Only four months into 2025, it is very clear that this year is not like the rest for L&D teams across the world. In a world of dramatic budget cuts and redundancies, many in the industry are left scrambling – unsure where to start to ensure their business meets their success goals.
So, in 2025, how do you tell those with the power in their hands that, yes L&D is valuable, more valuable than ever?
With a history of spearheading learning experiences to over 800 employees, Head of Leadership, Learning and Development at Chorus, Susan McLaren gives us her secrets to elevating L&D’s role in business strategy.
What is the role of L&D in business success?
Looking at a business – what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of gaining a first impression on them? People are the faces of the company. People are what leads a company to success. Eyes are the window to the soul but for a company, it is the people.
Susan reveals that by having clarity on our mindsets and nurturing that learning within employees, success can follow a lot easier.
“It is about understanding. It’s not just what a business does, but how we go about executing from a mindset and behaviours perspective,” she says.
But successfully creating that environment doesn’t start with the entry roles, but the leaders. And though it may seem scary telling C-suite’s that L&D is valuable more than ever in this economy, how do you prove the value?
Proving the value of L&D to the top dogs
Susan nails it down in one sentence; “the more work of L&D that can be connected to strategic outcomes, that becomes the critical hook to ensure that our people understand why learning is important, what that learning looks like and what the benefits will be.”
You need to prove to the executives that L&D cultivates success. And proving that means showing them the key metrics.
“If you can’t demonstrate that value, L&D becomes an afterthought. L&D must prove value or risk being sidelined.”
What do those key metrics look like?
Over at Chorus, Susan says her team is working on a framework focusing on future fit leadership skills which is supported by a blended curriculum, including some eLearning for leaders within the business. Though the program has yet to roll out, she says her goal is understanding whether the content they have created is working is through tangible analytics such as the activity, engagement and how this learning is impacting on day to day work.
“What the activity will show is what people are engaging with and what they believe the value is. But also, once they have completed some of the learning, at an appropriate point in time there needs to be a reassessment of their capability and what we should be able to see a tangible capability shift. These shifts will be articulated by the individual, validated by their leader and peers and we will track these changes over time” she says.
“With tangibility around the reporting and if we’ve got the learning right, that should translate to how we deliver both strategically, whilst creating the right environment for our people to thrive.”
And when it comes to completion rates, Susan says it is “neither here nor there”.
“It is not just about completing, it is so much more than that. It is about the 360 – understanding how this learning supports individuals build their capability, coupled with ensuring the best possible experience for those they are working with” she says.
“It won’t be as simple as ‘I’ve completed A, B or C and I am done and I am better than this now’. It is about our people continue to grow and demonstrate in both the day to day mahi they are doing, and in how they are executing.
The Future of L&D
For the first time, there is more to learning in the workplace than that tick box activity. It has become a strategic driver to successful strategic execution coupled with creating an environment that empowers our people to bring their whole selves and give more than just their job title.
“We are resetting for our new year (beginning 1st July) and including our mindsets as part of how we measure performance. All of our learning will have a really clear connection to these mindsets and how they impact on our strategic delivery not only in the work we are doing, but how we are going about it, so that creates a ‘what’s in it for me’ to a ‘complete the learning and apply that on the job,” says Susan.
“We believe that will have an impact on both personal performance; and the execution of our strategy to deliver on both our purpose and aspiration.
In a time where pockets aren’t as open as they used to but the demand for efficient work is skyrocketing, the world of L&D are in a unique position where now, more than ever, they are fighting to showcase their value in the business.
But it is very clear that L&D holds a lot of value to a business, it is just about showcasing that to the ones in power.
“Measuring performance, how we reward, what we're recruiting for, the learning opportunities we create is part of setting us up to be more successful in the future,” ends Susan.
Proving the impact of L&D isn’t optional—it’s essential. The good news? You don’t need to rely on guesswork.
Using the likes of Chameleon Analytics, L&D teams can provide the tangible metrics that executives want that showcase the successful results that come from eLearning.
