Alignment is a constant focus for top L&D teams. Here’s how Skillsoft’s Global Leader Forum members stay in synch and ensure learning is aligned to business needs. Skillsoft’s Global Leader Forum is an exclusive group of customers who have proven strategies of success around Engagement, Alignment, Adoption and Value – the Four Building Blocks of Learning and Talent Success. As part of the Forum, these clients regularly collaborate with other leading organizations and to share best practices, resources and tips within the new Client Community portal. They are also invited to participate quarterly in short research efforts around key topics that are of interest to the Skillsoft and industry-wide learning and talent communities.

1. The Skillsoft Global
Leader Alignment Trifecta:
Right People, Right Content, Right Time
Connecting regularly with executive business owners is key to content alignment.
Skillsoft Global Leader Forum Member
“ ”
TOP L&D ALIGNED BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:
Think about how the learning can be embedded [into the work]—don’t restrict to just
formal learning, look for opportunities to reinforce through on the job experiences.
Skillsoft Global Leader Forum Member
“
”
s k i l l s o f t . c o m
76% 73% 65% 54%
41% 32% 30% 24%
Improve employee
satisfaction
Improve customer
retention/satisfaction
Reduce risk Increase sales
Contain costs Enhance product
innovation
Business skills
Attend individual
department/business
unit planning meetings
Learning function/HR
business partners
Subject matter experts
Rely on managers to
share goals with L&D
Meet regularly
with executives
Rely on learners to share
their goals with L&D
Management/
leadership skills
Digital/
Desktop skills
Compliance Product/company
proprietary
Increase market share/
expand into new markets
Reduce time
to market
LEARNING CONTENT CATEGORIES ALIGNED
TO ACHIEVE TOP BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:
HOW LEARNING LEADERS ENSURE
ALIGNMENT TO BUSINESS GOALS:
86% 84% 76%
Technical skills
76% 68% 16%
IT IS EVIDENT TO LEARNERS HOW CONTENT
ALIGNS TO CORPORATE GOALS:
WHO IS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALIGNING
LEARNING CONTENT TO BUSINESS NEEDS:
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FACTORS
IN PRIORITIZING ALIGNMENT:
LEARNING CONTENT IS MAPPED INTO THE
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS:
54% 51% 43% 32%
SOMEWHAT
YES
80%
14%
NO 6%
FOR SOME
COMPETENCIES OR JOBS
YES
30%
19%
NO 51%
69% 19%
TIME
LE ADERSHIP
SUPPORT
30%
51%
COS T 5%
Global learning leaders are using learning as a powerful tool to influence
business outcomes. Below shows the percentage of Global Leader Forum
members that are aligning to a given business driver.
Did you know that 92% of CEOs believe their leadership development
program is ineffective? Members of Skillsoft's Global Leader Forum
are staying ahead of this perception by targeting business skills and
management/leadership skills as their top content categories.
With 43% of Skillsoft’s Global Leader Forum members meeting regularly
with executives about L&D, they surpass the market average where 36% of
organizations work with business leaders to identify business performance
indicators that they want to improve.1
According to Toward Maturity’s latest In-Focus Report, “Aligning Learning
to Business,” 39% of L&D professionals are not confident that their learning
activities actually support the skills the business needs. 94% of the members
of Skillsoft's Global Leader Forum report that their learners are aware of the
alignment between content and corporate goals.2
Recent research from Bersin by Deloitte states that, for the first time, the role
of content curation is a formal part of the L&D role. In fact 8% of L&D's time
is spent in portfolio management and content curation. Skillsoft Global
Leader Forum members have also recognized this trend.3
There is an opportunity for many organizations to better demonstrate
how learning content aligns to corporate goals by integrating it into the
performance management process.
Members of Skillsoft's Global Leader Forum feel that obtaining leadership
support of L&D and dedicating time for aligning learning resources are
critical factors in paving the way for aligning learning to business
objectives. Cost was not a significant factor.
? How often are you meeting with your c-level executives to
ensure your eLearning content is meeting business needs?
? How are you effectively communicating L&D’s strategic
alignment and impact on corporate goals to your learners?
? How are you leveraging your eLearning library to address
the issues keeping your CEO up at night?
? Is your L&D team aligning to business objectives?
? How well have you equipped your L&D team and
systems to curate and recommend specific content?
? Is your learning content mapped into the performance
appraisal process?
? Have you dedicated time in your planning and obtained
sufficient leadership support of your L&D programs?
1 http://www.towardsmaturity.org/article/2015/07/26/infocus-7-habits-highly-aligned-learning-teams/
2 https://elearningindustry.com/aligning-learning-to-business
3 2015 Corporate Learning Factbook
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