When someone said, `employees are your greatest asset, what they actually meant is that a business is more or less declining if the employees in that organization are not growing with the business. Learning & Development has played a crucial role in appending to the bottom line of any business. Several reports and market researchers have suggested the same. Learning & Development (L&D) has evolved over time. In its nascent stage, programs were designed using a standard approach. This approach emphasizes on topics and content, evidence of which can be witnessed in the academic arena. This approach assumes that all learners would be able to learn topics using standard instruction methodology, which was predominantly teacher-led.

L&D also plays a crucial role in customer satisfaction. To understand this, you may want to answer this; Why does a customer get in contact with a company? Often, all of the information they need is available on community boards or amazing knowledge bases that support teams create. Customers look at company employees as experts in their fields with the ability to deliver information through dialogue. When a customer takes the time out of their day to wait on-hold or schedules a session to speak with someone, then it is critical that employees are knowledgeable enough around their company's products to have a fruitful conversation. It's ok to say, `I don't have the answer, but I'll get back to you.' However, it's far better to be able to communicate an in-depth understanding with answers customers appreciate. Empowering every employee to handle customer conversations effectively, has a remarkable impact on customer satisfaction. In fact, there is a 16% increase in customer satisfaction with companies that are utilizing learning technology.

As G.I. Joe used to say, `Knowing is half the battle.' Once you understand what is learning and development and the importance of it within an organization, you can start to take even small steps to boost its role in your organization. Even if you are running a small company, training has its place. employees are already working for you. They are an incredible asset for your company that helps you deliver real value to your customers. They want to stay and do an even better job, so invest in helping them, and in turn, let them help you.

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