Accelerate Aug 2015 | Page 17

Learning & Development Five Learning and Development Professionals Share their Top Pain Points Some of L&D's biggest issues include legacy, consistency and innovation. BY LAURENCE KARAL W e wanted to reach out to top learning and development (L&D) professionals in varying industries and hear firsthand, about the kind of issues they are facing right now. We know that learning and development, much like any other role, has a few sizeable challenges to work through, from the need to deal with change effectively, to being able to serve an increasingly global and geographicallydispersed and diverse population and to getting buy-in to learning from business leaders. In reaching out to these five L&D personalities, we see that these challenges include: • corporate L&D still seems tied to the old ways of doing things; • the challenge lies in balancing the conflicting priorities of what’s needed with how this can be supported through capability development; • professional visibility and relevance; • achieving consistency; and • coming up with new ways of learning. Here’s what they had to say. August 2015 17