To defend budgets in a downturn, L&D must focus on the future

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as with economic downturns past: talent development and training departments are likely to be subject to budget cuts and downsizing. However, this is not a universal trend. Impact focused employers, businesses who prioritize the impact of their workers alongside their bottomline, are opting to increase, not decrease, investment in talent after the pandemic.

Cat Ward gives voice to this in article on HR Dive. In the article, Ward said:

Unfortunately, some companies are not capable of investing in talent during this time and are laying off workers. For these businesses, JFF is proposing a whole new way to reduce the human cost of downsizing that we call "ethical offboarding." It suggests 10 practical methods that Impact Employers of any size and stage of maturity can easily adopt.