Almost all (99%) large employers have seen their in-house learning programmes fail in the past five years, according to research from City & Guilds.
Organisations saw their in-house training fail training because of problems with planning, design, delivery and evaluation, including difficulties in changing their learning culture from classroom-based to hybrid or digital learning; effectively measuring the impact learning has on operational and financial performance; and having limited people with in-house expertise to create learning materials.
Fifty-four per cent of the 600 HR and L&D professionals surveyed admitted to seeing three or more failed in-house learning programmes over the past five years.
Its Training Trends 2022 report says employers should consider where they can make improvements to the design, delivery and evaluation of programmes to ensure they are getting a return on their investment.
City & Guilds managing director David Phillips said: “Large employers are investing in learning and development to remain competitive and drive growth in challenging market conditions. Although it’s positive to see consistent, and even growing, investment, employers need to consider strengthening their training offer and building in more evaluation that effectively quantifies the return on investment for training. Recognising achievement through certification could also be key in attracting and retaining talent.”
Learning and development
Ninety-six per cent of organisations expect their investment in training to remain the same or to increase next year, with 43% suggesting that L&D is becoming more of a priority because of a need to attract more talent, 41% wanting to become more competitive and 39% wanting to cater to employees’ demands for training and career progression.
City & Guilds said there is a real opportunity to recognise employees’ achievements, with 71% of employers not yet providing employees with externally-recognised certification for their in-house training.
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents recognised that external certification helped with talent retention and 33% felt it helped to attract employees.
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To improve return on investment in in-house training, the report recommends employers should:
- measure the quality and effectiveness of L&D, to find out where further development is needed
- align learning to overall strategic goals and the needs of the business
- ensure digital learning is easily accessible, engaging and designed to high standards
- ensure staffing and resources are planned and managed so that training can be delivered effectively
- recognise staff acheivements with external certification
- gain support for training initiatives from senior leaders.
