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In an economic downturn, it can be challenging for tech companies to acquire new customers. As a result, many businesses are turning to learning and development (L&D) programs to enhance customer-facing activities and maintain customer satisfaction in an effort to drive new revenues. This shift is supported by data from GrowthSpace, the world’s first outcome-driven talent development platform, which found that usage of their platform by marketing and sales personnel increased from 16% to 24% and from 7% to 12% for both customer success and HR personnel in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the first three quarters of the year.
GrowthSpace’s data also reveals that, in contrast, uptake in L&D programs for backend personnel dropped to 18% in Q4 2022, down from 29% in Q1-Q3, and decreased 7% for other backend staff (such as finance and IT) over the same period. Training of high level management employees also dropped by 4% over the period, while increasing by 5% for lower-level individual contributors.
According to Omer Glass, CEO and cofounder of GrowthSpace, “Our research shows that, once the boom market started signaling recession, businesses began leveraging L&D to enhance customer-facing activities in order to maintain customer satisfaction as well as drive new revenues.”
GrowthSpace’s data suggests that companies are focusing their training efforts on core, customer-facing talent working on the front lines to deliver change, rather than R&D teams that traditionally received the majority of training dollars. Additionally, the data indicates that, even during layoffs, the level of investment in talent development has been maintained due to a commitment to productivity and effectiveness. Prioritizing employee retention can help create a stable working environment during times of uncertainty.
GrowthSpace is an all-in-one solution that empowers organizations to offer employees customizable L&D programs that maximize performance, enable upskilling and reskilling, increase retention, and drive long-term impact. The platform enables HR and L&D professionals to develop, manage, and measure development programs that include both internal and external growth experiences. This helps businesses measure the business impact of HR.
By matching employees with the world’s broadest and most accessible global network of external business experts spanning over 60 countries across more than 70 domains, including hard and soft skills, GrowthSpace fosters individual and organizational success with integrative individual and group experiences.
In conclusion, GrowthSpace’s data reveals that tech companies are shifting their training budgets towards customer and employee-facing roles in response to an economic downturn. By prioritizing employee retention and enhancing customer-facing activities, businesses can maintain customer satisfaction and drive new revenues, even during challenging financial times.
