Does your business need a director of learning?

chief learning officer

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, a movement has arisen commonly referred to as the Great Retirement. Workers everywhere have abandoned their jobs in search of greener pastures, finding they are unwilling to work for miserable wages. Or they ended up in a toxic and exploitative work environment. But workers didn’t just quit because of low pay or poor working conditions—many of them quit because they didn’t have the opportunity to get promoted. This is where the chief educator comes into play.

As many business owners will immediately tell you, costs a lot more in terms of time and money hire and train a new employee rather than retain an existing one. From a financial standpoint, it often makes sense to do whatever you can to keep an employee.

The data shows that companies with strong learning environments retain their employees much more often than companies without it. And to maintain and grow this strong learning environment, it can be helpful to have a Director of Learning on hand.

What does a Director of Education do?

In short, CLO is responsible for managing and facilitating employee growth and learning. CLO’s job is to make sure your employees have all the skills and information they need to succeed in their jobs. In addition, they make sure that employees receive knowledge that will help them advance in the company.

To do a good job, a CLO must align with your company’s values ​​and direction. Since they are responsible for developing the skills of the employees, they also help the company grow by proxy, so it is important to know in which direction this is going.

As part of his role, the Director of Learning will develop a learning strategy that is in line with your company’s goals. They then evaluate your employees to not only see how they are performing, but also how best to develop their skills. The end goal is for employees to feel involved and valued while on the job. In addition, it gives them the resources they need to advance within the company.

Hiring (or becoming) a director of training

If you are looking to hire (or become) a Director of Education, you should be aware that this is not a newcomer field. Though career itself took shape in 1990, a person who wants to become a CLO will need solid experience in their field. Appropriate corporate experience, especially in education and training, is essential to be an effective CLO. Most companies will be looking for a candidate with over a decade of experience in the business world.

To be successful, CLOs need a wide range of skills, including:

  • Strong communication skills. This includes the ability to clearly detail your ideas and strategies.
  • Organization skills. The job of a CLO is usually multi-tasking and must be skilled in project management and be able to stick to both deadlines and budget to ensure the process runs smoothly.
  • Leadership skills. A major part of CLO’s job is to motivate others. Then bring them along with your vision for employee and company development.
  • Creativity. Strategy development is not a standard process; needs can vary greatly from one company to another. For this reason, CLOs must be able to think creatively and find new and unexpected solutions.

Because of the robust skill set required, most directors of learning will have doctor of pedagogical sciencesgiving them the information they need to effectively transform your business.

Why Your Business Might Need a CLO

Does your company need a Director of Education?

While opinions differ, it is generally accepted in the business world that a company with more than 1,000 employees can benefit from having a CLO. Once your business reaches this size, it is important to start developing a formal architecture and strategy for growth and development. Also, find someone who can implement and improve this strategy.

Having a CLO can also prevent stagnation or loss of employees and business knowledge. This makes your company move forward, not stand still. The ultimate goal of CLO is to help your company prosper both financially and culturally. So if you find yourself losing employees, or if your company’s development seems to be stalling, hiring a director of learning may be just what your company needs.

Another closely related reason why your company could benefit from having CLO on board? This can help you clarify and narrow your focus when it comes to your company’s goals. Not every business owner knows exactly how to get the company moving in a positive direction. This is also true when it comes to giving employees opportunities for promotions. CLO’s job is to study your company’s vision and develop a plan to bring that vision to life. In addition, they help to involve your employees in the process.

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