Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020 - 5

MICHELLE EGGLESTON SCHWARTZ

FROM THE
EDITOR

L&D'S ROLE IN
CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Staying at the forefront of change is a
best practice in business. Long-term
success relies on an organization's
ability
to
successfully
navigate
disruption - from updating business
plans, redistributing budgets and
shifting how the business operates.
Effective change management is
needed to overcome setbacks and
keep the organization moving forward.

MANAGING PEOPLE IS
AN IMPORTANT - BUT
OFTEN OVERLOOKED
- ELEMENT OF THE
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
PROCESS.

Change initiatives can range from
short-term hiccups in business routine
to long-term states of disruption,
such as we're experiencing with the
pandemic. Regardless of the scope
of the change initiative, there must be
buy-in from leadership and employees
to ensure success. Managing people
is an important - but often overlooked
- element of the change management
process. It's the people who execute
tasks and achieve the goals of the
business, yet employees are often
uninformed and unprepared during
change initiatives.
This issue of Training Industry
Magazine examines the pivotal role
of learning and development (L&D)
in helping organizations navigate
change and complexity. From building
organizational resilience to weather
economic instability to equipping
leadership with the skills they need in
times of uncertainty, this edition shares
a variety of perspectives on how L&D
can support and prepare employees to
meet the needs of the business.

This issue also includes our annual
trends report to help learning leaders
plan for the future of learning in their
organizations. This year's report
identifies seven trends that reflect the
changing nature of work and the role
of the learning function in guiding their
organizations through these changes
to achieve new levels of performance.
Maintaining a future-forward mindset is
difficult in times of disruption. Instability
can create a "firefighting" mentality
due to the frequency and speed in
which decisions need to be made.
This keeps leaders focused on shortterm survival - and less on innovation
and business expansion. 2020 has
certainly been the year of change, and
the training function has been integral
to managing organizational disruption
and positioning the company for future
success.
As you read through the collection
of articles in this issue, consider how
these ideas and approaches may be
implemented in your organization. We
want to encourage a healthy
dialogue around the challenges and
opportunities that are impacting
the business of learning. We would
love to hear your thoughts on the
topics that you see
influencing
the
industry.
Michelle Eggleston Schwartz is the
editorial director at Training Industry,
Inc. Email Michelle.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE - L& D'S ROLE IN CHANGE MANAGE ME NT I WWW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020