How to handle learning and development without an L&D team

Most business leaders want their people to grow but time, budget and lack of L&D expertise often get in the way. The good news is though: learning and development doesn’t require a dedicated L&D team or a fancy learning platform. Most of it already happens in the work itself, so it’s more a case of harnessing it to make it stick. 

In this article, we take a look at why training on its own isn’t enough and what you can do - including a five-step plan - to feel more confident about developing your people. 

The TL;DR version

• A learning and development strategy should be a clear plan (one page is enough) linking the skills your business needs to how your people will build them.
• Training is an event. Learning is a culture. Courses help, but what happens before and after them determines whether anything changes.
• Most development happens through the work itself, supported by managers and peers. Formal courses are best saved for specific gaps.
• The guide below provides practical levers for building a learning culture, a five step plan and the Australian rules worth knowing.

What is a learning and development strategy?

A learning and development strategy is a plan that links the skills your business needs to how your people will build them, outlines who is responsible and how you'll know it's working. If you don't have an L&D team, it should fit on a page.

Before we go deeper, it helps to separate two terms that are often used interchangeably:

• Training is a specific activity such as a course, a workshop or a certification.
• Learning and development is wider. It covers how people pick up skills on the job, how managers coach and what the business expects and recognises.

Deloitte research found that every $1 a business invests in L&D per employee is associated with an extra $4.70 in revenue per employee. That study looked at large Australian businesses, but it matches what we see in growing teams: when people build capability, the business grows with them.

Why does most workplace training fail to change much?

Most workplace training fails to create significant change because it's treated as a one off event, with nothing before or after to help people use what they’ve learned. The course itself is rarely the weak point.

You've probably seen this happen. Someone comes back from a great workshop full of ideas, a busy week takes over and a month later things look much the same. 

This happens when training is seen as the strategy, full stop. But as we like to say: training is an event, learning is a culture. An event has a start and an end; a culture is what happens in between – it’s what leaders and managers demonstrate, it’s everyone’s attitude to learning and it’s the skills that are practised, recognised and coached daily. 

Generally, you need both training and learning because events (training) bring in new ideas, and learning (culture) determines whether those ideas get put to good use.

What makes learning stick after training? 

What happens around a training course matters as much as the course itself. Our Senior People Partner Bodene Jean explores this in relation to senior leadership training in Bridging the leadership expectations gap.

In short:

• Before training: give people context. Let them know why they're going and share any reading in advance.
• During training: spread it out where you can. A series of shorter sessions gives people time to practise, reflect and come back with questions.
• After training: make room to use it. Peer circles, a follow up conversation with their manager and a chance to share what they learned with the team all help.
• Throughout: check that what you measure matches what was taught. If a course teaches coaching but people are assessed only on output, the course won't land.

How does the 70:20:10 learning model work in a growing business?

The 70:20:10 model says people develop roughly 70% through work (experience, experimentation and reflection), 20% through other people and 10% through formal courses. That’s good news for a growing business without a formal L&D team, because the biggest source of learning is work you're already doing.

Be realistic about the numbers though. It’s a guideline, not a formula to hit, and it will flex somewhat depending on your exact business and stage. 

Here's a summary of what each part could look like in a business of 20 to 150 people.

How do you create a learning culture?

You create a learning culture by building learning into how work is defined, led and recognised, so it happens whether or not a course is running.

We think of it as a two way street. The business provides time, opportunity and support, and each person brings curiosity and effort. We bring it back to five levers, none of which need a big budget. 

Make learning a core role expectation

Write learning into role descriptions and goals, next to delivery targets. In practice, that might mean every role has one capability goal each half, such as "run client renewals without support by June", which is reviewed with the same weight as everything else.

Upskill leaders to create learning moments

Managers have the most influence over whether learning happens, yet many first time managers haven’t been shown how to coach. In practice, this can be as simple as spending 10 minutes after a project wraps up asking what worked, what didn't and what to try next time.

Recognise and reward learning behaviours

People repeat what gets noticed. You can do this by your recognition program and performance reviews highlighting the people who taught a colleague, asked for feedback or took on something new, alongside the people who hit their targets.

Highlight wins when learning leads somewhere

Show the connection between learning and progress. When someone steps into a bigger role or lands a better result because of a skill they’ve developed, tell that story at your next team meeting.

Offer a range of learning formats

This could be a mix of short lunch sessions run by your own people, a small course budget, a shared library and time to shadow another team member or colleagues.

If you’d like help building capability frameworks, leadership effectiveness or performance rhythms that make learning part of the job, see how our Strategic People & Culture service helps with capability frameworks and leadership effectiveness.

How to build a learning and development strategy in five steps

In short, start with your business goals, choose how you'll close each capability gap, set a budget, equip your managers and measure the main things that matter.

In more detail:

1. Map your business goals to capability gaps

Start with the business plan, not a course catalogue. Take your top few goals for the next year or so and ask what your people need to be able to do that they can't do yet. If the goal is doubling your client base, the gaps might be account management, first time manager skills and onboarding.

2. Decide whether to build, buy or bring in the capability

For each gap, you can build it in your current people, buy it by hiring or borrow it by bringing in outside expertise.

Borrowing works best when the outside expert helps build your team's capability while they're with you.

3. Set a budget you can defend

There's no official benchmark for training spend in Australia, so pick a method you can explain. A percentage of payroll is often practical because it scales with your team.

The example below uses 1.5% of payroll, just to illustrate what this could look like. 

Keep in mind that the time people spend learning is a cost to the business (ideally an investment!) as well.

4. Give managers a simple development check in

A short development conversation each quarter keeps learning moving between courses. It helps to give managers a simple structure, and the GROW model can work well here:

• Goal: what do you want to be able to do in six months?
• Reality: where are you now, and what's in the way?
• Options: what could we try, including in the work itself?
• Way forward: what will you do, what will I do and by when?

5. Measure the main things that matter

Pick a handful of things that show whether learning is turning into capability. For example:

• Are development conversations happening each quarter?
• A few months after any training, are people using it? Ask them and their manager.
• How many roles were filled by internal moves or promotions?
• Has each capability gap from step one narrowed?

What are your legal obligations for workplace training in Australia?

In Australia, if you require an employee to undertake training, it counts as paid work. Additionally, building manager capability supports your duty to manage psychosocial hazards. Be especially mindful of the following areas.

• Paid training: If an employee has to do training as part of their job, they have to be paid for those hours. That includes mandatory online modules. Your modern award or enterprise agreement may add rules about hours and rates.
• Psychosocial safety: Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work names poor support, including inadequate training for a task, as a hazard. It also lists limited opportunities to develop skills under inadequate reward and recognition. Managers who can set clear expectations, coach and give feedback help you manage both these risks. How the code applies varies by state and territory, so check with your regulator.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you're looking to understand your obligations more broadly, our article on HR compliance priorities for Australian business leaders is a good place to start.

When does it make sense to bring in L&D consulting support?

Consider learning and development consulting support when you have a clear capability gap that matters to your business and nobody inside has the time or expertise to close it.

External support comes in a few forms. Corporate training consultants and employee training consultants deliver specific programs. Learning and development consulting firms design frameworks and pathways. An embedded People partner works inside your team on the system around the training, such as role expectations, manager capability and performance rhythms.

It usually makes sense when:

• You're promoting first time managers faster than you can support them.
• The same capability gap has been on your list for a while.
• You're about to make a meaningful investment in training and want it to stick.

If the gap is a single technical skill, a good course will often do the job.

Whoever you speak to, ask how they'll make the learning last after they leave and what your managers will be able to do themselves at the end. 

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to pay employees for training in Australia?

Yes, if it’s mandatory training. The Fair Work Ombudsman says that if an employee has to do training as part of their job, they have to be paid for those hours. Check your award or agreement for the details.

What is the 70:20:10 rule for learning?

It's a general rule that people develop roughly 70% through hands-on work including experimentation and reflection, 20% through other people and 10% through formal courses. 

How do I know if training is actually working?

Look at what people do differently, not how they rated the course. A few months after training, ask the person and their manager what's being used.

Do I need a learning management system for a small business?

Usually not at first. A shared folder, a simple register of completed compliance training and regular development conversations go a long way. A learning management system starts to earn its place when tracking mandatory training by hand becomes a real burden.

What's the difference between training and a learning culture?

Training is an event with a start and an end. A learning culture is the everyday system around it: what roles expect, how managers coach and what gets recognised.

Need help? We're here.

If you'd like to talk to us about creating a learning and development plan and building a learning culture that fits your business, please feel free to get in touch.

We've worked with more than 100 Australian businesses, from setting up HR foundations to building the capability that helps teams grow. We're always happy to listen to your needs and challenges, and point you in the right direction, whatever that might be.