A recurring theme in learning and development is that new trends tend to distract from the tried-and-true approaches that have helped our function make an impact and prove value.
But why move on from something that works? Specifically, Agile has long been leveraged in HR and L&D teams to help us reliably, efficiently, and predictably impact performance.
With advice from Natal Dank, author of ‘Agile HR’ and ‘Agile L&D,’ this article explores the environment of fundamental uncertainty facing L&D and five principles for pivoting to an Agile L&D approach to start delivering value today.
Listen to our L&D Podcast episode: Agile Learning & Development with Natal Dank
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The environment of fundamental uncertainty
L&D teams will always need to move and make decisions today because changes could happen tomorrow.
We need to be able to scale teams up and down or innovate our learning interventions at pace, which means we must operate at the skills level. However, in the past, L&D teams had to spend a massive amount of time engineering their skills maps. Luckily, we can do that quickly today with AI tools such as SkillsGPT.
“So, something like AI allows you to map your skills instantly and have the information on hand to take action and target business challenges by upskilling people,” says Natal Dank, author of Agile L&D.
An Agile L&D approach and AI tools can help us prepare for those critical stakeholder conversations in the moment. Using dynamic benchmarks and data as the foundation, we can quickly move on to the specifics and nuance of our learning interventions.
L&D needs to deliver today, not tomorrow
With an Agile approach, L&D teams can quickly collect data to meet today's business needs and plan for tomorrow.
The significant upside is that then we don’t have to make big bets on massive systems of learning programs that employees won't experience for months or years, by which time they will likely be outdated.
“You have to deliver now, not tomorrow. We constantly talk about designing for the future of work, but it’s here. You’ve got to solve problems today, which will set you up for the future,” says Natal.
“You have to deliver now, not tomorrow. We constantly talk about designing for the future of work, but it’s here. You’ve got to solve problems today, which will set you up for the future,” says Natal, author of Agile L&D.
The best way to make an impact today is for L&D to work from a backlog of business challenges that prioritizes those problems that, when solved, will bring the greatest value to your organization and stakeholders.
5 principles for Agile learning and development
In her recent book, Agile L&D, Natal explains how to develop an Agile approach to workplace learning, including these five principles for getting started.
1. Agile L&D is product-led
Prioritize where you spend your time by understanding the value you bring to your business and employees.
“Value comes from solving problems. Products solve problems for people. So, what are you enabling your people to do? How are you making their working life easier and better?” says Natal.
“Value comes from solving problems. Products solve problems for people. So, what are you enabling your people to do? How are you making their working life easier and better?”
2. Human-centered design
Next, Agile L&D is about getting into your employees’ lived experience of work, and you can best achieve this with a design thinking approach.
Begin with a quick discovery and design sprint targeting each problem. From here, you and your team can identify what you are solving for and scope your backlog.
3. Experimentation
Your design sprint will help you identify the elements of the targeted business challenge that will help you develop your hypothesis, determine how to test it, and the data you will collect to prove its impact.
“Your list of problems equals your hypothesis. So, create a safe, small experiment and test something,” says Natal.
“Your list of problems equals your hypothesis. So, create a safe, small experiment and test something."
4. T-shaped people and T-shaped teams
L&D can’t solve complex business problems in siloes and by working by ourselves.
To design and deploy value-added learning experiences, you and your team need to collaborate with other functions within your organization because most solutions span the entire business.
5. Deliver with impact
Lastly, Agile L&D empowers you to shift from delivering activity to outcomes, moving beyond output and toward creating value.
“To do that, you have to know the problem and set up ways to measure how you solve it. Then, when you solve the problem, you can demonstrate that you have delivered value and move on to the next problem to solve,” says Natal.
Getting started on Agile L&D
To help you start your Agile L&D journey, you can attend one of Natal’s many free meet-ups, which feature guest speakers sharing their experiences.
You may be surprised to learn that some teams within your organization already use an Agile approach, so get in touch and find out what they are doing. People in your L&D network will also be leveraging the Agile methodology, so reach out to them, too.
Next, it is essential to develop your hypothesis of the business challenges you need to solve by potentially adopting an Agile approach. These can include a massive wishlist of learning interventions to prioritize, minimizing implementation risks, or consolidating competing remits within your L&D team.
“By doing that, you’ll start to develop an approach you can apply to any other business challenge,” says Natal.
Explore further insights on Agile L&D in the episode on The L&D Podcast: Agile Learning & Development with Natal Dank: Part 2.
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