Developing Communication as a Business Capability

A learning programme starts with a practical question: what do people need to do more effectively?

That might mean leading an international meeting, explaining technical information, giving constructive feedback or taking on new responsibilities. Clear answers help organisations invest in learning with a purpose, and help participants understand why it matters.

What LinkedIn’s research tells us

LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2025 explores the relationship between learning, career development and organisational priorities. Its survey included 937 L&D and HR professionals with learning responsibilities and 679 learners.

Two findings stand out:

• 49% of learning and talent development professionals said their executives were concerned that employees lacked the skills needed to execute business strategy.
• 91% of L&D professionals said human skills were becoming increasingly important.

The report also found that organisations with more mature career-development initiatives expressed greater confidence in attracting and retaining talent. These are associations, rather than proof that a particular training programme produces those outcomes.

For organisations planning development, the report raises a useful question: how closely does learning connect with the capabilities people need in their work and careers?

Turn business priorities into learning objectives

“Improve communication” is a starting point, but it leaves a lot unanswered.

Does a manager need to explain decisions more clearly? Does a specialist need to present findings to colleagues outside their function? Does an international team need to clarify responsibilities and avoid misunderstandings?

Defining those situations makes it easier to agree relevant objectives, choose activities and review progress.

Give people space to practise

Understanding a communication technique and using it under pressure are different things.

Presentations, role plays and facilitated discussions give participants opportunities to experiment, receive feedback and try again. Working with their own topics and materials helps connect that practice with the situations they face outside the session.

In my communication programmes, this might involve rehearsing a presentation, explaining a manufacturing process or preparing for a challenging conversation in English.

Involve managers and review application

LinkedIn’s report highlights the importance of manager support and recommends measuring business impact.

In practice, this means agreeing what progress would look like and creating opportunities to use new skills. Attendance and participant feedback are useful, but they do not tell the whole story.

Practical tasks can show whether someone explains an issue more clearly or responds to questions more effectively. Participant reflections and, where available, manager feedback can help establish whether that progress carries into work.

Keep the person in the programme

Learning also needs to make sense to the individual: their role, starting point, ambitions and confidence.

A structured programme can accommodate an urgent workplace challenge while maintaining its longer-term objectives. That combination of direction and flexibility helps make learning useful and personally relevant.

Source: LinkedIn Learning, Workplace Learning Report 2025: The Rise of Career Champions, pp. 2, 6, 27–29 and 32. The practical examples and programme recommendations above reflect my approach.