Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2017 - 25

BY BRIAN BLECKE & KELLY SMITH

A data-driven learning strategy aligns
learning goals with the business
and ensures the learning function is
putting its design, manufacturing and
reporting capabilities to good use
by working on high-value and highimpact initiatives. It also describes
the relationship between the learning
function and its two internal customer
groups, business leader stakeholders
and the learners themselves.

A learning strategy differs from an
operational strategy (see Figure 1 on
page 26). An operational strategy for
the
learning
function
describes
the current, near- and long-term
capabilities and capacity of the function,
as well as a roadmap of activities
and milestones. Decisions regarding
governance, technology, staff and
staffing levels, using internal or external
resources, reporting, etc., are guided
by the operational strategy of the
learning function.

learning strategy forecasts anticipated
results with associated metrics and
establishes a roadmap to guide the
organization to those outcomes. It
also provides numerous points of
measurement that will indicate progress
towards an achievement of that state.
To be effective, different kinds of data
need to be identified, collected and
analyzed in the early stages of learning
strategy development.

The data-driven learning strategy
effectively uncovers and brings into
balance the goals, needs and realities of
the organization, learning function and
the learner. It places strong emphasis
on business alignment and business
outcomes, ensuring learning strategy
and learning outcomes produce needed
changes to performance.

A data-driven learning strategy utilizes
formal and informal data.

For business leaders, data-driven
learning strategy improves their
confidence that the direction and focus
of training appropriately reflect the
business' goals. For the learning leader,
it provides a business-centric framework
for prioritization, decision-making and
efficient deployment of L&D resources.
For the instructional designer, it guides
and focuses design choices. For the
learner, it improves the odds that
their learning experiences will meet
important developmental needs, and be
engaging and meaningful.
In addition to aligning L&D to business
goals and outcomes, data-driven

WHAT WE MEAN BY DATA
Formal data: Most organizations
today are awash in data, reports and
dashboards. Often gathered and
organized automatically and behind
the scenes, this type of structured
data provides an understanding of
financial and operational performance,
highlighting gaps between expected
and actual outcomes, and modeling or
forecasting future state scenarios. In
some cases, the data is unstructured
and requires some effort to organize,
consolidate and interpret. Formal data
is useful in estimating and calculating
actual business impact and return on
investment (ROI).
Informal data: Most organizations
have this kind of data readily available
as well; however, it's not often
captured automatically and typically
requires manual effort to uncover and
organize. Informal data is valuable in
setting direction by capturing goals,

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT 20 1 7 I WWW. T RAI N IN GIN DU ST RY. C O M/ MAGA ZI N E

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