Rethinking L&D for the Modern Business Landscape
In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, Learning and Development (L&D) universe is undergoing a significant transformation. While traditionally focused on internal employee development, forward-thinking companies are now expanding their L&D initiatives to include the larger ecosystem, …. after all in many businesses, success is determined by the success of one’s partners.
Why Partner L&D Matters
In several industries partners and channels are absolutely core to the business and yet these have often played second fiddle when it comes to L & D. e.g. life insurance, FMCG, are industries where most of the business occurs through partners or channels.
Lets look at this a little deeper. Insurance agents are regularly present at the branch office, and hence directly affect the sales culture. Vendors and suppliers deal with all kinds of employees – and as per the regulatory ambit of POSH, they need to be covered under the POSH Act.
This demands a fresh perspective on L&D strategy. Companies must now think beyond their immediate workforce to ensure sustainable growth and maintain competitive advantage.
The Implications of Ecosystem Expansion
Scale and Costs: Adding partners can significantly add to L & D costs as the no. of employees to be covered goes up significantly
Media: The partner employee profile may be vastly different and hence may require different media mix e.g. all blue collar vendor employees may not be digitally savvy and therefore an element of the classroom may be required.
Language: Again due to the diversity of profiles, one may need local language interventions for partners. E.g. In Tamil Nadu internal employees can be covered by an English POSH course but many vendors may understand only Tamil.
Regulatory Challenges: In some regulated industries like Banking and NBFCs, it may be necessary to have a different system for employees and non employees again adding to duplication of L & effort and cost.
Case Study: The Insurance Industry Transformation
A compelling example comes from the insurance sector, where there are different channels including Banca which sells through Banks and Advisor model which sells through Advisors.
The key is to recognise the different cohorts and including partners / advisors as a specific cohort with different motivations, challenges and skill requirements. At Knowlens, we worked with the same fundamental sales process – the insurance process. After all, sales is sales whether for an advisor or for a FLS ( front line sales person). However the content and the context around the sales process was intelligently modified to create 2 entirely different web series based courses, both addressing the sales process but each targeted at an entirely different audience.
So, while “The Leap Year – Advisor” and “The Leap Year” have lots in common, but they are are completely different courses, each speaking to their own audience.
Looking Ahead
The future of L&D lies in its ability to adapt and expand beyond traditional boundaries and make itself relevant to business. What if a oil marketing company were to build value around the attendants at petrol pumps; or NBFCs focus on DSAs. As businesses continue to evolve toward more partner-centric models, L&D strategies must keep pace. Companies that successfully implement comprehensive L&D programs covering both employees and partners will be better positioned for sustainable growth in an increasingly complex business environment.