[STRATEGIES] THE BOTTOM LINE: Aligning Learning with Business Needs B Y A J A Y M . P A N G A R K A R A N D T E R E S A K I R K W O O D I n times of uncertain economic conditions and competitive forces, an organization’s leadership expects to stretch every dollar for maximum benefit to achieve some type of sustainable market advantage. This is a constant expectation and is emphasized more now than ever throughout the organization’s business functions. Budgeting and forecasting is now clearly accountable to improve overall performance. More often than not those directly involved in what is perceived as “supporting” functions, specifically identified in this article as the training and development function, fail to grasp management’s message and expectations either because TREAT EVERY TRAINING DOLLAR AS A BUDGET ALLOCATION ALIGNED WITH SPECIFIC BUSINESS OBJECTIVES they do not view themselves as a “true” business function or are unable to make connections between training efforts and business needs. In either case, learning professionals are missing a unique and golden opportunity to become relevant to their organization and avoid being seen as unnecessary expense. So how do you get the workplace learning function to be taken seriously and embedded into business expectations? The answer is to treat every training dollar as a budget allocation aligned with specific business objectives. This is easier said than done. Those involved with training are always challenged to “sell” the benefits of an intangible need (training outcomes) to those expecting tangible results (business and financial results). This is not to say that senior managers don’t recognize the importance for training; however, possessing limited resources they are focused on accountability and results. Often Training Industry Quarterly, Winter 2010 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQhttp://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ