6 Steps to a Learning Roadmap For Your Team
Lauren Rosenthal
Account Executive & Data Analyst at Maven Analytics
Jun 10, 2024
Introduction
Data can be one of your organization’s most valuable resources…if your team knows how to use it effectively. But with ever-advancing tools and technology, it can be challenging for teams to keep up with the skills needed to effectively turn data into insights. It is common for teams to struggle and fall behind as tools evolve and as new and emerging technologies like Gen AI come into the mix. Organizations need to keep pace with the data skills curve and that’s why all leaders need to have a learning roadmap in place for their teams. As a leader you are on the hook to deliver business value from your team as well as tasked with keeping your team engaged and happy in their roles. Developing a Learning Roadmap is a win-win-win.
1
WIN 1
Your team will love this!
Leaders who develop a Learning Roadmap win in the eyes of their team because the team members feel valued and invested in.
2
WIN 2
Your company will love this!
Leaders who develop a Learning Roadmap win in the eyes of their bosses because the leader proactively did something that drove measurable ROI and employee retention for the business.
3
WIN 3
Your bank account will love this!
Leaders who develop a Learning Roadmap win for themselves in their career because they prove their impact to the company, which can put them on the list for getting a raise or a promotion.
What is a learning roadmap?
In the context of a data team and other teams that use data, a learning roadmap is the strategic plan that outlines how a team will develop and sharpen the skills needed to effectively use data to impact the organization’s goals and objectives. The learning roadmap is meant to be iterative, ensuring that data teams stay current with the latest tools, technologies, and best practices in the data field. Keep in mind that there are many teams like Finance, HR, Sales, and Marketing that use data on a daily basis and it is a best practice to include all teams that could benefit from basic data literacy skills as well.
A learning roadmap should:
Focus on business needs and connect to the organization’s goals
Identify areas where the team needs to improve
Be tailored to individual strengths and weaknesses
Be customized for the specific functions of each team / team member
Adapt to incorporate new technologies and advancements
With a better understanding of exactly what a learning roadmap is, let’s dig into what it entails. There are 6 key steps to a learning roadmap:
Define goals
Establish baselines
Design your program
Upskill employees
Measure results
Repeat the process
PRO TIP: Don't skip steps 2 and 5
These are often overlooked, but if you choose the right training platform as your partner, steps 2 and 5 are simple to accomplish because they are integrated into the learning plan and they will be important keys to your success.
In fact, they are so important, let us cover them right now.
2
STEP 2
Establishing baselines
This matters because for two important reasons:
It is what allows you to set learning plans that are custom to each individual. This step doesn’t take a lot of time yet it is what ensures that you won’t get feedback like “the training plan was too easy, or it was too hard.” Most likely everyone on your team is good at some skills and have room to improve on others. Some of your team might be great with charts and data visualization and others might be great at DAX, Pivot tables or Python. Measuring everyone's baseline skill level makes it easy to give each person on your team a learning plan that fits their unique needs.
It is what allows you to quantify the improvement that each individual on your team accomplishes from the training plan. By measuring skill levels before the training begins, you are set up to compare pre and post skill levels which is where ROI can be demonstrated to your CEO or the Board.
5
STEP 5
Measuring results
Measuring results matters because it is what allows you to prove that the training is beneficial to the business. Imagine being able to tell your CEO, or Board Members that everyone that participated in this data skills learning program measured a 2x improvement over where they were before the program. That type of improvement is possible (like this J.B. Hunt case study) and translates to real business impact and ROI for the company.
Let’s look at each of these steps more closely.
The 6 Steps to a Learning Roadmap
1
STEP 1
Define Your Goals
The first step of a learning roadmap is to define your team’s up-skilling goals. This is a key step for many reasons. Goals provide clear direction for a team’s learning efforts, which means that the training will be concentrated, organized, and relevant to your team. Creating specific goals also allows you to measure progress and track the impact of your learning roadmap.
To develop goals that will have the greatest impact, consider questions like:
What are my team’s strengths and weaknesses?
What are the business goals we want to impact?
What upcoming projects or challenges does the team anticipate?
How will we measure success?
Are any new technologies being introduced to the company?
Answers to these questions can help you identify the most important aspects to work on. Goals may be tool-related, like increasing proficiency in a certain tool or learning a new feature or functionality. They may be communication-related, like improving data storytelling skills or increasing collaboration with colleagues. They also might be skill-specific, like improving data cleaning skills or utilizing machine learning algorithms.
To create a truly effective learning roadmap, it's vital to set clear goals at the outset. This helps you focus your efforts on the areas that will have the biggest impact and avoids the risk of creating a poorly developed, aimless program.
2
STEP 2
Establish baselines
Once you’ve defined who and what you are trying to impact, you’re ready to assess where your team’s skills currently are. There are many ways to do this and your approach will likely depend on your team’s specific situation.
We recommend a combination of the following approaches:
Self-assessment
Create a simple skills matrix that lists the essential skills you want to target and ask team members to rate their proficiency in each.
Skills assessment
Use online platforms, like Maven Analytics, that have pre-built skills assessments for specific data analysis tools as well as a unique data literacy assessment tool that are designed to help benchmark your team's skills, in order to identify strengths and opportunity areas.
Performance reviews
Leverage existing performance reviews to identify areas for improvement and to see if there are common skill gaps across the team.
Review past work
Analyze past projects to assess both technical skills and communication/collaboration skills.
By using these methods, you can establish a solid baseline for your team's capabilities and use that information to create a targeted and effective learning plan.
3
STEP 3
Design your program
Having established goals and a baseline, the next step is to design your actual learning program. If you have internal L&D at your organization, they will take what you put together in the first 2 steps and create a program that fits your needs.
If you don’t have internal L&D, you have still set yourself up for success. There are super helpful and expert training providers that will build your learning program for you based on your goals and your baseline. These partners will take that information and work with you to create a customized learning plan to accomplish your goals and some (like Maven Analytics) do this for free for their customers!
A program design will outline exactly how you’ll deliver the learning experiences for your team. This could include elements like:
Learning format: online courses, in-house workshops, conferences, etc.
Learning resources: course materials, subscriptions, software licenses
Delivery schedule: the structure and timeline for each upskilling initiative
Learning budget: the associated costs for any licenses, subscriptions, materials, etc.
Implementation and support: who is responsible for implementing and supporting the program
A provider like Maven Analytics can take it one step further by using your goals and baseline to build a customized learning plan for each individual, including recommending specific courses and projects, creating deadlines, and tracking progress.
Collaborating with experts on a carefully designed learning program that is personalized to your team can ensure that the plan is engaging, efficient, and will deliver the knowledge and skills your team needs in a way that works for them.
4
STEP 4
Upskill your teams
Once you have your goals and baseline established and you have designed your program, it’s time to start learning.
If you did Steps 1 and 2 above you are in great shape: your team’s Learning Plan is detailed, and each team member has their personalized learning paths and assignments. This is exciting! As the team leader it’s time for you to sit back, relax, and watch progress being made, right?
Unfortunately not just yet. In a world of competing priorities and tight deadlines, it can be difficult for people to set aside time to upskill. This is where you as a leader can truly impact the success of the learning roadmap. By emphasizing the importance of learning within your team, you can encourage and empower team members to actually view upskilling as an investment in their professional growth. Remember the first “win” we talked about in the beginning. Your people will love this because they feel like you are investing in them. Make this an authentic part of your culture and you have the winning formula for skilled, and happy people.
You can create this “always learning” culture by:
Carving out dedicated learning time on everyone’s calendars
Aligning learning with specific projects or business goals
Encouraging team members to apply the skills they are learning
Leading by example
Gamifying learning with credentials, friendly competitions, etc.
Promoting internal knowledge sharing
Setting “micro-goals” like number of minutes or lessons completed each week
Inspiring team members to learn from failures and try old tasks in a new way
Providing a supportive environment is key to successfully upskilling your team. This means not just offering the resources and opportunities to learn, but also actively removing barriers to participation. This is another place where if you are stuck, talk to an expert. There are simple and proven ways to make this work at your company.
5
STEP 5
Measure results
The next step in a learning roadmap is to measure the effectiveness of the training and upskilling. This is how you demonstrate improvement and impact to the business. This is the step that can really get the attention of your company’s leadership when it’s done well. You can do this in many ways, both quantitative and qualitative.
Here are some key measurement strategies that you can use:
Monitor performance on future projects
Track the quality of the data analysis and evaluate how effectively your team is communicating insights.
Conduct post-learning assessments
Learning platforms like Maven Analytics offer benchmark and final assessments to objectively measure improvements.
Track project completion times
Look for reductions in project completion times that might indicate efficiency.
Gather feedback through surveys
Solicit feedback on the learning content and delivery. Gauge team satisfaction with the learning experience.
Measure increased usage of new tools or technologies
See if there’s an increase in the usage of new tools during future projects.
Use a balanced approach when measuring how effective the training has been so you can get a well-rounded picture of your team’s learning progress. You can also use this data to refine your learning roadmap and ensure it is effective and sustainable. If you want to learn more about how to measure and what types of results you can see from a training program focused on data up-skilling and data literacy you can read this case study from J.B. Hunt to see their approach and results. Or if you want to brainstorm on ways to measure within your company based on your learning goals, set up time with our Learning and Development professionals. We’d love to hear your challenges and share the solutions that will help you measure what you are looking to measure.
6
STEP 6
Repeat the process
The last step of the learning roadmap is iteration. The learning journey shouldn’t end once your team completed the initial training program. An essential aspect of a successful learning roadmap is the "repeat" phase, where you continuously evaluate and iterate based on the measured progress. Iterating allows you to keep your team’s learning dynamic and impactful.
You can use the information you have gathered to:
Set new goals based on progress and evolving team/organizational needs
Re-evaluate the baseline and measure overall skill improvement
Adapt upskilling methods based on feedback and effectiveness
Refine your measurement techniques to track progress more efficiently
Tweaking, adapting, and altering your learning roadmap will ensure that it remains relevant, effective, and aligned with your team’s evolving needs. Remember a Learning Roadmap is the first step in creating an always learning culture. It’s easier, less expensive and more rewarding than you think.
Key takeaways
Data is an incredibly valuable resource for organizations, if they know how to use it
There's always room to improve your team’s effectiveness with using data
A learning roadmap will allow your team to evolve with data tools and technology
Creating a learning roadmap involves: establishing goals, determining baselines, designing a program, upskilling, measuring results, and repeating the process
Goals will help you focus your efforts on the areas that will have the biggest impact
You can work with experts to design a learning program that is personalized to your team
The key to upskilling is an “always learning” culture
Measuring results will help you refine your learning roadmap
The learning journey is never done; repeating and iterating on the process is necessary to keep your team’s learning dynamic and impactful
As data tools and technologies advance at a rapid pace, developing your team’s learning roadmap for data skills is essential. It’s clear that continuous learning and development is essential for high-value teams. Having a custom Learning Roadmap is simple, and cost effective to put in place. This guide walked you through the 6 steps to make it happen. You can accomplish the first 3 steps for free by using this link. Schedule a meeting and you are a few weeks away from having the first 3 steps completed without it costing you anything:
Your team’s specific learning goals documented
Your team’s current skill levels assessed and custom learning opportunities identified
A custom Learning Plan custom built for your team ready to implement
Let's get started!
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