HR leaders overwhelmingly see L&D as a competitive advantage and share key insights to maximize program value

CLEVELAND, OHIO — July 24, 2024 — OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for corporate and law libraries worldwide, and HR Dive’s studioID released a new survey report that highlights the significant growth of learning & development (L&D) programs and their sharply rising value to companies of all sizes. Survey respondents from companies in a variety of industries are investing more in L&D, recognizing its role as a critical driver for retention.

In this survey — “How Much Does L&D Matter in 2024?” —150 senior human resources (HR) and L&D executives revealed that 84% of HR executives report that their L&D budgets will increase in the next 36 months — with 71% reporting increases in the next 12 months.  Download the free report.

“As L&D moves away from large-scale programmatic offerings to more one-size-fits-all, L&D is no longer just a nice-to-have,” said Cortney Marchetti, the director of talent management at OverDrive. “It has become imperative for employers to focus on the talent you have and use L&D as a retention tool.”

In addition to the growing optimism and recognition of its importance, the survey identified three areas of L&D that can improve organizations’ ability to develop a competitive advantage. Strategic opportunities that surfaced in the research include:

  • Incentives require a fresh outlook. Fifty-two percent of HR executives believe incentives are necessary for their companies to deliver the best possible L&D programs.
  • Greater leadership engagement is needed. Nearly one in three HR executives believe L&D participation would increase if employees in their companies had more encouragement from top management or supervisors.
  • L&D must adopt an uninterrupted approach. Thirty-one percent of HR executives believe continuous learning will have the most significant impact on L&D.

Complete with tangible advice and case studies, this report gives HR and L&D leaders a unique roadmap to ensure that this L&D moment lasts — and makes a lasting impact on employees. As Marchetti notes, “L&D is part of the fabric of the workplace now, and it’s not going away.”

To learn how to make your L&D program stand out amid this boom by leveraging data and expert-backed insights: Download the free report now.

  

About the Survey

The findings of this research are based on an online survey conducted by HR Dive from March 4, 2024, to March 19, 2024. A total of 150 HR executives participated in the research. All survey participants work in human resources or learning & development and hold titles of director or above (with 24% holding C-Level positions). The majority of participants (69%) work for companies with 1,000 or more employees, and 64% work for companies with hybrid work environments.

About OverDrive

OverDrive offers the industry’s largest catalog of ebooks and audiobooks for organizations of all sizes worldwide. OverDrive serves thousands of for-profit and nonprofit corporate libraries and knowledge centers, as well as government and law libraries. With the Libby reading app, named one of Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the Decade, OverDrive helps support learning and development, DEI and company culture. Founded in 1986, OverDrive — the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools — is based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Learn more.

Contact:

Madison Stoneburner
Marketing & Communications Specialist I
Phone: +1 216-573-6886 ext. 1389
mstoneburner@overdrive.com