What can 20 years of research teach us about top performing L&D teams?

To celebrate 20 years of research, this year’s report will be published in three parts. This first part reflects on what the past 20 years can teach us about success as L&D practitioners.

Since Mind Tools for Business started collecting data about learning and development in 2003, they’ve spoken to more than 11,000 L&D leaders. In 2023, they added another 912 to that list. This report addresses key topics, including:

1. What we can learn from our triumphs and challenges 
2. Why L&D has struggled to keep up with advances in technology 
3. How organizations can avoid missing future opportunities to boost employee engagement with learning.

Anna Barnett, Researcher with Mind Tools, comments:

“When faced with uncertainty and change, top-performing L&D teams work hard to meet the needs of the business, experiment with new ideas, and develop learner capabilities. Other, lower-performing teams tend to lean more on practical solutions, but not always with the infrastructure in place to support them. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, for example, 63% of L&D leaders reported that they were ‘encouraging the use of social media’ despite nine in ten of them not knowing how their colleagues use it.”

Nahdia Khan, Chief Impact Officer with Mind Tools, adds:

“It has been enlightening for us to look back over the last 20 years of the Mind Tools L&D Benchmark. The increase in the maturity index demonstrates that practices and behaviors that are driving impact have improved.  However, there is much to ‘reflect’ on in some of the areas where L&D remains stuck and where progress has not increased at the pace required.

We look forward to sharing these insights and creating dialogue and discussion over the coming months in which we support and challenge the L&D industry and practitioners to be bolder.” 

Later this year, Mind Tools for Business will publish part two of this report series, detailing the research results for 2023 and part three, which will explore what the future of L&D looks like. Follow us on LinkedIn or subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with more news on these releases.