Last month, Training Industry, Inc., announced that it acquired all the assets of BetterWork Media Group, which includes the Chief Learning Officer and Chief Talent Officer brands. The acquisition draws on over 20 years of expertise in helping training and talent development leaders advance their careers and drive business impact.

Let’s take a closer look at the acquisition and what it means for the learning and development (L&D) and talent development communities going forward.

Strategic Business Drivers

There were a few strategic drivers behind the acquisition, including building stronger, more robust communities, expanding the audience, reaching key decision-makers and leveraging resources — including content, events and research — across all three brands.

Building Stronger L&D and Talent Communities

The acquisition expands Training Industry’s reach across three complementary yet distinct audiences: Training Industry’s audience of L&D professionals, Chief Learning Officer’s audience of executive learning leaders and Chief Talent Officer’s talent leadership audience. Bringing these communities together gives professionals more opportunities to connect with peers facing similar challenges.

“With the convergence we’re seeing between L&D, performance management and the whole employee lifecycle, it made sense to bring Chief Talent Officer into the business,” says Ken Taylor, CEO of Training Industry, Inc. Similarly, the Chief Learning Officer brand offers a dedicated community and tailored resources for executive learning leaders, helping them connect and problem-solve with peers, and access insights and resources relevant to their specific roles.

After all, “CLOs and CTOs want to talk to other CLOs and CTOs about how they’ve solved problems,” Taylor says. “The expanded community offers a place for them to connect with peers, share solutions and support one another.”

Reaching Key Decision-Makers Through an Expanded Audience

The three brands also give Training Industry a broader view of the professionals involved in learning and talent development decisions. This expanded reach provides greater insight into their needs and priorities while helping Training Industry better tailor its messaging and resources to the individuals who influence business decisions.

“We think that as we move forward, Training Industry will be able to do a much better job supporting training and talent providers by getting more of the people who have seats at the table aware of who these brands are,” Taylor says.

The acquisition also allows Training Industry to think about content through both a topic and audience lens, helping ensure that insights and resources reach the professionals who will find them most relevant.

Leveraging Resources Across Brands

Bringing the three brands together also allows Training Industry to leverage its content and resources across a broader audience. Taylor points to the company’s research and strong contributor network as resources that can serve all three communities.

Training Industry also intends to publish more real-world case studies. For instance, Taylor says the LearningElite and Learning in Practice awards programs can help identify best-in-class training and development programs that can then be featured in case studies across the brands’ websites, giving learning and talent leaders examples of successful approaches.

“People want to see real, tangible examples of what organizations are doing and what the outcomes were,” Taylor says. “We think this will give us even more insight into what’s working and what organizations are looking for.”

Helping Learning and Talent Professionals Drive Business Impact

Many of today’s organizations no longer rely on traditional measures of training return on investment (ROI), Taylor says. Instead, they’re focusing on how learning contributes to improved employee capabilities.

As learning becomes more closely connected to the larger employee lifecycle, learning and talent leaders need to understand how their work supports employees at different stages, from onboarding and skills development to preparing for transitions and capturing knowledge from experienced employees. The combined perspective of Training Industry, Chief Learning Officer and Chief Talent Officer can help connect these areas, giving leaders a more holistic view of how learning, talent and performance intersect.

Taylor says this broader perspective can help learning and talent leaders become stronger business partners by connecting their initiatives to larger organizational priorities.

What’s Next

Looking ahead, Training Industry plans to build on the strengths of all three brands while continuing to serve the distinct needs of their respective audiences. The company plans to strengthen its communities and expand in-person events, courseware and other resources for training managers, executive learning leaders and talent leaders.

By tailoring content, resources, events and additional offerings to these audiences, the combined brands can help learning and talent leaders better understand the broader business context of their work. This, in turn, can help them strengthen their influence and drive organizational impact.