Finding the hidden value of L&D

What does it mean to uncover the true impact of learning, and how can L&D teams finally demonstrate their worth in ways the business understands?

In this episode of Learning at Large, we’re joined by Dr. Keith Keating, Chief Learning & Development Officer at BDO Canada and author of The Trusted Learning Advisor and Hidden Value books. Keith shares why L&D’s impact is so often misunderstood, how to move beyond outdated metrics, and what it takes to shift the perception of L&D from cost center to strategic business enabler.

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Top tips for finding the hidden value of L&D

Don’t have time to listen now? Here’s a quick summary of what you’ll learn in this episode:

• Define your value before someone else does – If L&D doesn’t articulate its worth, the business will, and it will almost always undervalue it.
• Look beneath the surface for real impact – Confidence, mindset, and culture shifts are critical outcomes that rarely show up on dashboards.
• Move beyond vanity metrics – Counting completions and attendance doesn’t reflect meaningful business impact.
• Align L&D strategy with business strategy – Stop planning in a silo; anchor learning priorities to organizational goals.
• Remove the barriers that hide value – Fragmentation, outdated measures, and language gaps keep L&D’s contribution invisible.
• Challenge whether you’re creating learning or creating value – This mindset reframes how L&D designs, measures, and communicates impact.

1. Define your value before someone else does

L&D’s strategic influence depends on its ability to clearly articulate the difference it makes. Keith argues that when L&D doesn’t define its own value, the business fills the gap – often reducing L&D to a cost rather than a contributor. To shift perception, L&D must proactively communicate its impact on people, performance, and broader organizational outcomes.

“If L&D does not define its value, our value, someone else will, and they usually undervalue it. And so, finding that hidden value isn’t about those vanity metrics. It’s about our credibility, our influence, our survival.”

2. Look beneath the surface for real impact

Much of L&D’s most powerful impact happens below the surface – just like the roots of a tree. While leaders often focus on what’s visible and measurable, the real strength of learning lies in the deeper shifts it enables in people and culture. These changes in confidence, mindset, and behavior may not appear on dashboards, but they are what sustain organizational resilience and long-term growth.

“The real value of the tree is the network that’s beneath the surface. For us, it shows up in mindsets and culture, confidence, and that doesn’t show up on our dashboards. Oxygen is invisible, but it’s essential.”

3. Move beyond vanity metrics

Traditional learning metrics tell only a small part of the story. Counting completions and attendance might show activity, but it doesn’t prove that learning changed anything meaningful. Keith argues that for L&D to demonstrate real value, teams must focus more on behavior change, performance outcomes, and what truly enables people to succeed, not just how much training was delivered.

“We’ve gotten stuck in counting those inputs – the completion, the attendance, the butts in seats – instead of the outcomes, like the behavior change, the confidence, the culture change, the performance impact.”

4. Align L&D strategy with business strategy

Many L&D teams unintentionally weaken their impact by building annual plans before the business has set its priorities. Keith notes that when strategy is created in isolation, learning becomes misaligned and undervalued. By anchoring L&D planning to business goals, teams can shift from producing content to creating value that directly supports organizational success.

“We’re creating our strategy in a silo because the business hasn’t created their strategy yet. Rather than waiting for the business to create theirs and us building on that, we start too early. It means focusing less on content creation and more on value creation.”

5. Remove the barriers that hide value

Even when L&D is doing impactful work, its value can remain invisible due to structural barriers and communication gaps. Keith highlights that L&D often uses internal terminology that doesn’t resonate with business leaders. Bridging this language divide is essential for translating learning outcomes into business outcomes that matter.

“L&D speaks the language of learning, engagement, retention, upskilling, our words, our vocabulary. The business speaks the language of results, revenue, retention, risk. Until we can translate our impact into their language, our value will stay hidden.”

6. Challenge whether you’re creating learning or creating value

Keith encourages L&D practitioners to rethink their role by focusing less on delivering learning and more on enabling outcomes that matter. This shift pushes teams to design solutions around people, performance, and measurable results. It’s a mindset that elevates L&D from training provider to strategic driver of organizational growth.

“Am I creating learning, or am I creating value? Because that single question can change everything. When you design for value, you focus on the people, on the performance, on the impact.”

About Keith

Dr. Keith Keating is the Chief Learning & Development Officer at BDO Canada and author of The Trusted Learning Advisor and Hidden Value. A globally recognized learning strategist, keynote speaker, and researcher, Keith is known for helping L&D teams shift from order-takers to value creators.

His work focuses on transforming learning functions into strategic engines that drive organizational performance, business growth, and meaningful human impact. Keith brings decades of experience leading L&D organizations across industries, championing data-driven decision-making, and elevating the role of learning in the boardroom.

Keith’s books are available to order today at The Trusted Learning Advisor, and Hidden Value.

Connect with Keith on LinkedIn.

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