Like most aspects of business, the L&D landscape is changing.
The goal, of course, remains the same—to upskill employees so they can bring their best to the organization and contribute to its success. However, over the last few years, there have been some major shifts in the business environment that are ushering in a whole new approach.
And we’re not just talking about leveling up the tech and getting creative with remote teams. In the current competitive market, L&D leaders are being asked to join forces with the rest of the business to become strategic partners.
As one L&D executive put it1: “Forming strategic partnerships across the organization is becoming increasingly important. We need to collaborate with other departments to align our learning initiatives with the overall business strategy.”
What does that look like? According to the latest industry research, companies are looking for learning initiatives that are not only dynamic and scalable, but that are specifically designed to equip employees with skills that align with organizational goals and produce measurable outcomes.2
That’s a tall order, and if you’re like most L&D managers, the task at hand may feel a little daunting.
But here’s the good news: Leaders are finding that with a fresh approach and the right program in place, L&D can become the secret weapon and part of a company’s competitive edge.
Filling the talent gap with L&D
Let’s take the market’s current talent shortage as an example.3 Not only are most companies across most industries continuing to face a huge skills gap, but finding talent—and keeping it—is a major struggle. The latest data shows that 1 in 2 U.S. employees are open to leaving their organization.4
L&D leaders can own a big part of the solution by equipping new employees and giving middle managers a reason to stick around. In fact, a Microsoft Work Trends Index study showed that 76% of employees said that they would stay at their company longer if they could benefit more from learning and development support.5
But oftentimes, training programs fall short in delivering their intended value. And when existing training programs don’t meet the needs of the business, L&D’s important role can be hidden behind training dollars that aren’t bringing in the expected return on investment.
Part of the struggle is finding quality programs that are engaging and memorable. However, the real challenge is finding training opportunities that are relevant and practical to every level, function, and role.
So, how do you do that? Training needs to take the current skills of employees into consideration, as well as the skills they need now and the skills they will need for the future. With so many conflicting and overlapping priorities, many L&D professionals don’t have the time or resources for this type of customization, especially in larger organizations. Commonly, the result is an “all in one” training offering that doesn’t apply to the actual work most employees are doing day in and day out.
Enter strategic thinking: How can L&D equip, empower, and retain good, quality talent? How can a single training program meet the entire organization’s needs? What type of program will give that kind of ROI?
One possible answer is addressing one of the most impactful but underrated skills—communication. Strategic communication and more specifically, storytelling, is a skill that everyone in the company can develop and even more so, build upon.
In fact, with quality training, business storytelling can be L&D’s answer to providing the type of skills that are relevant and aligned with the strategic direction of the business.
In a RedThread roundtable with L&D leaders, the participants collectively agreed on a purpose statement for L&D: “It’s our job to make sure that the people in the organizations we work with have the skills they need to drive the business strategy forward.”
Adding business value to the whole organization with business storytelling
At its core, storytelling is a fundamental skill. Experts agree that it is by far the most powerful form of communication. The problem is that most people struggle to leverage it in a business setting.
This is where storytelling training comes into play. By applying the basic elements of storytelling to any business communication, employees can become more effective communicators in every business scenario they face, whether they’re presenting in front of executives, crafting a high-stakes email, or pitching a new client. The right storytelling approach strategy combines storytelling with a visual messaging and data visualization strategy to create a scalable toolkit and skillset that is useful to everyone.
Unlike other training programs that are either too generalized or theoretical, storytelling provides practical skills that can be used and applied by everyone at every level as they train. Part of the training is the practicing, which means real work is happening during skills development. As an L&D manager, this is critical because it makes training immediately valuable to every single stakeholder.
Not quite convinced? Let’s take a look at five key ways storytelling training can bring value to the business:
1. It offers skills that can align with business goals. One of the biggest benefits of storytelling training is that employees are aligned and literally speaking the same language. They are fully equipped to communicate a cohesive message and communicate it well. For example, if the business is looking to focus on its quality efforts, everyone from marketing to HR to operations can be on the same page internally and have the communication chops to effectively share a unified message externally.
2. It helps with talent retention. 
Storytelling training is designed to meet employees where they are, while strategically providing upward skills like executive presence. This strategy empowers employees, makes them feel valuable, and builds loyalty. In fact, RedThread Research’s survey of 200 business leaders found that at organizations with a formal skills strategy, employees are 3.4 times more likely than others to rate their employer with a positive NPS, twice as likely to say their company is innovative, and 1.7 times more likely to report that their organization met its business goal.6
3. It provides practical skills that improve performance and business results. Perhaps the greatest advantage of storytelling training is that it is practical and can be immediately applied to real work. Whether it’s an email, presentation, or one-pager, the storytelling framework can transform any business communication into a compelling narrative. The end result is not only a polished business product, but a hands-on and effective L&D experience.
4. It is flexible and can be delivered at scale. Finding a training program that can be scaled across the entire organization is difficult, but in the current business landscape, it’s essential. With business goals constantly shifting and teams dispersed all over, offering one cohesive training program up and down the chain keeps everyone on the same page and with the same tools in hand.
5. It builds a continuous learning culture. Storytelling is not a one-and-done learning experience or check-the-box training. Employees should be empowered and encouraged to revisit the concepts any time they need it and employ their skills every day and to multiple types of business interactions. Storytelling is a skill that builds upon itself and grows with the learner.
According to Jean-Marc Laouchez, president of the Korn Ferry Institute: “Constant learning—driven by both workers and organizations—will be central to the future of work, extending far beyond the traditional definition of learning and development.”3
Storytelling as strategy
We get it. Finding training that fits the needs of everyone in the business isn’t easy.
With so many training priorities, L&D’s role to align its strategy with the larger business strategy is critical. Storytelling can be the dynamic skill that helps you meet your company’s training demands, while also arming every employee with the tools they need to propel the business forward.
References
1 RedThread Research, 2023, L&D Skills Roundtable
2 RedThread Research, 2024, L&D Strategy Roundtable – 5 Takeaways
3 Korn Ferry, The $8.5 Trillion Talent Shortage
4 Gallup, Employee Retention & Attraction
5 Microsoft, Work Trend Index Special Report: Hybrid Work Is Just Work. Are We Doing It Wrong?
6 Human Resource Executive, Why L&D can be key to the success of a skills strategy
