Why L&D matters for your EDI strategy

Every organisation – and every person within them – has differing definitions for what “success” looks like…but one universal truth is that you can’t achieve success without people.

However you define it, and whatever parameters you set for the targets and goals you’re working towards, your people are the core – and priority – of how you’ll get there. Your people, their well-being, their development and the culture that you’ve built. 

By any measure, a culture that allows for autonomy, confidence, growth and individual ambition will result in better outcomes – for the people in your teams and for your organisation. To get the best from your people, they need the best environment to work in — and that stems from a culture that supports every person within it.  

Defining that culture is more complicated – there isn’t a single ‘right’, because what is right for one is wrong for another…so rather than trying to identify what you think it should look like, you need to listen to the people within it. To their needs. To their ambitions. To their feedback and behaviours. Every successful business, and every great Leader, needs to understand that your people come first, and develop a progressive EDI strategy that encompasses the varied and ever-changing needs of every person.

Your EDI strategy needs to show your people that equality – or equity – is at the root of every decision your Leaders and Managers make, your recruitment process, and the ongoing development of every team member.

EDI – Equality (or equity), Diversity and Inclusivity – isn’t something you can just brush off as ‘woke’ or box-ticking. It’s vital, if you truly want to embed the right culture, and give every single person in your organisation the best opportunities for success. For many organisations, even those who have put significant efforts into a strong EDI strategy, there is still one area of that strategy that is overlooked: L&D!

L&D – learning and development – is the secret behind every great success story. It doesn’t matter whether your business is a global giant or a two-man team in a back room,  the only way to retain the most successful and talented people is to invest in them. To show that you value them, and that you want them to thrive. That comes from the right culture, and from regular and consistent access to development. You need to provide a range of opportunities for ongoing learning, so that each and every person can build on their skills, expanding their confidence, talent and expertise…and, all too often, we know that these opportunities tend to be given to some, whilst the more diverse team members (if the organisation even has diverse teams…) are overlooked. 

Consider the latest statistics on those with disabilities – who make up almost 25% of the UK population – are still disproportionately impacted by unemployment, or by a lack of access to employment support.

The statistics show that far too many disabled people are being failed: fair access to work, and to the appropriate support and development opportunities if they are employed, would bring an enormous – currently untapped – range of skills, expertise, talent, lived experience and capability into every organisation.

Bringing those skills into your team would not only benefit the bottom line, broadening your business potential and sales reach, it would also significantly enhance the culture, diversity and wellbeing of the whole organisation.

Building on the importance of including L&D in your EDI Strategy, it’s also important that your organisation includes appropriate support for everyone. Often, the parameters of learning and development are formed around the “average” employee, and either ignore or fail to understand the needs of neurodivergent people, or anyone with learning disabilities and learning differences.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to L&D, and more than there is to defining success, or what “good workplace culture” looks like – or to successful leadership. In fact, there is no real ‘end point’ in learning, whether that’s in leadership development, in business, or in life!

What is universal, however, is that each and every person, no matter their role, their experience, their knowledge or their individual definition of success, benefits from investment in their learning and professional development – and the organisation they work for naturally benefits from that growth.