The Must-Have Expertise Of L&D Managers
For a company to evolve and reach even higher goals, every employee should have a chance to keep growing and acquiring new talents and skills. A Learning and Development (L&D) manager ensures everyone is offered the opportunities they need. At the same time, they focus on what the company needs from their employees to become better and excel. About 86% of employees value job training and believe that it’s the L&D manager’s job to guide them toward advancement and upskilling. But it’s also necessary for an L&D manager to keep developing their own skills.
7 Skills People Who Want To Be L&D Managers Should Master
1. Strategic Thinking And Organization
The ability to analyze a company’s needs and learning gaps is one of the L&D manager’s most crucial skills. Knowing the company’s goals helps them craft meticulous training courses that will address the areas needing improvement. For example, if an organization wants to break into the international market and its workforce’s knowledge of foreign languages is low, it needs to provide language courses. In this case, L&D managers need to prioritize tasks based on the company’s timeline and deliver a solution on time. Their organizational skills will also help them spot trends and make sure their learning courses are updated regularly.
2. Project Management
An L&D manager has the greater picture in mind and pushes everyone towards reaching individual and corporate goals. They start by deciding what training courses need to be taken and then move on to using the necessary resources, always aware of the company’s L&D budget. The next step is to keep track of everyone’s course participation and be aware of any issues that may arise. The organization may be administering multiple courses at the same time, so the L&D manager should keep everything under control. Then, the manager should check whether the participants are learning and benefiting from the courses. If not, the resources spent on a course may have gone in vain.
3. Communication And Empathy
Communication, either verbal or written, is a skill every L&D manager must possess. From crafting emails to giving company-wide speeches, L&D managers need to convey their message clearly and confidently. Their tone and language will also have to differ when talking to a client compared to addressing an employee. Whatever the case, they should build trust and keep an open ear to everyone in the company, from managers to entry-level employees. They need to hear everyone’s opinions and needs and be receptive to feedback, even though it might not always be easy to accept mistakes. At the same time, empathy will help them put themselves in the learner’s shoes, see things from their perspective, and understand any potential obstacles or needs.
4. Leadership And Building Relationships
Leaders are expected to have a perfect vision of a company’s goals and craft a path toward them. This is exactly what L&D managers need to do, as well, as it’s a skill that helps them set priorities and build strategies. Next, they need to communicate everything to their team and explain how each person can contribute. In a productive and safe environment, everyone can thrive and feel free to share their thoughts and issues. By listening closely and considering these issues, the L&D manager leads by example and builds stronger relationships with the team. Employees need to view their manager as a trustworthy figure they can confide in so that fundamental respect can be built and professional and personal relationships can flourish.
5. Problem Solving And Critical Thinking
Problems arise almost daily, no matter how well-organized a company is. It’s an L&D manager’s responsibility to be aware of them and address the root cause through relevant training. Of course, issues will be located much faster when the manager has created an environment that encourages open communication. After examining all the evidence, they can start thinking about possible solutions. The skill of critical thinking will help the L&D manager think objectively and logically to make the right decision. It’s also important to think “outside the box” and not be afraid to take risks in order to carve new paths towards improvement. During this entire process, the organization’s best interests should be at the forefront.
6. Collecting Data
One of the most sought-after skills for L&D managers is gathering data, analyzing it, and putting it into practice. To collect data, they can simply use surveys, interviews, experiments, and small focus groups. The following step is analyzing their findings, which is a little more challenging. A 2019 report found that many L&D professionals struggle to interpret their findings. But it is necessary because it goes hand-in-hand with the next step: putting the findings into practice. Being able to deliver new and impactful learning based on accurate data is what differentiates a good L&D manager from a mediocre one.
7. Technical Knowledge
Before the global pandemic, companies would typically organize face-to-face trainings with expert instructors and employees in the same room. However, new, online alternatives had to be found. As a result, L&D managers had to develop technical skills they might not have possessed previously. Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint are not enough anymore, and managers may need to become familiar with other areas as well—content writing, coding, and programming are some examples. So, upskilling is necessary.
Conclusion
L&D managers greatly contribute to the growth of a company’s employees and the organization’s overall success. By fostering an honest work environment, they create meaningful relationships and become trustworthy leaders capable of solving any issue thrown at them. Through continuous learning and data collection, they are able to build strong strategies and manage learning projects that enforce their workforce’s capabilities. Yet, it’s important to remember that these skills are impossible to build overnight and require plenty of research, practice, and persistence to fully master.