HR leaders: If you want your employees to take L&D seriously, you have to prioritize it for yourself

When it comes to learning and development (L&D), HR leaders talk the talk. But do they walk the walk?

It seems not. Despite recognizing that L&D is critical to HR strategy—these programs are not only wanted by workers, but can boost employee engagement and retention—people leaders often fail to prioritize them for themselves and their teams.

It’s important that everybody in an organization invests in their own growth, Rishad Tobaccowala, the author of Rethinking Work, said at an HR Brew event in February. As HR leaders navigate a constantly changing workplace, he stressed the importance of taking control of their own careers to proactively address challenges.

“Carrie Underwood has a song, ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel.’ I say, ‘No, you take the wheel,’” he told the audience. “I tell everybody, including who are not in HR, I say, ‘You happen to be the head of HR and learning and development for your own career…you have to do this yourself.’”

Awareness without action.

Some 42% of HR leaders cited accelerating their team’s skills development as a top challenge, according to a 2023 Mercer survey. And HR leaders participating in L&D can help create a “virtuous cycle,” as it can set an example for the rest of the company, Lisa Cannell, senior managing director of executive education and lifelong learning at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, told HR Brew.

Despite that, L&D for HR has slipped through the cracks, for reasons ranging from people professionals being too busy to care for themselves, to L&D initiatives being viewed as an expense, not an investment.

“Nobody is pointing to HR people and saying, ‘Hey, we need to invest in them, they’re our future.’ They’re just not thought about,” Cannell said.

Watch out for AI.

There’s been no shortage of alarm over how drastically AI may change the workforce, and how critical it will be for workers to reskill to maintain job security. While often overlooked, it’s arguably even more important that HR leaders and their teams reskill for AI, too. HR is a significant testing ground for AI transformation and expectations are mounting: 65% of CHROs surveyed by Mercer last year said HR will need to expand beyond traditional skillsets, including developing skills related to technology and analytics.

In a recent interview with HR Brew, Lori Castillo Martinez, Salesforce’s EVP of talent growth and development, said her team is reskilling for AI as part of the tech giant’s efforts to train its workforce to use AI agents. She advised HR pros at other companies to do the same.

“Reskilling has never been more critical and urgent than ever. And every single HR professional, for themselves, and what they’re doing for their organization, should be focused on these business, human, and agent skills to future proof their org and themselves,” she said.

What’s the risk?

HR leaders who neglect their own L&D may be putting their jobs on the line. Payroll and other tasks critical to a company’s operations might’ve guaranteed previous generations of people leaders job security, Cannell said. But with automation, that’s no longer the case.

“It’s not foolproof that you’re going to keep your job just because every company needs HR. But I feel like there’s this…false sense of security,” she said. “With AI and with so many other things, you cannot count on” job security if L&D isn’t prioritized or you’re unable to shift into another role.

And, as a double-whammy, people leaders who tell their workforce to participate in L&D without doing so themselves may not be taken seriously.

“You risk being seen as obsolete and not with the times, and understanding what the organization needs and what other leaders need, or even worse, not understanding what’s happening in the environment” Cannell said. “If you don’t get that, you will lose credibility so fast.”