{"id":61950,"date":"2023-02-15T18:35:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T18:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explore.local\/2023\/02\/15\/beating-recession-align-ld-and-retain-your-budget\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T20:06:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:06:30","slug":"beating-recession-align-ld-and-retain-your-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/degreed.com\/experience\/pt-br\/blog\/beating-recession-align-ld-and-retain-your-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating Recession: Align L&D and Retain Your Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s the bad news no L&D pro wants to hear: Times are tough, and the cuts we’re making everywhere include learning.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The financial hardships rooted in Covid-19 \u2014 now compounded by threat of recession \u2014 can devastate your company\u2019s revenue and obliterate any business unit. Organizations around the world are operating on economic quicksand. In a climate like this, L&D programs are too easily discontinued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retaining your budget is imperative. If your organization is going to survive another economic downturn, it needs learning intact to help, retain and upskill top talent and get ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want L&D to remain essential, now\u2019s the time to closely align your learning with the most critical goals of your overall business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alignment requires understanding.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where can you start? Look to the near term and tweak L&D to match important business objectives now and for the next quarter. By thinking through this with urgency, you can equip the right people to make the right work happen as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number one measure they [senior executives] want to see is a business impact. Number two is ROI,\u201d according to a recent article in Chief Learning Officer<\/a> by analytics expert Jack Phillips and former utility executive Patti Phillips, who together serve as Chairman and CEO of the ROI Institute, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine an HR team that\u2019s so tightly aligned to its line-of-business counterparts it doesn\u2019t submit separate budget requests. When IT implements a new system, part of the IT budget includes training programs sourced or curated in partnership with an in-house L&D expert. Or when Sales leaders want to expand into new territories, they request headcount and an accompanying sales enablement program with help from learning partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost executives see learning as a cost, not an investment. When this is the case, they cut costs to save resources,\u201d the Phillipses said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alignment today requires thinking through recession.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Programs at risk typically land in one of four categories, according to the Phillipses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Expensive programs (a good cost-cutting target)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Soft skills initiatives (often considered \u201cfluff\u201d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Long-term or culture-change programs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Easily-postponed initiatives (including new ones)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As an L&D leader keen to prevent cuts, it\u2019s important to identify your specific risks and strategize your defense and determine which programs you can stand to cut a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Phillipses identify several key actions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Rally your supporters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Budget decisions are typically not made alone. L&D leaders should call in all favors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cAlthough the top leader may have final approval, other key executives will influence that decision. Think about the major projects you have successfully conducted with different functions of your organization, such as Operations or Marketing. That success positions you to ask those department leaders to support L&D funding in the budget meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Buy time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s rare for a budget cut to be enforced absent discussion and analysis, adding you can use that time to bolster your defenses. \u201cMost executives will allow you that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Show impact and ROI.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you can convince executives they\u2019ll get more out of a project than they put into it, you may be able to save or obtain funding. Preparing and sharing a credible ROI forecast may be necessary. And it’s not just the Phillipses saying this. Learning leaders across the L&D space back this approach. As Senior L&D Manager Megan Dillon recently said<\/a>: \u201cTie it back to dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We here at Degreed would add that the right metrics \u2014 data points that take success measurement above and beyond traditional L&D methodologies<\/a> \u2014 can breathe new life and value into your learning team\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cTelling your workforce development story \u2014 in fresh ways with new metrics \u2014 can capture the attention of your business leaders and make your learning program an important business priority,\u201d according to Susie Lee, Degreed Senior Vice President & Global Business Transformation Officer. She encourages L&D pros to communicate metrics that reinforce the value and impact of learning, talent development, and career mobility. \u201cIt\u2019s about your company\u2019s highest priorities and biggest goals and demonstrating how an investment in people can help achieve them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In their book, The Expertise Economy<\/em><\/a>, Degreed CEO & Co-founder David Blake and Degreed Chief Learning & Talent Officer Kelly Palmer caution corporate learning is often viewed as a cost center rather than a revenue-generating function. \u201cLearning typically becomes more reactive than strategic. For example, one business leader asks for a conscious bias training program, another wants an agile development training program, and maybe a third asks for an onboarding program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As Blake and Palmer noted: \u201cA strong learning leader who understands business can develop a\u2026 strategy based on data from several sources and show how this learning can impact both the business and employees in meaningful ways.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Right Metrics \u2014 Moving Beyond \u201cMeh.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Tracking and sharing course completions and hours of training won\u2019t effectively reinforce the value of learning to your CEO, business leaders, managers, individual contributors or anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Combined with efficiency ratios like hours of learning consumed per worker, the cost of learning per hour, staff-to-worker ratios and your modality mix, these metrics begin to tell a basic story<\/em> of how your workforce interacts with your learning initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But those metrics don\u2019t confirm that anyone actually learned anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can do more<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tell your engagement story.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Low employee engagement costs the global economy $7.8 trillion and accounts for 11% of GDP globally, according to the State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report by Gallup<\/a>. The analysis of 112,312 business units in 96 countries found a strong link between engagement and performance outcomes including retention, productivity, safety and profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your engagement story at the end of the day is about driving business results. By understanding if your people are personally committed to their career development and advancement you can determine whether you\u2019re creating a culture of innovation and evolution that drives profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Focus your learning data on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n