The pressure is on to maximize potential, improve business outcomes and adapt to change.

But it isn’t easy. Learning and development (L&D) doesn’t always get the support from senior leadership that it needs to thrive. While learning leaders intuitively understand the potential business impact of learning, business leaders may not agree it is as critical to their organization.

In some cases, L&D contributes to this disconnect by assuming training initiatives measures will directly lead to the business outcomes expected. When everyone else in the business doesn’t make the same leap, L&D is left without the support they need.

To combat this, training professionals must evaluate their current situation and underlying challenges, review business priorities and ultimately link L&D to business goals — all while communicating impact with the appropriate metrics. Otherwise, L&D’s full potential may remain unrealized. Let’s unpack this.

Diagnose Your Starting Point

It’s helpful to understand your current state. Is your L&D Near-sighted, Transformational, Delusional, or Transactional?

Following the Money

To start thinking about the value of L&D, we first need to understand the ultimate goals of your business audience — what business leaders themselves value — and how L&D can help.

At the core of every business leader’s agenda is profit, which is dependent on boosting revenue, controlling costs and mitigating risks.

Even charitable companies like Patagonia using impact-driven business models must be profitable. Danone’s CEO said it like this: “Sustainability without performance has no impact. Performance without sustainability has no future.”

Because bottom line profit can feel very distant, we should uncover profit drivers. For example, the costs for a manufacturing business are affected by cost per unit, which in turn can be impacted by quantity ordered, raw material inputs, manufacturing time, quality and other variable costs. Knowing the basics of how your company makes and spends money is critical to understanding your business audience properly.

Building on this reminder about business dynamics and priorities, savvy learning leaders can align L&D with strategic business objectives.

Aligning L&D With Business Goals in 4 Steps

1. Discover your company’s strategic initiatives.

Know what your C-suite leaders want and how they plan to get it. Strategic initiatives are specific plans a company makes to improve the business like entering new markets or launching innovative products.

To gain insights, engage with senior leadership, participate in strategic planning sessions, review quarterly and annual reports and watch earnings calls. In other words, upskill yourself on the internal and external drivers of your company’s business performance.

2. Uncover and map key strategic drivers.

Identify the internal drivers that work together to impact broader company initiatives — like go-to-market strategy, technological innovation or team efficiency. To get started, ask yourself and others this: “What needs to change at my company to make this initiative a reality?”

Let’s say a financial services firm has a strategic initiative to enhance customers’ experiences and reduce customer churn. The firm could focus on personalizing service and communication, innovate its product to fit customers’ evolving needs, improve customer support and engagement, or develop better prediction analytics for high-risk clients.

Leadership teams often guide which key drivers to focus on. Run with them. And remember, you’re not the only person trying to figure this out. Collaborate and discuss which critical factors matter most.

3. Identify drivers that L&D can address.

The reality is that people are at the center of basically every corporate initiative, and L&D is uniquely positioned to enable people. Ask, “How will what I’m working on ultimately drive revenue, lower cost, or accomplish a particular strategic initiative?” If this link isn’t clear to you, it certainly won’t be clear to your business stakeholders.

If leaders have identified any business outcomes for strategic initiatives, use them to identify some quick wins — like specialized learning programs for a few individuals working in critical roles. This can help you generate some quick wins and also help you identify larger and more ambitious opportunities.

4. Document L&D’s solution and impact.

Once you’ve identified your focus, create a clear plan for upskilling targeted employees and present it in terms leadership understands. Avoid using L&D-specific jargon like “learning experience.” Instead, use business language like ROI, efficiency, or KPIs to clearly link learning initiatives to business outcomes.

You don’t have to use cringe-worthy words like “synergy.” Instead, pay attention to terms your leaders use. If they talk about return on investment (ROI), change management, operational efficiency or a particular key performance indicator (KPI), then identify an underlying metric L&D can influence and use that language to show L&D impact.

In addition, be sure to translate L&D metrics for leadership. Presenting participation rates, completion figures, and engagement hours likely won’t impress your CEO. They’re only interim measures that aren’t directly connected to outcomes. If you report an increase in content consumption, help them quickly understand why that matters and helps them accomplish their goals.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Navigating the complexities of aligning L&D with business goals can be challenging. Here are some tips to be successful:

• Speak the language of the business. Translate L&D outcomes into C-suite terms and metrics such as drivers for profit margins, revenue growth and productivity. Measure the business outcomes, not just learning activities.
• Connect with business stakeholders early. Build your programs and outcomes around their most important needs and create internal champions for your initiatives.
• Include qualitative and quantitative benefits. Provide key metrics and communicate the intangible benefits of L&D, sharing how they contribute to a positive work environment and long-term business health.
• Embrace change. Regularly step back and consider the major changes your program requires to align with evolving business needs. Keep your eye on the big picture.
• Continuously improve. Approach learning as a long-term imperative, not a one-time initiative. Think of development not just as a session but as an ongoing process.

Your New Learning Paradigm

Go get the green light for your learning projects and become a key player in driving your company forward. Learning isn’t just about ticking boxes — it’s about investing in the future of your organization and connecting L&D to business success.