Regional Learning & Development Strategy

Providing a cohesive approach to regional service delivery and a single point of engagement for Ministers, communities, businesses and local government, our client sought a partner to support the design and documentation of a regional learning and development (L&D) strategy.

With a change of government and subsequent restructure, the regional teams within this Department comprised staff with diverse and distinct skill sets. In order to ensure a consistent standard of knowledge, subject matter expertise and performance across a broad range of program areas, the Department required a thorough review of current and future capability needs to strategically guide ongoing investment.

Comprehensive data collection and consultation were considered critical to the successful design and implementation of the regional L&D strategy.

We therefore created and executed a number of consultation mechanisms including structured interviews with Regional Directors, Consultative Workshops with a cross section of regional staff, an online Training Needs Analysis survey and input from a Staff Reference Group.

The data gathered was subsequently analysed to identify key themes and focus areas for aligning capability development to the strategic direction of the Department. This analysis culminated in a detailed future capability gap report, strategy document and implementation plan.

Robust data and ongoing engagement with end users generated momentum and buy-in, enabling the Department to move quickly to execution, guided by a series of “quick wins” recommended in the implementation plan.

One of these quick wins involved the development of a “Learning Accountability Matrix” to explicitly call out what is required from employees, their managers and the organisation overall in terms of ensuring learning opportunities are accessible, relevant and aligned to business goals, and that learning is resourced, managed and evaluated effectively. Given the compliance focused nature of the Department, it found that formalising these accountabilities helped to create the necessary authorising environment for learning to take place.

A second quick win was the creation of a user-friendly “Learning Toolkit” designed to demystify the popular ‘ 70:20:10 learning principle’ by providing ‘ how to’ pointers for a range of development options including stretch experiences within a current role, job shadowing, secondments, networking, mentoring and coaching. The toolkit also included a learning needs self-assessment, tips for requesting and giving feedback, checklists for effective development conversations, guidance on applying the organisation’s capability framework and a template for keeping a learning journal.

Both the Learning Accountability Matrix and Learning Toolkit were launched during “Regional Learning Roadshows” – interactive and engaging sessions to ensure that employees knew where and when to access the available resources and how to apply them. This awareness ensured that the Learning Accountability Matrix and Toolkit did not ‘sit on the shelf’ but became active tools in the promotion of a learning culture across the Department.