Is Your Learning Strategy a Mess? (And How to Fix It)

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• Most L&D leaders think employees like their training programs, but the numbers tell a different story. Something's clearly not working here.

• Many companies mix up "training programs" with actual "learning strategy" - they're not the same thing at all.

• When training isn't connected to what the business actually needs, it's just wasting everyone's time - no matter how good it seems.

• People forget what they learn quickly without reinforcement. We call this falling off the "memory cliff".

• There is a better way to make learning stick and drive business results, but it requires a completely different approach than what most companies are doing.

  
  

A recent coffee break became a moment of revelation when I read The Learning Survey 2024 by the Learning and Performance Institute. Two statistics stopped me in my tracks:

• Over half of L&D leaders admit their learning strategy is mostly ineffective (with 5% calling it "a complete mess")

• Yet 70% of these same managers believe employees are satisfied with their L&D programs

Something doesn't add up here.

To be fair, the authors point out that “think” is the operative word in the second statistic. They did not ask for evidence of effectiveness, just the respondents’ opinion. And when we look at data from Elucidat, we see a different reality:

• 50% of employees in large organizations rate their e-learning as fair to poor

• 42% of L&D professionals consider creating engaging content to be their top challenge

Even if we accept that employees are satisfied with individual training programs, why do so many L&D leaders consider their overall learning strategy ineffective?

Why the contradiction?

The answer might lie in the difference between a learning strategy and training program. The latter addresses specific skills and competencies.

A learning strategy is an overall plan for how L&D will implement training programs that will move the organization toward achieving its business goals. This can include sweeping plans for upskilling and reskilling, and change management support.

Is there a disconnect between L&D and corporate goals?

One of our first questions when discussing a new project with clients is: how does this learning support the achievement of your company’s business goals? The most frequent answer is an uncomfortable pause.

The disconnect is clear: many training programs operate in isolation from broader business objectives. But a training program without strategic alignment has no reason to exist.

Every learning experience—from procedural training to soft skills development—should contribute to organizational success. This connection isn't always obvious to learning creators who may lack business context or financial acumen.

Connecting training to what the business actually needs

Finding this link is simpler than you think. Every job exists to support company goals, so anything that improves employee performance ultimately contributes to those goals. Identify that connection, and you've found your strategic alignment.

Awareness of this makes a difference. It plays out in the selection of learning objectives and in subtler ways as the ID writes the text and videos that are the learning experience itself.

Tying the learning to the greater good of the organization can help increase employees’ motivation to understand and apply the content. It helps:

• align them with the organization,

• have greater buy-in into its goals and culture, and

• provides a solid reason to focus and learn, beyond ticking off a box or enhancing their own resume.

  
  

Are employees piled up at the bottom of a cliff?

Another reason your strategy might be faltering? The absence of reinforcement.

Research consistently shows we forget what we learn without ongoing support. Without reinforcement, it’s likely employees are falling off a memory cliff and quickly going back to their old way of doing things.

Different learning needs require different reinforcement approaches:

• Procedures need job aids and managerial reminders

• Complex skills require refresher sessions

• Major changes demand ongoing coaching

In summary…

To ensure your learning strategy is not a mess:

• Make sure it’s designed to deliver on long-term organizational strategies

• Review your training programs to make sure each contributes to the learning strategy (and, therefore, the business strategy)

• Make sure L&D staff know and understand both strategies

• Include the connection to the business strategy in your high-level learning design, so it’s up front and personal

• Make sure you have ongoing reinforcement built into each program

At Strategy to Revenue, we make sure that our entire staff understands your company and its strategic goals. We then work to help you achieve them by consciously creating learning that will move you toward them.