The new year is well underway and you have big plans for your learning program. You want to stay on top of upskilling the workforce, increase the agility of your program, and grow your learning library. These are all great goals, but as we move into what might be a rough year for the economy, how are you going to achieve them?

Even more importantly, how are you going to achieve these goals without running yourself ragged?

L&D is increasingly busy. Why?

Learning & Development (L&D) leaders had a lot on their plates in 2022. Thanks to their role in navigating the pandemic, L&D leaders became more influential in the last year, with 72% of learning professionals saying that L&D has become a more strategic function at their organization, according to LinkedIn. Last year, L&D was tasked with several initiatives, from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs to leadership development and closing the skills gap.

While L&D’s move into the spotlight provided some much-needed validation for learning pros, who were delighted to see that their companies were finally appreciating the importance of learning, all the new responsibilities came with drawbacks. Even with growing budgets, LinkedIn found that L&D pros were overworked in 2022.

Large budgets aren’t a sure thing in the coming year. An uncertain economic outlook in 2023 may prompt companies to tighten their belts, cutting budget to prepare for a leaner year. However, budget or not, after L&D’s standout performance during the pandemic, businesses will also be looking to learning pros to make companies more agile in a tough time.

How can you do more with less?

L&D leaders may understandably be a bit nervous about achieving their goals in 2023. If last year was busy, this year could be shaping up to be even more hectic.

However there is no reason to make this year hard on yourself. It’s time to start getting strategic about how to meet those goals without spreading yourself too thin.

1. Get some help from your friends: Over the last few years, L&D has hopefully built respect, trust, and relationships with other departments. As you strategize, call in those allies to help you measure learning and develop training initiatives. Call in the managers as well, relying on them to help deliver training.
2. Lean on off-the-shelf content: There is no need to develop every module in house. Off-the-shelf learning is a cost-effective way to easily deliver updated, engaging training you need to your learners quickly.
3. Take advantage of authoring tools: When you do need to create learning content, use a tool that makes it easy to create quality content fast. Building engaging content need not take weeks. By using an authoring tool that works with your learning management system (LMS), you can create custom courses for your learners as quickly as possible.
4. Use integrations: By using an LMS that integrates with the platforms you’re already using, like Salesforce or ZenDesk, you can streamline your delivery of courses to learners
5. Use one tool for all your learning needs: Why patch together an assortment of learning tools when you can get all the functionality you need in one? Choose a tool that covers the three Cs of L&D: creation, curation, and connection. Using a single tool for all your content needs keeps all your content in one place and makes it easier for your overworked L&D department to get more done quickly.

In uncertain times, L&D lights the way

Businesses look to L&D for leadership during times of change and uncertainty, but this newfound leadership can create difficulties for learning leaders; they may find themselves overwhelmed by expectations, burned out, or struggling to address every need. By working smarter instead of harder and using platforms that help them develop and curate courses, L&D can keep being the company MVP in a turbulent 2023 — and maybe even find some time to catch their breath.