Adapting to change: training budget vs. strategy
Once again, times are changing. Technology and innovation are developing rapidly and it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up.
Looking back to the early 2000s, people had more time to adapt to new challenges associated with technology development. Gen This has allowed us to keep up with new technology features, software, and application developments.
But just 20-odd years later, the world is very different. We are seeing technology becoming an integral part of almost every workplace. Work is becoming faster and faster, and the amount of information being processed is catching up to the speed of light. All of this has a huge impact on employees and the skills they need to bring to the table to do their job successfully. This acceleration has a direct impact on overall business performance and requires leaders to rethink and adapt to new ways of doing things.
Agility, adaptability, focused performance and constant change are now fundamental tenets of every business. This applies not only to human resources, but also to business operations and results.
Willie Petersen, strategic learning expert and author of Strategic Learning: How to Be Smarter Than Your Competition and Turn Key Insights into Competitive Advantage, argues that the ability to learn and adapt is the only sustainable competitive advantage in today’s turbulent world. [1] Leaders must regularly challenge themselves, learn from examining their behavior and environment, and modify their strategies accordingly.
The strategic shift we’ve been preaching for years (we killed “traditional” eLearning development in 2023 in our webinar “eLearning Is Dead!”) is finally happening and being taken seriously. Adjusting your business strategy is the first step to achieving real results in response to new market demands. Everyone needs to realize that this change is permanent (we don’t see a zombie apocalypse in highly dysfunctional eLearning development as we know it).
This is why we have decided to be even more vocal about the need for change. Real change is one that delivers results based on business needs, goals, responsibility, and ownership. Backed by facts and metrics that support your process and provide insight into what works and what is a waste of time.
Strategic framework becomes inevitable
As we discussed in the webinar “Why eLearning sometimes doesn’t work: An eLearning agency’s perspective,” the cause of many organizational problems is a lack of strategy. What you really want is to align your training efforts to your leaders’ expectations, develop an effective training program rather than a boring course, and feel confident that you’re doing it the right way.
That’s why we implemented eWyse’s Business & Learning Performance System. This is a strategic solution for executives who recognize the importance of results-oriented training to support business performance. Training has been in the corner for a long time, existing but without much meaning or impact. It was a magical cycle of learning engagement, execution, and consumption, but without any tangible results, leaving everyone involved (leadership, L&D, and learners) disappointed.
eWyse’s Business & Learning Performance System offers something completely different. It is a self-sustaining closed loop designed to support business needs and performance outcomes by leveraging AI technology and delivering metrics that actually serve a purpose (completion rates start).
The system consists of three integrated components that work together to create measurable, accountable performance results that leaders own.
Our years of experience and expertise in training development have brought us to this moment where we can confidently say that this is what your organization really needs. A full-circle system that delivers results by continuously detecting gaps between training and business results.
And I’ll try to prove it.
Evidence #1: Training and business alignment
The World Economic Forum has released its 2025 Future of Jobs report with some interesting findings.
Expanding digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend, with 60% of employers expecting their business to be transformed by increasing digital access by 2030. Respondents to the Future of Jobs survey firmly regard the skills gap as the biggest barrier to business transformation, with 63% of employers identifying it as a major barrier between 2025 and 2030. Workers can expect two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets to be transformed or rendered obsolete between 2025 and 2030. [2]
These numbers are astonishing. Can companies really tolerate ineffective training and lack of awareness?
Companies spend billions of dollars each year on learning initiatives that executives approve in budget meetings, L&D teams develop with great effort, and employees regularly participate in, but to no avail. Over the past five years, corporate training spending has ballooned into a $400 billion global industry, as my colleague Tamara shared in her article “Spending Money or Making Money: What’s Your Learning Strategy?” In 2022 alone, U.S. companies surpassed the $100 billion cap. [3]
The interest in upskilling and reskilling is there. So why aren’t we seeing tangible achievements and accomplishments?
This discrepancy is clearly not due to the amount of effort or money spent on the training effort. The real problem is that skills training is perceived to be the solution to all problems without investigating the actual causes of the problems.
Or, to put it another way, any type of training and learning created without alignment between leadership expectations, business goals, and L&D initiatives will not work. This is a hypothetical solution rather than a solution based on actual business needs. Please use it as a tool that contributes to business results.
Fundamental restructuring is required to keep up with transformative trends. Training efforts need to become a leadership-driven system where learning is integrated into business strategy. This way, they become an integral part of the organization and not a fringe entity.
And it’s important to act now.
Business & Learning Performance System allows you to align training with specific business outcomes, establish ownership of results, and foster accountability. In this way, key roles, responsibilities, and expectations are clearly outlined and training becomes a driver of organizational change.
Proof #2: Measuring success
Adjustments allow for another big novelty in the world of training: metrics. No, I don’t mean sheets with high completion rates or high satisfaction rates. What are you actually trying to achieve? Increased revenue, operational efficiency, customer retention? Performance metrics for running your business become your training goals.
Having clear goals allows you to plan your measurements and tailor your training with long-term results in mind, making your training worth every penny. Staying on track is easier than ever with the artificial intelligence layer of the Business & Learning Performance System. You can monitor your progress to see what’s working and what’s not (without waiting until the end of the program to know you need to make adjustments) and stay on track with your performance outcomes. Leaders can instantly see if their investment is paying off and if their training is actually serving its true purpose, delivering impact on education and skill development while supporting business growth.
Evidence #3: Long live proper training.
If you align learning with your business strategy and establish a measurement framework, you can avoid fluctuations in delivery quality. The last link in the loop is training development. Performance outcomes must be clearly defined and appropriate learning solutions selected to drive business outcomes.
Myth: Training cannot bring about significant long-term change.
Debunked: With a strategic alignment approach, everything can be resolved. Training content is meaningful, customized to the needs of your business and employees, and delivered through a transparent and proven process. We now have a complete picture that most organizations have never experienced. Training as adjustable performance support that enables tangible results.
Closing the skills gap is inevitable, and only proper training can ensure your business keeps pace with market changes. If you’re investing in training development, you want to make sure results are guaranteed. eWyse’s Business & Learning Performance System gives you complete control over process and development management.
conclusion
Eliminate useless courses and programs and start using strategic training initiatives.
Training is an important tool in the business toolbox, but only when developed and used in the right context. Training is effective when it is strategically designed with business outcomes in mind, evaluated beyond simple surveys, and developed into something that is actually meaningful to consumers.
The Business & Learning Performance System provides a framework that bridges the gap between training and business, enabling an intertwined and evolving approach to business and training strategy development.
If you’re an executive who approved a training budget with more hope than confidence, this system can give you the visibility, control, and real results you’ve been missing. And put L&D at the heart of business growth.
References:
[1] strategic learning process
[2] Future of Employment Report 2025
[3] 2022 Training Industry Report
Ewise
eWyse is an award-winning agency that uses a proprietary methodology called the 3C Framework to help companies build the perfect eLearning course that engages, entertains, and educates learners while helping them achieve their goals. Let’s discuss your ideas!
