover of Staff by investing in their talent and making them feel valued.

Where do companies go wrong with learning and development?

Learning at the wrong time

Every activity has its own time and the employee learns at their own pace and most organisations forget that they conduct uniform learning activities which are less relevant to their current roles.

Learning the wrong things

Business often conducts sessions like writing skill or conflict management which are less relevant or have no connections to their needs.

Less retention skills

Often people forget what they learn way too quickly and companies never focus on incorporating these skills to their daily lives which increases the retention capacity.

What are the best ways to track your employee learning and development?

• The easiest way to track is using an LMS for tracking employee learning.
• Using google and excel spreadsheets consisting of training log, courses and no of learners.
• You can also use employee training tracking software.

What is learning and development to HRM?

Learning and development is the method of accruing value in employees in human resource. This includes evaluating employees for potential skill gaps and then developing it, “on-boarding” new staff and honing the skills of current employees. This activity is carried out in a regulated environment and techniques such as coaching, individual and team training, and staff assessments are used for carrying out this activity.

Who would benefit most from learning and development?

Both the employee and the organizationwill benefit from learning and development as this process give rise to a new and improved management which is capable of handling the planning and executing plans without any problem. Thus opening the way for bigger and better opportunities for business for the employee and for the brand. All these can be achieved with an end-to-end HR Software.