One of the most important steps in corporate learning initiatives involves aligning your training strategy with your business strategy.  

But why is that, exactly? What makes strategic alignment such an important part of software training? 

Here’s what you stand to gain by aligning learning with business strategy, including top benefits and how to connect the two.

Benefits of Aligning Learning with Business Strategy

Corporate learning and development programs are roughly nine times more effective when aligned with business objectives. There are several reasons for this. 

More impactful training

Generic employee training is a waste of both time and resources and isn’t likely to have much of an impact on your business’s success. A training program that targets specific weaknesses in your employees’ skillsets, on the other hand, is far more impactful — and far more engaging. 

Trainees won’t be constantly asking themselves why they bothered to show up, as they’ll be acquiring new skills and knowledge that’ll make them better at their jobs. 

A deeper understanding of skill gaps

Upskilling and reskilling are no longer optional. In today’s hypercompetitive software sector, they’re essential to remaining competitive. Without a clear understanding of your business’s long-term strategy, you won’t be able to identify what skills your program should focus on. 

Reduced learning and development costs

As already mentioned, generic training is a waste of resources. With this in mind, a focused training program that targets the specific needs of your business and its employees means you aren’t wasting money on unnecessary training content. 

In some cases, training might not even be necessary.  

Clear and measurable ROI

Justifying training costs is arguably the most challenging part of any training department’s responsibilities. Aligning learning initiatives with long-term business goals makes this much easier since you’ll already have some idea of how your training impacts the business. 

Deeper personalization and engagement

Knowledge and skill gaps don’t just impact your business’s bottom line, they also tend to be incredibly frustrating to employees. Operating with a full understanding of your objectives means you can develop training that targets those pain points. 

That, in turn, results in more effective, compelling, and personalized training content — meaning that employees will be far more motivated to complete their training. 

How to Connect Your Training With Your Business Objectives

To ensure your training aligns with your overall goals, we recommend the following:

Engage key stakeholders

Who should be directly involved in your sales training? Who stands to gain the most from a successful program? Identifying these individuals can help you define your objectives, milestones, and KPIs. 

Ask the right questions

What are your business objectives? What knowledge and skill gaps are currently impeding you in fulfilling those objectives? How can training bridge those gaps? 

A training needs analysis can help you answer the above questions, particularly when paired with employee surveys. 

Be SMART

Define clear goals and milestones for your training focused around the SMART framework. These objectives should be: 

• Specific: Define what you want to achieve in one to two sentences — for example, increasing the number of successful product demos.
• Measurable: Determine a quantifiable target for your goal. 
• Achievable: Ensure your target is reasonable and can be achieved with your existing tools and resources.
• Relevant: Double-check that your goal or milestone aligns with your overall business objectives. 
• Time-Bound: Set a clear and reasonable deadline for your training.

Measure and monitor

Continuously evaluate your training through a combination of analytics data and learner feedback. Treat each training session you run as an opportunity to make future sessions more effective. Remember that no training program is completely perfect.

There’s always something you could be doing better.