L&D alignment with business drives 122% performance gain
HR and L&D leaders who align learning and development with core business priorities are significantly more likely to meet or exceed their top strategic goals, by as much as 122% compared to their peers.
Research shows key strategies to transform L&D from cost centre to business driver.
A survey by Guild of HR and L&D leaders across sectors including healthcare, finance, retail, and technology identifies a cohort of forward-looking leaders who are embedding learning into business strategy and delivering measurable returns.
Guild’s findings come at a time of accelerated AI adoption, talent shortages, and increasing demand for workforce agility. Yet nearly one-third of senior HR respondents admitted that the business impact of their L&D investments remained unclear. This signals a persistent perception gap that risks sidelining L&D in strategic discussions.
Conversely, organisations where HR and L&D leaders tie learning to business KPIs, such as revenue growth, productivity, and innovation, demonstrated stronger performance. Key differentiators among high-performing HR teams include close alignment with senior leadership, a balanced focus on soft and technical skills, and the use of analytics to inform decision-making.
“These leaders are not just supporting the business; they are shaping its future,” said Guild CEO Bijal Shah. “When learning is integrated into strategy, it unlocks agility and growth.”
The report presents four core principles, Integration, Influence, Internal Mobility and Impact, as a blueprint for leveraging L&D as a strategic business driver.
Guild’s research reinforces the growing imperative for HR leaders to act as architects of workforce transformation, ensuring that L&D is not only cost-justified but central to long-term business resilience.
The report is availbale via the Guild website: From Cost to Catalyst: An HR Leader’s Guide to Maximizing the Business Impact of L&D.
The survey by Guild was with 500 HR and L&D leaders in the U.S. and conducted in February and March 2025.