5 THINGS THAT MAKE OUR FUNCTION, UH, DYSFUNCTIONAL

What comes first, learner mindset or learner skill set? It’s a topic that not many have considered. And it was a LinkedIn post claiming that mindset must come before skillset that inspired Ash to record this podcast. Because our skills-first approach to employees isn’t the only thing holding L&D teams back.

In this podcast Ash explores the three things she thinks is making L&D functions dysfunctional, including:

1. The lack of awareness about the importance of L&D in organisations. L&D is often seen as a cost centre rather than a value-add, but with some clever marketing communication and data-driven insights, L&D professionals can show the C-Suite that they're more than just a line item.
   
   

2. We’re over-reliant on technology. L&Ders seem to see tech as a magic wand that can solve all our problems. But let’s be frank: technology is just a vehicle, there’s a lot more that needs to be done to overcome our challenges.
   
   

3. Not embracing data-driven decision-making. Many aspects of L&D is not measured, benchmarked, analysed, or correlated. As a result, decisions are often made based on a whim or a gut-punch. It’s time to change that, look at the data and ensure we’re making informed decisions about our learning offering.
   
   

4. Focus on engagement over learning. Engagement should not be the ultimate goal for L&D teams. Instead it’s time to focus on performance and outcomes – making sure our people are changing behaviours and building new habits.
   
   

5. Believing that there is a single solution to all L&D problems. There are no silver bullets to solve all of our learning problems – and the sooner L&D accepts that, the better. Instead we need to analyse our challenges, and find a solution that solves that specific problem.

So if you want to build a more functional learning function, listen up and learn how to overcome these challenges we see all too often in L&D.