Learning and Development

Learning and Development Purpose The organisational process of developing people involves the integration of learning and development processes, operations and relationships. Its most powerful outcomes for the business are to do with enhanced organisational effectiveness and sustainability. For the individual they are to do with enhanced personal competence, adaptability and employability. It is therefore a critical business process, whether in for-profit or not-for-profit organisations. Anyone working in the learning and development field has interrelated responsibilities to: the organisation(s) they work for the people they are helping to develop the human resource community to which they belong. To make the essential professional-level contribution to organisational as well as to individual performance and progression, the learning and development practitioner must be concerned with integrative activity and future planning, as well as with developmental operations here and now. This Standard: requires the mastering of a body of operational expertise in learning and development practice at the level of a generalist practitioner calls for a broad-based understanding of the contribution that people development can make to the performance and progress of the organisation and the individual requires those with learning and development responsibilities to consistently demonstrate in their values, behaviour and practice that they are both business partners and ethical practitioners provides the integrating performance framework to shape the activity of anyone in a learning and development role. It is relevant for: any personnel/human resources practitioner at a relatively early stage in their career, responsible for a range of basic personnel operations and wanting to develop deeper and broader knowledge and skills to enable them to make a professional contribution to the learning and development process. Such a practitioner is likely to aspire to a senior human resources or learning and development position ultimately line managers who need to build broad-based learning and development skills and knowledge because they hold learning and development responsibilities externally-based consultants, such as training providers, and those working in training and learning and development agencies, providing advice and services in many organisational types, sectors and settings. To be effective in their performance, learning and development generalists must be holistic in their approach and integrative in their operations. They must continuously relate their operations and advice to wider human resources and business policy and practice in their organisations. They must also act as business partners, creating and maintaining collaborative and business-focused working relationships with those most involved in, and affected by, planned learning and development processes. In addition to the knowledge that underpins their operational expertise, learning and development generalists must have a broad-based understanding of the learning and development field. In order to have credibility they must be informed about, and be able to explain, the learning and development implications of a wide range of issues. No personnel or development activity exists in a vacuum. So it is inevitable that this Standard reinforces some of the core operational and knowledge indicators that appear in the People Management and Development Standard, and in the Specialist Standards related to learning and development. 1

Practitioner-level Standards Learning and Development Standards Performance indicators 1 The integration of learning and development activity and organisational needs, with special reference to: 1 Co-operate with learning and development stakeholders in learning and development policy, strategy and plans, in order to integrate learning and development activity with wider personnel and business policy. 1 The organisation s business environment and internal context. 2 The goals of the stakeholders in learning and development, and the building and sustaining of partnerships that will produce and communicate effective learning and development processes and initiatives. 3 The formulation of the organisation s learning and development goals and strategy, and their implementation at different organisational levels. 1 The external environment of: global, international and more localised trends relevant to the organisation s present position and future progress; the current, planned and emergent position of the organisation in its external environment, and learning and development implications. national vocational education and training policy, its implementation at regional and local levels, and practical implications and opportunities for the organisation. 2 The internal environment of: corporate and business unit goals, strategies and plans (formal and informal) organisational structure and culture strategies and plans (formal and informal) personnel/human resources policy and practice the performance management process. 3 How to identify and respond to emergent trends and issues relevant to learning and development. 4 How to formulate the learning and development plan for the business and align it with wider human resources policy and with corporate goals and strategy. 5 How to identify and respond to new contingencies, and produce relevant divisional, group and individual learning, and learning and development plans. 2

2 The provision of a value-adding learning and development function 1 Advise on how to achieve a well-managed, appropriately staffed and value-adding learning and development function. 1 How the learning and development process adds value for the organisation and the individual. 2 The organisation, management and evaluation of the learning and development function and roles. 3 The delivery of organisationally focused projects to time, cost and quality. 4 Aids and barriers to effective performance as a learning and development consultant. 1 The value chain of the business and: learning and development processes and initiatives with value-adding potential. the difference between value for money and adding value. how to create awareness of the value that learning and development can add for the organisation. 2 Different structural options to ensure that the learning and development process has a business focus and efficient operations. 3 Typologies of learning and development roles, and their relevance, use and development in different organisational settings. 4 The financial base of learning and development in the business: general measures to ensure cost-efficient and wellregulated learning and development operations the role of the learning and development budget in the provision of a well-managed, organisationally focused learning and development function. national, regional and local funding opportunities to support and inform learning and development operations in the organisation. 5 Processes and tools (including the learning development audit) to aid continuous improvement in the learning and development field. 6 The purpose of marketing the learning and development process; marketing methods and approaches. 7 How to build, operate and maintain effective businessfocused partnerships with internal and external learning and development stakeholders: interpersonal skills and personal strategies to create and sustain effective business partnerships in different organisational settings identifying and responding to barriers to the partnership process handling issues of power, politics and conflict. 3

Practitioner-level Standards Learning and Development Standards 3 Learning and development s contribution to the recruitment and performance management processes 4 Learning and development s contribution to the retention of employees 1 Contribute to learning and development that will aid the processes of recruitment and performance management. 1 Induction, basic skills training and continuous improvement that will motivate learners, achieve competent performance, and build commitment to organisational goals and values. 1 The value of effective, relevant, well-publicised learning and development strategies and practice for the recruitment process. 2 The role of marketing in communicating a positive image for learning and development to potential applicants. 3 The importance for the performance management process of well-planned and effective induction, basic skills training, continuous learning and improvement. 4 Problems of balancing control and learning and development drivers in the performance management process, and ways of responding to these. 1 Contribute to learning and development that will help the organisation retain the people it needs for the future. 1 Career and management development processes that help identify, develop and use people s potential and adaptability and aid their continued employability. 1 The role of career development in aiding employee retention. 2 Criteria for effective design and management of career systems and: assessment processes to identify and develop potential strategies to prepare people for changed career paths, and to increase their employability security. 3 The management development process and: how the management development programme contributes to current organisational success and builds future organisational competence different approaches to the design of management development programmes, including work-based and more formalised processes and initiatives. 4

5 Learning and development s contribution to building organisational capacity and facilitating change 6 The stimulation of strategic awareness and development of knowledge 1 Contribute to learning and development that will expand the organisation s overall capacity and competence, and will help to introduce and embed organisational change. 1 The skills and attitudes needed to work effectively in changed/changing organisational roles, structures and working environments, and how they can be developed. 2 Learning and development strategies for organisational culture change. 1 Components of organisational capacity: structure, culture, networks, business routines, systems and procedures. 2 Helping to expand or contract organisational capacity through learning and development strategies for reskilling, multi-skilling, role and job change. 3 Learning and development initiatives and processes to: ensure effective functioning of personnel in crossfunctional, project-based and similar roles improve workforce adaptability and flexibility aid and embed change in organisational culture. 4 The learning and development professional as change agent; the tensions and challenges of that role and ways of responding to these. 1 Promote learning that will stimulate strategic awareness, and will develop and help to disseminate organisationally valuable knowledge. 1 Learning and development initiatives and processes to stimulate strategic awareness, creativity and innovation. 2 Learning strategies and processes to develop, share and disseminate knowledge that is valuable to the organisation. 1 Learning initiatives and processes to promote strategic awareness and the identification of strategic issues at all organisational levels. 2 The importance of unlearning and relearning, and of learning processes that can stimulate challenges to established routines and prescriptions in ways that will help the organisation. 3 Barriers and aids to understanding the knowledge process, and to generating, sharing and disseminating knowledge. 4 Types of internal and external learning partnership that can produce or expand knowledge valuable to the business. 5 Roles and tasks for the learning and development professional in knowledge management. 5

Practitioner-level Standards Learning and Development Standards 7 The design and delivery of learning processes and activity 8 The evaluation and assessment of learning and development outcomes and investment 1 Contribute to the design and provision of effective learning processes and activity, using new technology as appropriate. 1 The planning, design and delivery of learning processes and activity that will add value for the organisation and for individuals. 2 The appropriate application of new technology to training and learning. 1 Principles of effective planning, design and delivery of planned learning events, and their practical application, including: processes to ensure accurate identification of needs how to achieve shared ownership of learning programmes and events by the stakeholders. how to integrate workplace learning with more formalised training and learning and development initiatives, when appropriate factors involved in achieving effective transfer of learning. 2 Developments in new technology, and their implications for learning processes and programmes, and for the administration and assessment of learning events. 3 How to monitor ongoing programmes and events to ensure a continued focus on their learning objectives, and the achievement of intended learning outcomes. 4 How to respond to any contingency calling for a change in objectives or strategy in a learning programme or event. 1 Evaluate learning outcomes, and help to assess the returns on the organisation s past and planned investment in learning and development. 1 Methods and models for: evaluating the outcomes of learning and development processes and activity evaluating the organisation s past learning and development investment. 2 The identification and assessment of learning and development processes and activity that will benefit the organisation in the short- and longer-term future. 1 Models and processes to measure and evaluate the specific outcomes of learning and development processes and activity. 2 How to assess the relative effectiveness, efficiency and feasibility of different learning and development processes and activity in the particular situation. 3 Ways of calculating the payback and payforward of the organisation s overall learning and development investment, in order to ensure added value. 4 Essential data and information sources for evaluation and assessment activity. 6

9 The role and tasks of the ethical practitioner 10 The importance of continuing professional self-development 1 Identify and promote learning and development processes and practices that meet or exceed legal, mandatory and ethical requirements. 1 The impact on, and implications of, diversity of people, style and employment contracts for learning and development policies and practice and organisational learning strategies. 2 The information and actions needed to identify and achieve legally compliant and ethical learning and development practices and processes. 1 Sources of information and guidance that help to identify and clarify ethical issues for the learning and development practitioner. 2 Ways of creating awareness in the organisation about ethical issues involved in learning and development policy and practice, and of gaining commitment to tackle them. 3 Sources of information and advice that clarify legal and ethical responsibilities, and help learning and development practitioners to deal fairly and consistently with diversified workforces. 4 How to ensure that all learning and development operations and processes conform to relevant statutory, legal and ethical standards. 1 Continuously develop their own expertise, professionalism and credibility in the learning and development field. 1 Methods and processes of continuing personal and professional development, including coaching, counselling and mentoring. 2 Databases and information sources that provide up-todate information about current and emergent theory, practice and issues in the field. 1 National occupational and professional standards in learning and development and their implications for the conduct of learning and development in the business, and for the enhancement of the learning and development practitioner s competence and employability. 2 Methods and processes of continuing personal and professional development, including coaching, counselling and mentoring. 3 Self-assessment and self-development, and tackling barriers to the self-development process. 4 Roles and responsibilities of learning and development practitioners in promoting and participating in external sectoral and professional networks, initiatives and programmes. 5 Databases and information sources that enable learning and development practitioners to regularly update their knowledge about theory and practice in the field, and about emerging trends and issues. 7