Is Employee Disengagement Sabotaging Your Success? Your L&D Team Can Help!

The ‘Great Resignation’ Is Really the ‘Great Discontent’ reads the title of a Gallup report. And we couldn’t agree more! Employee disengagement is a huge problem being faced by organizations today. While the pandemic has been the catalyst, several factors such as absentee leaders, skill gaps, and a lack of clear goals & drive have contributed to the present situation. With highly engaged teams being 14% to 18% more productive than low engagement teams, we can easily estimate the consequences of disengagement. So, what’s the way out? And more importantly, can L&D help?

L&D teams across global organizations are in a rush to answer this, and forward-thinking organizations have started several initiatives. L&D units of today are no more mere order takers, rolling out conventional training programs. They are partners contributing to the corporate strategy and are involved in various aspects ranging from promoting employee wellbeing and supporting the hybrid workforce to mitigating the effects of the Great Resignation and enhancing training.

Explore how top performing organizations are leveraging the potential of L&D!

A Look at Present Day L&D

Big and small, L&D today has a finger in several pies, including training. Here’s a snapshot of the spectrum L&D deals with:

• Onboarding employees in a remote setup
• Empowering first-time managers
• Building a culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
• Promoting employee wellbeing
• Equipping employees to deal with changing business processes and tools
• Enabling digital adoption
• Addressing multiple generations of learners with different preferences
• Helping organizations sustain when expanding to new markets/territories
• Making sustainability a core focus
• Migrating technical training programs to the virtual space
• Showcasing career progression and supporting internal mobility

Is it Magic, Mystery, or More?

The problem of disengagement is much more than having a bad boss or a lousy paycheck. And while L&D doesn’t have a magic wand to drive away all barriers to engagement, it sure is equipped to help organizations deal with it.

Showing employees the big picture, giving them training that’s fun and engaging – especially when the boundaries between the home and the office are blurring, offering internal growth opportunities – all go a long way in engaging employees. And guess what, L&D can help in all these areas.

These are a few things you can get start too:

• Start a book club
• Have a podcast/webinar series with the C-Suite or industry experts
• Consult stakeholders on training solutions
• Revitalize online learning engagement to beat digital fatigue
• Utilize social media channels to nurture discussions
• Setup feedback mechanisms to improve training programs
• Support employee enabled learning
• Designate buddies to listen to employees
• Setup ideation hubs to let employees brainstorm/discuss/voice issues and concerns
• Encourage group learning using platforms such as LinkedIn Learning
• Use virtual sessions to foster a sense of belonging and bring back the echo of ‘watercooler’ interactions

So, there you have it, dear training manager – look beyond rolling out training programs. Extend the reach of L&D and make an impact! Rebrand your L&D team into the friendly neighbourhood barista your stakeholders can’t resist dropping into to order that steaming hot cuppa’ solution-ccino!

Your Next Step!

NOW is a great time to be in L&D. The emphasis is on helping employees see the big picture, feel valued, add quantifiable results to the bottom line, and more importantly play a holistic role in the growth of the company.

And you are not alone in this quest. Join LearnFlux to learn and network with L&D peers across domains & industries – 3 days of collaboration from the safety of your home. @RK will kickstart things by turning the spotlight on the theme and taking participants through what’s planned.