In organizations today, employer branding is often misunderstood as employee communication. Typically, the communication department defines a message to be disseminated to prospective target employees on their employer brand and this is broadcasted through different mediums like print and digital media.

But is this effective? Not entirely as it may be limited in its purpose of reaching out to the right audience.

exercise and defining an employer value proposition- EVP could be far more integrated and scientific. The first step in an employer branding exercise and defining an EVP is building a suitable business case. The Business Case is linked to the challenges in the short-medium and long term that the company wishes to address through defining the EVP of the organization. This exercise is normally done internally by an employer branding core committee which would also define the metrics to measure the success of the employer branding exercise.

People Business has supported several organizations to define their EVP.

Given below are examples of some business cases for employer branding for different organizations

Change Image from a slow, steady group to a more aggressive, high-growth organization image

 Biggest win was changing the DNA, Culture, and infrastructure to being more youthful, forward-looking, and aggressive business.

: Improving the ability to retain people especially in the frontline

Improved retention levels by 40% in an 18-month period, with key initiatives in structure, rewards &amp; incentivization of store staff

 Attracting the right target profile especially in technology and ensuring high levels of retention

Key Outcome: Performance conversations consistently across levels implemented and streamlining of the recruitment process to ensure hiring of the right target profile

4. Top 3 Financial Services Firms Globally:

 To rebrand the Indian operations against their core business image

: Brought a balance in attracting talent with a long-term view vs. the millennial expectation of quicker gratification

Business Case for Employer Branding

Game of Successors: Building leaders before the throne is empty

Leadership gaps rarely appear without warning. Operational signals surface first. Decision delays, rising conflicts, and unclear ownership expose deeper leadership strain. Systems show repeated rework. Teams wait for approvals. Managers avoid responsibility. These signals reveal misaligned leadership behaviors, not talent shortages. When these patterns persist, organizations face stalled momentum and rising frustration. This is where 

 becomes necessary as a system correction.

Leadership Transformation as an Organizational System Shift

Leadership change is not about replacing individuals. It reshapes how authority, influence, and accountability function. A true shift changes decision habits, communication patterns, and role clarity. Without system-level change, new leaders repeat old behaviors. A structured leadership development strategy connects personal growth with shared leadership norms. This ensures leaders act with consistency under pressure.

Transformation succeeds when leadership behavior changes become visible and repeatable.

Aligning Leadership Direction With Business Intent

Leadership must translate strategy into daily behavior. When leaders lack clarity, teams drift or compete for direction. Alignment means leaders model priorities through actions, not messages. Strategic intent must guide how leaders allocate time, attention, and resources. This alignment anchors leadership transformation in business reality rather than abstract vision. 

Alignment strengthens when organizations:

When leadership direction matches business intent, execution becomes faster and more focused.

Developing Self-Aware and Accountable Leaders

Self-awareness allows leaders to adjust behavior before damage occurs. Leaders who understand their impact build trust faster. Accountability ensures leaders follow through, even under stress. A strong leadership development strategy builds both through structured feedback and reflection. Leaders learn how their decisions affect morale, pace, and results.

Self-aware leaders correct courses early. Accountable leaders sustain progress.

Embedding Leadership Learning Into Daily Work

Leadership growth fails when learning stays separate from work. Real change happens during real decisions. Leaders must practice new behaviors while managing projects, conflicts, and priorities. Learning embedded in work ensures relevance and retention. This approach keeps leadership transformation grounded and visible.

Daily practice turns leadership development into habit, not effort.

Creating Cultural Support for Leadership Growth

Culture determines how leaders behave under pressure. Supportive cultures encourage openness, learning, and shared responsibility. Restrictive cultures reinforce fear and silence. Leadership growth accelerates when people feel safe to admit mistakes and test new approaches. Cultural support strengthens any leadership development strategy by removing hidden resistance.

Culture either supports leadership change or quietly blocks it.

Measuring Leadership Progress With Purpose

Measurement guides focus but should not control behavior. Too many metrics distract leaders from real improvement. Clear indicators help leaders understand progress and gaps. Balanced tracking supports leadership transformation without reducing leadership to scores.

Purposeful measurement keeps leadership development practical and human.

Leadership change must survive transitions, pressure, and growth. Without continuity, progress resets with every role change. Clear leadership standards and succession planning protect momentum. Shared expectations allow new leaders to step in without confusion. Long-term thinking ensures leadership transformation delivers value beyond individuals.

Sustained leadership change becomes part of how the organization operates.

The Value of External Perspective in Leadership Change

Internal teams often share blind spots. External perspective challenges assumptions and adds clarity. Structured guidance brings pace and discipline. It helps leaders step back and see patterns clearly. This perspective supports focus and accountability throughout transformation efforts.

Outside perspective strengthens internal commitment.

People Business’s Leadership-Focused Approach

At People Business, we see leadership as a connected system of behavior, culture, and intent. We work closely with leaders to build clarity, confidence, and consistency. Our approach supports sustainable leadership transformation rooted in real work situations and human understanding.

Our work strengthens leadership development strategy through disciplined practice and trusted partnership.

Begin Your Leadership Transformation Journey

Leadership shapes every outcome. Visit our official website to explore how we support leaders through structured growth and reflection. Learn how we help organizations build trust, clarity, and accountability. Partner with us to move your leadership forward with confidence and purpose.

How Organizations Can Drive Effective Leadership Transformation

In today’s competitive and fast-changing business environment, leadership is no longer defined only by authority or experience. Organisations that grow consistently are those that invest in building capable leaders at every level. Leadership development is not a one-time training activity, it is a continuous process that shapes behaviour, strengthens 

At People Business, leadership development is viewed as a strategic lever for sustainable growth. By nurturing leadership capability across the organisation, businesses can respond better to change, build high-performing teams, and create a strong future-ready culture.

 refers to a structured approach to enhancing the skills, behaviours, and mindset required to lead effectively. It focuses on developing self-awareness, communication, strategic thinking, and the ability to inspire others.

Unlike traditional management training, leadership development is holistic. It considers not just what leaders do, but how they think, behave, and influence others. Organisations that adopt a Leadership development journey ensure that leadership capability evolves alongside business needs rather than remaining static.

Why Leadership Development Matters for Business Growth

Leadership directly impacts how people perform, collaborate, and adapt. Strong leadership creates clarity, trust, and alignment, which are essential for achieving business objectives.

1. Strengthens Organisational Performance

Effective leaders set clear direction, make informed decisions, and motivate teams to deliver results. When leadership capability improves, productivity and efficiency follow.

Leadership development prepares employees for higher responsibilities. It reduces dependency on external hiring and ensures continuity through internal succession.

3. Drives Employee Engagement and Retention

People are more likely to stay with organisations where they see growth opportunities. A well-defined 

In times of change, strong leaders help teams navigate uncertainty, maintain morale, and stay focused on goals.

5. Creates a Culture of Accountability and Trust

Leadership behaviours shape culture. When leaders act with integrity and consistency, trust strengthens across the organisation.

Leaders Developing Leaders: A Powerful Growth Model

One of the most impactful approaches to leadership development is 

. This model focuses on experienced leaders actively mentoring, coaching, and guiding emerging talent.

When leaders take responsibility for developing others, leadership becomes embedded in the organisation rather than limited to formal roles. This creates a multiplier effect, capability spreads faster, learning becomes continuous, and leadership standards remain consistent.

 benefit from stronger collaboration, faster readiness for leadership roles, and a shared sense of ownership for talent development.

Key Elements of an Effective Leadership Development Approach

To drive business growth, leadership development must be intentional and aligned with organisational strategy. Successful programmes typically include:

Helping leaders understand their strengths, gaps, and impact on others.

Focusing on communication, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and influence.

Learning through real business challenges, stretch assignments, and role transitions.

Providing ongoing support to reinforce learning and behaviour change.

Ensuring leadership growth translates into performance improvement.

How Leadership Development Impacts Organisational Culture

Leadership behaviour sets the tone for how work gets done. When leaders model learning, accountability, and collaboration, these behaviours become part of the culture.

A strong leadership culture encourages open communication, innovation, and continuous improvement. Employees feel supported and empowered, which directly influences engagement, performance, and business outcomes.

Over time, leadership development strengthens the organisation’s ability to grow sustainably, regardless of market conditions or internal changes.

How People Business Enables Leadership Development

People Business partners with organisations to design leadership development solutions that are practical, personalised, and aligned with business goals. With deep expertise in people and organisation consulting, People Business helps leaders grow in ways that deliver measurable impact.

Our approach integrates assessments, coaching, structured learning journeys, and real-world application. By focusing on both individual capability and organisational alignment, People Business ensures leadership development supports long-term business growth rather than isolated learning initiatives.

Leadership development is a structured process that helps individuals build the skills, mindset, and behaviours needed to lead effectively and support organisational goals.

2. How does leadership development support business growth?

Strong leadership improves performance, engagement, decision-making, and adaptability, key drivers of long-term business success.

3. Is leadership development only for senior leaders?

No. Leadership development is valuable at all levels, from emerging leaders to senior executives, ensuring continuity and growth across the organisation.

4. How long does a leadership development journey take?

Leadership development is ongoing. While programmes may run for months, continuous learning and practice ensure sustained growth over time.

5. How does People Business help organisations develop leaders?

People Business offers customized leadership development solutions using assessments, coaching, and structured learning journeys to deliver measurable impact.

What is Leadership Development and Its Role in Business Growth

In the rapidly evolving global economy, the caliber of an organization’s leadership is often the primary differentiator between sustained excellence and stagnation. As industries face unprecedented disruptions, ranging from digital transformation and the integration of artificial intelligence to shifts in workforce expectations, the need for a robust 

It involves the ability to inspire teams, manage complex changes, and make strategic decisions that safeguard the future of the enterprise.

Dive through this guide to explore the multifaceted nature of leadership development and how structured leadership programmes serve as the engine for sustainable growth.

The Imperative of Leadership Development for Sustainability

Long-term success is not a destination but a continuous journey of adaptation. For an organization to thrive over decades, it must cultivate a leadership pipeline that is both deep and versatile. 

Without formal development, leaders often default to historical methods that may no longer be effective in a remote or hybrid work environment.

Therefore, investing in professional leadership programmes is an investment in the organization’s cultural and operational longevity.

Core Competencies in Modern Leadership Programmes

To build skills for long-term success, leadership training must go beyond basic management tasks. It must focus on high-impact competencies that drive performance and innovation.

1. Strategic Thinking and Visionary Execution

A leadership development program teaches individuals how to translate a broad corporate vision into actionable departmental goals. This ensures that every team member understands their role in the company’s long-term trajectory.

2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Empathy

In a world of increasing automation, the human element of leadership becomes more valuable. Leadership programmes that emphasize EQ help managers build trust, resolve conflicts, and foster a psychological safety net where innovation can flourish.

Stability is a rarity in the modern business world. Leaders must be "change-ready." This involves not only managing the logistics of change but also leading people through the emotional transitions that accompany organizational shifts.

As highlighted by modern curricula, leading in the age of AI requires a new set of skills. Leaders do not need to be coders, but they must understand how technology can be leveraged to drive efficiency. 

The Architecture of an Effective Leadership Development Program

Creating a lasting impact requires more than a one-off workshop. The most successful 

 are designed as journeys rather than events. 

The first step in any developmental journey is understanding the baseline. Tools like 360-degree feedback, personality assessments, and leadership audits help individuals identify their strengths and blind spots. 

Adult learning is most effective when it is varied. Modern 

 should never exist in a vacuum. It must be tightly coupled with the organization’s people strategy and business objectives.

Long-term success requires leadership excellence at every level of the hierarchy, from first-time managers to the C-suite.

Measuring the Impact of Leadership Programmes

To justify the investment and ensure continuous improvement, organizations must measure the effectiveness of their 

The Role of External Expertise in Leadership Excellence

While internal training has its place, partnering with specialized consultants brings a wealth of cross-industry knowledge and objective perspectives. 

Programs such as the Strategic Leadership Development Programme (SLDP) or the Accelerated Leadership Programme (ALP) are examples of how structured, multi-month journeys can fundamentally reshape a leader's approach to strategy and people management. These initiatives ensure that leaders are not just managing the present but are actively architecting the future.

Leadership development is the engine of long-term organizational success. Whether through enhancing emotional intelligence or mastering the strategic use of AI, the goal remains the same: to build leaders who can inspire greatness and deliver sustainable results.

For organizations looking to elevate their leadership capabilities, 

 offers a comprehensive suite of solutions. From our signature leadership to specialized certifications in partnership with IIM Bangalore and IIM Indore, People Business integrates people strategy with business strategy to drive real impact. 

1. What are the key components of a successful leadership development program?

A successful program includes comprehensive assessments, a blend of theoretical and experiential learning, and a strong alignment with the organization’s long-term business goals.

2. Can leadership skills be taught, or are they innate?

While some individuals may have natural predispositions toward certain leadership traits, the interested one could be taught strategically.

3. How does a leadership development program help with employee retention?

Strong leaders create a positive work environment, offer better growth opportunities for their teams, and communicate more effectively. When employees feel well-managed and supported by competent leaders, they are significantly more likely to stay with the organization.

4. Why should an organization choose external leadership over in-house training?

External providers like People Business bring specialized expertise, access to certifications. This helps in benchmarking internal talent against industry standards and introduces fresh, innovative leadership frameworks.

Leadership Development: Building Skills for Long-Term Success

Game Changers Program is the Leadership Transformation Initiative to build next generation leaders in the organization. Each ‘Game Changer’ was carefully chosen by the organization and the program has been thoroughly customized to individual and organization needs.

Provide Hi-potential employees an opportunity to exhibit potential by enabling them to pursue Business impact Team projects

Create a pool of tested ready now candidates for succession

Produce tangible results that show return on investment

Profiling of the Participants: Identifying the participants’ developmental needs based on the assessment

People Business (PB) conducted 360 Degree assessment in April 2015, to assess the participants on the essential Leadership Behaviours required to perform effectively at their current and higher levels. From  360 degree assessment, a customized feedback report was created for each participant with specific inputs on their strengths and development areas.

For each participant, two development areas were identified through the  360 instrument and supervisor engagement.

Educate and Development Planning: Understanding the need to invest time &amp; effort for individual transformation

Orientation to the participants to Game Changers program was conducted to generate buy-in and commitment from them.

Country Business Leaders identified an opportunity for team projects and translated them into a sound business proposition (Business Impact Projects (BIPs)).

Action learning teams with4-5 participants each across geographies and functional domains were identified and BIPs were assigned to them.

Facilitated PB coach and participant conversation to understand and agree on developmental plan.

 Development Journey: Customizing the program with a relevant mix of knowledge acquisition, implementation &amp; reflection

Participants were provided with customized journals in line with the identified leadership behaviours. Each journal consists of a mix of Self Study, Self-Reflection and In-Place Activities

Throughout the entire course of the project, each participant was coached through regular one-on-one coaching sessions by PB Coaches and mentored by the organizations' Leaders. Participants were asked to pursue and analyse reading material, followed up with on- the- job Business Impact Projects (BIP),

The one-on-one monthly conversations with the coach were mainly be focused on:

o    Understanding the progress made on the two identified leadership behaviours through reflection

o    Understanding the project progress and incorporation of learnings in implementing the project

o    Work on certain behaviours identified by the participant’s supervisor

Project Review and Presentation: Measure the impact of the transformational journey by evaluating behavioural change &amp; its impact on business outcomes

Bi-monthly conversations with participant’s supervisor on development progress.

Monthly reporting of progress and Mid-year review for participants.

Final project presentation by each ALT on the Project and each individual on their transformation journey.

The final evaluation showed that more than 70 % of the participants achieved their business impact goals through the project and 80 % of them showed a visible transformation on leadership behaviours.

Leadership Transformation Through Business Transformation

Every year, bar-headed geese migrate thousands of kilometres from their breeding grounds in Mongolia to their wintering grounds in India, and back again. The bar-headed geese are one of the world’s highest flying birds, and have been known to cruise at altitudes of over 6000m (Mount Kilimanjaro is at an elevation of 5895m). They navigate through the mountain passes of the Himalayas, and there have also been unverified reports of them flying over Mount Everest.

They have incredible endurance – the amount of oxygen available even at lower elevations can fall to half of that at sea level. Humans are able to perform only mild exercise at that elevation, even after acclimatisation.

Because we are so bogged down by titles and definitions at the workplace of who is a leader and who isn’t, we miss out on opportunities where team synergy could be channelled towards accomplishing great feats that would be impossible for one person to do.

Individually, the geese are extremely well-built to achieve this aerodynamic feat year after year. However, that is only part of the story. Bar-headed geese are sociable birds that live in groups and large colonies. When they fly, they take to the sky in a V-formation of about 25 members. The birds help each other as they climb high altitudes.

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird that immediately follows. Because of the V-formation, the flock achieves a flying range of 71 percent more than what would be possible if the birds were to fly solo. When a goose falls out of formation, it feels the drag and the resistance of trying to fly alone. It quickly gets back into the group to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front and also passes this on to the bird behind it.

When a bird gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fly down with the wounded goose to lend help and protection. They stay with the goose until it is able to fly again or till it dies. The birds then fly back by themselves, or join another formation, or try to catch up with their group.

The pressure of the drag is felt the most by the geese at the front of the formation. The birds at the back occasionally honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. When the head goose gets tired, it flies to the back of the formation and another bird takes its place.

There is a lot to be learnt from the intuitively collaborative bar-headed geese. Years of evolution have taught the geese to fly in V-formation, get the right uplift, gain advantage of group synergy, and support one another as they fly thousands of kilometres navigating the mighty Himalayas. Like the geese, we collaborate and work with others in our respective teams, but the degree of collaboration may differ.

The V-formation forms a nice analogy to showcase the intuitively collaborative team. Some rebellious team members may on occasion try to drop out of formation, but the drag of working solo eventually gets to them and they fall back in formation to take advantage of group synergy. Other team members are naturally helpful and when things go wrong for one person, they immediately make themselves available and help out until the issue gets fixed.

The most interesting behaviour is probably that of the head goose. As leader of the flock, it is required to lead from the front and does so with great energy. It lets its action speak louder than any honk (message) that it might want to pass on to the flock. The head goose and others in front are egged on by team members from the back as they all fly higher and faster as a team.

However, the head of the flock is also replaced every so often by others. The burden of facing the drag is shared among team members, and others step up when called to action. The success of the team is placed above individual success.

Collaboration is as important for the solitary leader as it is for individual team members. The leader must constantly make space for other team members to showcase their genius when the opportunity arises.

At the workplace, the leader is required to keep the team motivated at all times. However, like the head goose and the frontline geese, our leaders also need an occasional, reassuring honk from other group members to let them know that they are doing great. In the V-formation, every goose is a leader. This ‘shared focus’ helps build group dynamics. The whole is much, much greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Leadership and Group Synergy

As managers, we're often torn between the competing priorities of achieving results and fostering an engaged, motivated team. Conventional wisdom says you can't have it both ways - a hard-driving results focus comes at the expense of interpersonal connections. However, a study reveals that the most effective leaders are those who excel at both driving performance and engaging their people.

What sets these well-rounded leaders apart?  Identified are the six "behavioral bridges" that enable top leaders to drive performance through people:

1. Communicating a clear strategy and direction

4. Exhibiting high integrity to inspire trust

6. Remaining coachable and open to feedback

These findings align with the holistic approach we take in our Certified Program for Leadership (CPLP). Through this exclusive 4-month certification, co-developed with IIM Bangalore, participants enhance their management prowess across multiple dimensions.

The program starts by establishing a clear foundation through our R-OPTI™ Model for Managerial Effectiveness. Guided by this model, participants learn to set a compelling organizational vision while inspiring commitment in their teams.

Complementing this results-focused skillset, CPLP also hones "softer" leadership capabilities through workshops on emotional intelligence, coaching others, managing conflicts and more. These modules equip managers with techniques to build trust, motivate individuals and develop their direct reports - behaviors identified as hallmarks of well-rounded leaders.

The program's blended format of workshops, group coaching, peer learning and applied projects ensures that participants don't just learn concepts, but practice integrating results and people skills. As one past participant shared, "The skills learned here will help me throughout my career to analyze my capabilities and understand how to create a high-performing team."

In today's experience economy, employees want more than just a paycheck - they seek meaning, growth and camaraderie at work. By developing managers who harmonize a focus on results with a commitment to enriching their people's experience, CPLP empowers organizations to drive sustainable, engaged performance. The path to becoming a top 13% leader is a challenging one, but the rewards make it worthwhile.

Driving Results and Engagement: The Power of Holistic Leadership Development

Creating Employee Experiences

2025 Ranking

Leadership Lens

The Great Manager Digest

Competency Framework is Dead; Long Live the Competency Framework

The role of the HR function has evolved over the last decade and a half to keep pace with business realities. A number of definitions of the HR function and its roles has been put forth by business leaders and researchers alike. For example, a simple typology of four groupings of 

 that follow the processes central to organizational success are:

The role of HR has also been defined through the lens of strategy, wherein the HR function is actively involved in both the creation and implementation of the overall strategic direction of the organization. HR no longer has to worry about working doubly hard to convince leaders that it is central to the business and about achieving the proverbial “seat at the table”. In this context, HR is a Strategy Architect, looking at organizational challenges through the lens of both business and people. This leads to the HR function facilitating strategy creation, clarifying and articulating the strategy, ensuring timely execution, aligning leadership behavior to strategy and bringing the view of the outside customer into the organization.

However, there is also a third, and extremely crucial function with respect to strategy implementation. This ‘missing link’ is only now beginning to be understood by HR practitioners and business leaders. The link assists in seamlessly integrating the four crucial groupings laid out above, and is sometimes seen as the ‘soft side’ of management. However, experienced leaders will tell us that it is actually the hardest, because it deals with attitudes and behaviors which seem vague, but are critical to the firm. This missing link is Culture.

What then is organizational culture? The concept of organizational culture has been defined from many perspectives in the literature. There is no one single definition. The topic of organizational culture has been studied from many perspectives and disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, organizational behavior, and organizational leadership to name a few. Deal (1999) defines organizational culture as values, beliefs, and behaviors that differentiate one organization from another. Simply put, culture defines the proper way to think, act and behave within an organization.

This simple, yet accurate definition of culture gives us scope to ask several questions about the nature of firm culture. What is our current culture? Who creates culture? Who sustains it? Is it always aligned to firm strategy? Is it well aligned with the firm’s vision, mission and values?  What leads to changes in firm culture? Is it always managed top-down? And most importantly, it leads us to the question: What role does HR play in shaping firm culture?

Leveraging Firm Culture for Competitive Advantage

Human, not financial, capital must be the starting point and ongoing foundation of a successful strategy. Significant advantage accrues to companies that encourage open communication and that know where and how to break down barriers to honest feedback. Risk management programs at large companies tend to be finely tuned to financial and compliance risks but rarely focus on cultural sources of risk7.

If the collective attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of all employees in an organization shape its culture, then alignment of culture with the firm strategy is imperative to firm success. It is common to talk of an organization’s culture as if it is simply “the way things are”. But no culture is static8. It is continually reinforced and balanced by internal and external events that drive the organization.

How then can HR play a pivotal role in shaping firm culture? Would some of the traditional tools of pay systems, performance management, recruiting, selection and training &amp; development suffice in this endeavor? Or is something more required?

The Role of HR in Shaping Organizational Culture and Strategy

One of the crucial components of the learning function, which proves its importance to the business, justifies learning spends and helps managers measure progress is Learning ROI. This tool may either be viewed as an enabler or a constraint by stakeholders. At times, measuring ROI may be a creative process (behavioural programs may produce fuzzy outcomes); other times, the metrics may be clearly defined and the measurement is straightforward (tracking usage of a specific tool after training participants on its features). Whatever be the desired outcome, it is essential for everyone involved to agree on the relevant metrics early on, during the planning phase, to leverage on ROI as an enabler, rather than as a constraint. Without exception, the starting point for any learning intervention must be business metrics.

Asking a series of ‘whys’ proves to be useful here: let’s assume that the Training Need Analysis (TNA) process has thrown up the following requirement – a particular set of employees need to be trained on ‘Taking Initiative’. The learning expert, along with the business manager, could now go backwards through the TNA process with a series of whys.

Clearly, the business manager is in a Catch-22 situation: she cannot let go of the external vendor until her team takes more initiative, and develops internal capabilities. Thus, this function has an identified business metric – eliminate delay in project timelines. The business manager believes that by taking more initiative (a behavioural metric), her team would be able to overcome the ‘It’s not my job’ syndrome (another behavioral metric), develop internal capabilities (a project-specific metric), and ensure timely completion of the project every time (business metric). Another outcome would be to gradually reduce dependency on the external consultant (a project-specific metric). Every so often, the link between the behavioural and business metric gets lost in translation – which needs to be kept in focus by the learning manager. Through the course of the intervention, if the participants end up taking more initiative, and this leads to gradual improvement in project submission timelines, this is evidence of Learning ROI that can be documented and presented to relevant stakeholders. The intent of taking initiative is a positive one, and if implemented well it may also result in outcomes beyond what was initially forecasted by the Training Need Analysis (TNA). However, all of this needs to be documented clearly as evidence of Learning ROI by the business and learning managers.

The Strategic Learning Process has a total of six simple, iterative steps. From defining outcomes in terms of business requirements to documenting results, one can plan out the complete process in an iterative loop. Because learning is a journey and not a destination in itself, it is important to build on all that was learnt in Step 6 (Documenting Results), which feeds back into Step 1 (Defining Business Outcomes) of the next learning cycle.

A critical business function which may require learning interventions is Sales. This vertical has a clearly defined variable to measure progress – revenues. It is tempting to create an all-encompassing sales learning program which tries to improve many things all at once: cold-calls, Key Account Management, negotiation skills etc. However, one needs to thoroughly analyze all aspects of the sales cycle to understand pain-points and opportunities. The sales cycle may be broken down into stages like: Suspecting, Prospecting, Pipeline, Decision Pending and Closing the Deal. At each stage, there are clearly defined business and behavioural metrics. For example, at the ‘Decision Pending Stage’, a business metric may be defined as ‘Likelihood of Deal Conversion’, which can be expressed as a certain percentage by the sales rep. A relevant behavioural metric may be ‘Negotiation Skills’. If a particular sales team generates a strong pipeline, but is unable to close out on deals (low deal-conversion ratio), an intervention which focuses on their negotiating and relationship abilities may be useful.

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