How to put learning at the heart of business in 2018

There’s no sign in a let-up to the challenges facing businesses, as we head into 2018. But for those who can adapt to the rapidly changing climate, this could be a year of opportunities, rather than challenges.

More than ever, L&D will be at the heart of ensuring their organisations adapt and thrive by aligning training directly to business goals.

Our business briefing looks at the Top 5 business challenges for L&D in 2018 and has action points and expert insights to help turn the challenges into opportunities to impact performance and results.

1 – GDPR

According to Forrester, the vast majority of firms won’t be ready for GDPR in May – and half of them aren’t even trying, despite the threat of huge fines. The salient question is: why would they not want to take measures to reduce breach risk? It’s good practice, surely? Rather than stick their heads in the sand, company bosses should be supporting L&D and Data Protection Officers to ensure compliance training. There’s still time!

Our download has training solutions for GDPR and insights, including the key to future-proofing data protection compliance.

2 – Productivity

The so-called ‘productivity puzzle’ is affecting most of the developed world. It’s particularly notable in the UK, where the amount of output produced per hour worked is significantly lower than other economies despite high employment rates. It’s bad news for business growth and for employees’ pockets.

There is an answer to the productivity puzzle, and it’s another ‘P’ word: People. Our download includes steps L&D can take to make an impact, and insights from the Head of Public Policy at CIPD.

3 – Customer experience

Nothing lasts forever, and it seems that the current age of customer experience (CX) has run its course. People have grown bored and want a newer, bigger, better CX. According to some business analysts, those who don’t offer it will lose customers in 2018 and it will cost them in lost growth. With consumer spending set to be even more linked to CX in 2018, businesses will need to step up a gear.

Find out in the download how L&D can boost customer spend at their business, by ensuring the best training for CX.

4 – Digital transformation

This is a real biggie for organisations globally. Digital transformation will decide which businesses will grow or fail, with some experts predicting that as many as 20% of firms are at risk in 2018. Research is already showing the disparity in growth between those companies who’ve kept ahead of the game and those who are lagging behind. Why? Because digital technologies are powering the main elements that drive growth.

Our download reveals that outdated workplace learning has contributed to the problem, and has steps that L&D can take to lead their organisation through the digital transformation.

5 – Talent

A key challenge in 2018 will be to fill roles in customer experience and digital transformation. Businesses might need to ‘out-do’ their competitors with the package they can offer new and existing staff in these areas. Which brings us to another trend for 2018: the experience economy in the workplace environment. At the same time, we’re also seeing a new workplace demographic, while old jobs are starting to be replaced by new ones. The talent section of our download has tips on how to align learning to talent, and on how to inspire workers who expect to get more out of their jobs than just a pay cheque every month.