How Learning and Development (L&D) Can Build Change Readiness

Learning is rarely a one-time endeavor. While you can enroll employees in a program to develop new skills, the reality is the world doesn’t stand still. Technological advancements and changing market conditions mean you must prioritize ongoing professional development to stay viable.

However, implementing new training programs is challenging. Some employees undoubtedly prefer to keep things the way they are. Others may be willing to change but lack the proper training to develop their skills. Establishing a learning and development (L&D) function and combining it with effective change management can help navigate these challenges.

In this article, we’ll define L&D and explain how investing in employee training can improve change readiness. We’ll also look at how you can drive change success with a Prosci License.

What Is Learning and Development (L&D)?

L&D is an organizational function that creates programs to help groups of employees develop specific skills. It improves individual job performance, attracts and retains talent, and helps companies adapt to change. HR is typically responsible for rolling out these programs to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge to excel in their current roles.

L&D is more than just checking off boxes; it helps create and foster a learning culture, unlocking your employees’ potential. It can also keep your company from stagnating or becoming complacent. Organizations that invest in learning & development report 11% greater profitability and experience improved employee retention.

By understanding the fundamentals of L&D, you can see how it forms the foundation for equipping employees to handle change effectively. But to fully leverage its potential, it’s important to distinguish between learning and development.

Difference between learning and development

Learning and development help your company develop a capable workforce, but the two are slightly different:

• Learning in the workplace focuses on acquiring skills and knowledge that directly relate to specific tasks. An example is onboarding new employees and providing formal training on the company’s tools and software. 
• Development is an ongoing and continuous process that encompasses broader career development, typically for future career opportunities. An example is a leadership workshop for mid-level managers to upskill.

Recognizing the differences between these two components allows organizations to design programs that address both immediate needs and long-term organizational goals. With this foundation, let’s explore why investing in your L&D function is a strategic priority for leaders.

Why Leaders Should Invest in Their L&D Function

By investing in learning & development, you can prepare your workforce to adapt to change and feel supported throughout the process. But this isn’t the only reason to do it. Here’s why developing your L&D function and investing in ongoing learning needs to be a priority.

Fills skill gaps 

Integrating advanced technologies like AI can enhance your operations. However, you need skilled individuals to implement and see digital transformation initiatives through. Otherwise, you’re unlikely to reap the full benefits that such initiatives offer.

The problem? The global talent shortage makes finding talented individuals more challenging than ever. Seventy-five percent of employers report difficulty filling key roles.

Organizations can avoid being left behind amid rapid technological advancements by investing more resources into their learning and development (L&D) functions. This enables them to upskill existing employees and fill critical skill gaps.

Attracts and retains talent

Here’s an uncomfortable fact: Seven in ten employees are actively (33.4%) or passively (37.3%) job hunting. That means some of your talent has one foot out the door and may jump ship if a better opportunity presents itself.

There are many ways to retain talent—from offering flexible working arrangements to providing employment benefits. Another is a robust L&D function that continually sharpens and develops your employees’ skillsets. Seventy-six percent of employees indicate they are more likely to stay with companies that offer continuous learning.

Highlighting your learning and development in job listings is also a great way to attract top talent. It can make your company more appealing to potential candidates who are narrowing down their options.

Signals internal mobility

Employees don’t want to feel “stuck” in their current position; they want to grow their careers and move into future roles with new responsibilities. However, employers aren’t doing enough to promote internal mobility to those with high career aspirations. Just one in five employees feels confident about their ability to make an internal career move.

L&D programs signal to employees that your company is invested in their professional growth. They also communicate that internal development opportunities are available to them.

Investing in L&D addresses current skill gaps and positions your organization to attract and retain top talent while signaling a commitment to internal mobility. Let’s examine how L&D enhances change readiness and supports employees through transitions.

How L&D Improves Change Readiness

The world continues to change rapidly, making change readiness—how prepared, willing and able a company is to implement a change—more critical than ever. You don’t have to look far to see what can happen when companies become complacent or refuse to change.

Here’s how learning and development can help companies build change readiness and guide individuals through the transition.

Prevents resistance to change

Resistance to change is a natural response. People are often more likely to stick with current ways of working because they are familiar and comfortable.

According to our research, the top reason people resist change is because organizations fail to communicate the “why” behind a change. They expect impacted employees to accept changes without involving them or getting their feedback. However, this approach ignores the people side of change and, as a result, doesn't create the strong outcomes organizations need to be successful.

When employees receive the proper functional training, they develop the knowledge and skills they need to do the work associated with a change. Additionally, with change management training, you can guide employees through new changes and prevent resistance.

Our Best Practices in Change Management research identified mid-level managers as the most resistant group during change. To effectively address this resistance, it is crucial to involve them early in change-related decisions and support them in acquiring the five elements of the Prosci ADKAR^® Model—Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. These are essential for fostering their commitment and ensuring successful change adoption.

Most Resistant Groups

Change management training provides L&D units with a structured framework for supporting and guiding individual employees through periods of change. 

Bridges the gap between knowledge and ability

Understanding how to do something and putting it into practice is quite different. Even with the knowledge to perform a specific task, becoming proficient can take some time. This is known as the knowledge-to-ability gap. 

Through hands-on functional training and practical workshops, employees can develop the skills they need to close knowledge gaps. However, you can’t send employees to a training session and expect changes to “stick” straight away. Even as you foster ability in impacted individuals, potential challenges that can arise include:

• Psychological or mental blocks 
• Inadequate time developing skills
• Habits that resist desired changes

With change management training, L&D teams can help impacted employees address these roadblocks. Strategies can include providing access to subject-matter experts and allowing sufficient time to develop their skills. 

Creates an environment that welcomes change

You need to nurture and embrace change to stay competitive. This starts by cultivating a growth mindset—the belief that abilities can be developed through effort. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, agrees: “Our industry does not respect tradition. It only respects innovation. The first step to building the right company culture is to have a growth mindset.”

A robust L&D function can help organizations build change readiness by fostering a growth mindset and creating an environment that views change as a natural part of growth. Some examples include:

• Making learning a part of daily work through regular skill-building exercises
• Providing a safe space for employees to experiment without fear of judgment
• Rewarding employees who take initiative on ideas, even if they don’t pan out 

Cultivating a culture of change prepares employees for the future, but sometimes, they need additional support. That’s where change agents play a pivotal role.

Develops change agents who champion change

Sometimes, employees need external support to help them adapt to new changes. This is where change agents can help. They serve as advocates for change, acting as a catalyst to increase commitment from those who must adopt and use new initiatives in their work.

Their responsibilities include:

• Communicating the “why” behind a change and its impact
• Listening to impacted employees, answering questions, and providing feedback
• Encouraging and supporting employees during the transition
• Identifying potential roadblocks and taking steps to address them 
• Working with leadership to apply structured change management strategies 

Our research reveals that organizations that use networks of change agents are more successful at achieving project objectives than those that don’t. 

Impact of Using a Change Agent Network (CAN) on Meeting or Exceeding Project Objectives

With the right change management training, L&D units can identify and support change agents who can champion new initiatives and guide individuals through transitions.

Common L&D Training Methods

Companies employ various methods to train and upskill employees effectively, particularly in the context of change management. 

These include:

• Instructor-led training (ILT) – This learning solution involves a subject-matter expert leading in-person sessions. In a change management workshop, for example, leaders can learn to apply our ADKAR Model with their teams, enhancing their ability to manage transitions.
• On-the-job training – This method provides hands-on instruction, allowing employees to develop skills while performing their jobs. For instance, a new software implementation may involve employees receiving real-time guidance from experienced colleagues as they navigate the new system.
• eLearning – Employees and remote teams can learn at their own pace through eLearning, including virtual classrooms and interactive training. Your company might provide access to training modules and other online resources on change management principles, enabling employees to revisit materials as needed. Employees can view their learning objectives and track completion rates as they work through learning materials.
• Mentoring and coaching – This involves one-on-one guidance from experienced professionals. A senior leader might mentor a project manager on effective people engagement, ensuring that the change initiative aligns with business goals.
• Targeted training – Customized learning programs are designed to address specific roles or skill gaps. For example, a tailored program might focus on developing communication skills and other organizational skills for managers to effectively convey change-related messages to their teams.

Each of these methods plays a critical role in preparing employees for change. However, training is most effective when tailored to the unique needs of different employee groups.

Creating Tailored Learning Programs for Different Employee Groups

To maximize the impact of new training programs, learning strategies should be tailored to fit the experience levels and career trajectories of different employee groups.

Entry-level employees

New employees rarely hit the ground running right away. They need time to learn the tools they will use for their work and internalize your company’s processes. Eighty-six percent of employees need some ramp-up time before diving into their roles.

L&D for entry-level employees may focus on developing an onboarding process that helps new hires ramp up and prepare for their roles. It may also involve implementing a “buddy system”—pairing a new hire with an existing employee—to aid in the transition. 

L&D can encourage change readiness by offering hands-on learning programs and providing feedback to boost employee performance.

Mid-level professionals

L&D can support employees in mid-level positions as they move into more senior roles through:

• Relevant certifications in areas like HR, IT and project management to deepen expertise
• Leadership development workshops to build management skills
• Industry conferences to stay current with the latest trends

L&D units can also add change management into their training to equip mid-level professionals with a framework, like the Prosci Methodology, to guide impacted employees through change.

Senior management

Continuous learning and development programs are critical for senior managers as their decisions have far-reaching impacts. L&D for this group may involve:

• One-on-one mentoring sessions
• Leadership retreats
• Peer learning groups

L&D can support change readiness for senior management by defining project success and measuring key performance indicators to determine the impact of such initiatives. But regardless of the level of seniority, L&D programs are more likely to succeed when organizations focus on the people side of change.

How a Prosci License Drives Change Success

There’s a reason why 80% of Fortune 100 companies use the Prosci Methodology—it offers a structured framework for building change capabilities at the individual and enterprise levels. 

Here’s how a Prosci License can help your L&D function implement change management. We include some real-life examples that illustrate its effectiveness.

Customize the Prosci Methodology to align with your culture

The Prosci Methodology is designed for flexibility. You can customize and adapt our methodology and materials to keep your change management process and materials consistent with your organization and brand.

An international bank recognized the importance of developing its change management capabilities. The company already had a process-based capability framework but lacked the capabilities needed to manage change. After evaluating different methods, the bank’s Organizational Effectiveness (OE) team opted for the Prosci Methodology.

The bank adapted the Prosci Methodology into its existing internal training structures and customized our materials to standard change management. This helped establish a “common language” across geographic locations. The use of electronic delivery channels enabled the company to instantly deliver change-related communications to many individuals.

The results? The bank elevated change capability across the organization and boosted employee engagement. 

Integrate change management into existing processes

A Prosci license enables you to easily integrate role-based training into your organization’s culture and embed the methodology into existing change processes. 

A global manufacturing company had a strong track record for project management, but it lacked the change capabilities to support new strategic goals. So it turned to Prosci.

After acquiring a Prosci License, the company created an enterprise change management plan, which included integrating change capabilities into its business processes. The plan also included role-based change management training.

During this training deployment, two executives made the strategic decision to integrate change management into their business units. This was a key turning point. Other leaders followed suit over the next few years and embarked on similar journeys.

Amplify and scale change across the organization 

At Prosci, we provide organizations with the resources to scale change management. These include proven frameworks to enable systemic change, standardized procedures to ensure consistency, and training materials you can customize to suit your needs. 

A multinational logistics company recognized its acquisition and transformation initiatives would require significant change. However, with six business units and over 6,300 employees across multiple countries, managing changes on such a massive scale wouldn’t be easy. The company selected the Prosci Methodology for its results-oriented approach and comprehensive training materials. 

After working with Prosci Advisors to determine the organization’s level of change management maturity, the Change Leadership (CL) department began building an awareness campaign. This involved distributing videos on the company’s intranet explaining our ADKAR Model and providing project-specific training to impacted individuals.

Leadership selected four projects to apply the Prosci 3-Phase Process to demonstrate the benefits of change management before scaling out. The results exceeded expectations. In the first year, the company grew its organizational change maturity from 1.8 to 3.0 (on a 5-point scale). It also increased commitment from senior leaders and expanded change management across more areas of the organization.

Grow Your Change Management Capability

Investing in learning and development can supercharge employee engagement and elevate organizational performance levels across the board. But that’s not all; it also makes your organization more agile and ready for change.

Imagine having the tools and resources to prepare your team to thrive during upcoming transitions. With a Prosci License, you can specifically tailor your L&D initiatives to focus on change management. This allows you to embed effective change management strategies into the very fabric of your organization.

By harnessing the power of Prosci training and resources, you empower your team to navigate the people side of change with confidence and skill.