What is L&D & why is it important for your business?

Learning and development (L&D) is all about helping your team grow and get better at what they do, making sure they have the skills and knowledge to do their jobs well and keep up with how things change in the workplace.

Every business has gaps, usually either in skills or knowledge, and a good L&D strategy helps close those gaps. It’s not just about improving performance but creating a workplace where your employees feel supported and motivated to keep learning and growing as they work.

Research shows that 69% of companies experience increased employee growth when they nail their L&D strategies. This article will walk you through the major benefits of L&D, why it matters, and how you can start using it to help your business and employees thrive.

Interested in empowering your employees with the skills they need to excel as professionals? Read on, and check out our L&D CIPD qualifications and business solutions! 

What is L&D?

At its core, L&D is about helping people in your company thrive, and making sure everyone has the chance to learn new things and get stronger in their roles.

Whether it’s through training, mentoring, or picking up new skills while on the job, L&D is there to support your team’s growth.

L&D isn’t just about keeping up with changes in your workplace; it’s also about making sure your team members feel valued and prepared to tackle whatever challenge comes next.

To put it simply, L&D is all about investing in your people so they can do their best work and help your business succeed in the long term.

What are the benefits of L&D? 

1. Supporting career development

Implementing learning & development is a fantastic way of supporting your employees in their professional development and empowering them with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their field.

By providing the right training and development opportunities, you don’t just support your team; you contribute to the overall success of your company.

The more skilled your employees, the better your company performs, and the happier your team will be – in fact, research shows that 76% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous opportunities for training and development.

2. Closing skill gaps

Every company and team has areas where they could improve, whether it be in digital skills, internal communication, client interactions, or something else entirely.

Implementing learning & development allows companies to identify training needs within their workforce, then target these areas by providing effective learning strategies.

The best L&D strategies help you identify those gaps and fill them, to increase productivity, employee engagement and workplace productivity.

3. Attracting and keeping quality talent

Offering continuous learning opportunities for current and potential employees allows businesses to capture the interest of quality candidates - and keep it.

86% of employees say that they’d be inclined to stay with an employer for longer if they provided frequent L&D opportunities - saving you the time and cost of hiring new people.

A company with a strong development programme is more likely to recruit and keep high performers who are skilled, motivated, and interested in developing themselves.

How to use L&D in your business

Every company aims to work efficiently to save time, cut costs, and increase profitability - an effective L&D strategy can help you to do exactly that.

When you invest in learning and development programmes, you give them the tools to excel in their role, cultivating a workforce which is skilled, confident, and capable of delivering incredible results and success.

There are lots of ways to use learning and development in your business to boost the productivity, satisfaction, and safety of your employees - from sales and customer service to health & safety training.

Here are some more examples:

• Onboarding new staff: One of the most important aspects of L&D is implementing effective training programmes for new hires; especially if they’re young and have been recruited into entry level positions. The rise in home and hybrid working means that it’s crucial to develop effective digital resources to upskill remote workers - a new challenge for L&D teams everywhere.
• Mentorship and continual learning: Mentorship is an effective method of L&D, where a well-skilled and knowledgeable individual (usually at a senior level in their company) coaches and supports employees in their roles to help them progress. The one-to-one nature of coaching means that an experienced individual may be assigned to just one employee, or a small group of around 2-3 employees.
• Health, safety, and ethics training: Making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to health, safety, and ethics is crucial for every business. Staff may require learning and development training relating to company rules and values, which can include topics like health & safety, ethics, security, and workplace behaviours - especially during the onboarding process.
• Setting goals and measuring success: Without business goals, companies can’t  successfully establish a path of progression from point A to B. Start by identifying areas for improvement, then build your L&D strategy around that. For example; are your sales low? Targeted sales training might help to boost sales by equipping employees with new skills and strategies for success, and you can measure how well it’s working by looking at things like employee productivity and feedback. 

Going through the L&D qualification with MOL opened my eyes to what real development looks like, beyond just training sessions. It’s been incredible to see how the strategies I learned stuck with my team and made a visible difference in their confidence and performance. It’s like we finally found a way to make learning a natural part of our work culture, and that’s been invaluable.

MOL learner Establishing an L&D programme

When creating an effective L&D strategy, it’s important to remember that everyone has learning styles and abilities, and that there’s no one-size-fits-all method. For example, some people learn with visuals, and others might thrive in hands-on environments.

The ‘secret’ to creating a fantastic L&D strategy is designing a programme that engages everyone, regardless of how they learn.

Having someone with specialised L&D training on-hand makes the process much smoother, as they'll be able to tailor your programme to suit different learning styles and make sure it’s effective for everyone involved.

L&D: Job roles and responsibilities

L&D professionals typically focus on designing and delivering training materials and workshops that address skills gaps and support career development.

Their day-to-day tasks might include assessing training needs, creating course materials, organising workshops, and evaluating the effectiveness of training initiatives.

They’ll work closely with employees and managers to make sure that learning and professional development opportunities match the company’s goals and target areas for improvement.

If you want to know more about what a L&D role involves, check out our in-depth career guide here!

What’s the difference between L&D and HR? 

People often get human resources and learning & development mixed up (or assume they’re the same thing) - but they’re quite different, so knowing which one to pursue for your business is really important.

While HR might handle administrative tasks like payroll, managing policies, and storing employee documents, L&D specialists are responsible for identifying skill gaps, designing effective programmes, and implementing those solutions to fill any disparities.

So, if you’re considering a professional L&D qualification for yourself or someone in your business, think of it as a way to really invest in long term growth.

Putting effort into L&D can transform your company’s growth. If you’re thinking about enhancing your own skills or those of your team, our CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma and Level 7 Advanced Diploma courses might be just what you need.

They’re designed to make a positive impact and support your journey toward reaching your goals, so enrol today with MOL and get started!