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Insights Ratna Joshi

indeed true that organisations make
choices with respect to focus areas that
allow them to excel/ differentiate and be
ahead of their industry peers. This has
been seen to be better for organisations
with a strong foundation of L&D -
process, execution, and allied budgetary
allocations. However, with disruptions
as the new normal, the L&D budgets are
getting disrupted too. In the near term, it
is an outcome of the covid related impact
of work going remote, possible hybrid
working in the future, work/life
boundaries getting blurred, severe the
covid related strain on businesses/
financials and technological
advancements leading to higher
expectations from leaders w.r.t L&D as a
product & service delivered to them.

The L&D budget, which simply put
is an amalgamation of all the direct &
indirect costs associated with designing,
delivering, evaluating and sustaining
learning & developmental efforts in
an organisation, is getting disrupted
and we are witnessing a wide range of
conversations around L&D budgets,
right from complete suspension to
sustaining it need-based to optimisations
to maintaining the erstwhile status might create. While the numbers might This in a way also enhances the much-
unchanged. Described below are the Six look better, the long term impact and needed leadership’s commitment to
Mantras or Best practices which most the ripple effect it may cause in terms the L&D agenda. The L&D budgets can
businesses and L&D professionals can of driving sales or customer experience, then be deployed only to specific focus
adopt for effective & efficient learning employee engagement, productivity areas. The fact that an adult learner too
delivery in the New Normal. and level of managerial supervision, also commits to learning agendas with clear
need to be factored back in monetary relevance, it’s actually, a sweet spot of
Saving in Short-Term Vs terms clearly. A balanced view to L&D business linked L&D objectives and
learner commitment. The challenges
budgets, might help organisations
Results in Long-Term handle the motivation & business posed by the New Normal can actually
Disruptive events, Paradigm shifts, outcomes better and not enter a red zone end up benefiting business, L&D as well
changing trends, intensity of in the long term, demanding possibly as learners by creating a multiplier effect
competitive pressure, etc are now not even higher investments. through L&D spends.
just a part of business lingo but as much a
part of what executives have to deal with Challenging Times Partnerships with
it. More often than others, when such
challenges impact volumes, revenues, Bring in the Best Internal SMEs
shares, contribution margins, etc, Challenging times provide for In times good or tough, learning
organisations tend to cut back sharply on rethinking – revisiting many business organisations have successfully created a
the fixed costs. The axe falls largely on assumptions. It also is a time to pivot to culture wherein internal resources drive
discretionary ones like L&D, which are new models, options, and for employees retraining, reskilling, and upskilling
perceived to have low impact on short to shift to new orbits with pace and programs, benefiting both learners
to medium term on organisation success. often at scale. Given the need to justify and trainers. This lifts all the boats by
While in a knee-jerk reaction to curtail the L&D spends even more in times allowing a better linkage to business
fixed costs, businesses might end up like these, the L&D and business can context enhanced transfer of learning
suspending L&D budgets, organisations actually spend a good time defining and also build trainer’s leadership skills
and leaders should also bear in mind the tighter & sharper L&D goals with a by responding to difficult questions,
long-term and wide-reaching impact it clear linkage to business objectives. etc. In the New normal, the internal

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