Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 50 - Number 2 - July 2010 - Challenges in aligning workplace learning with business goals - A perspective from HRD professionals in New Zealand

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper examines how workplace learning can be aligned with business goals, using insights from senior HRD professionals in New Zealand. It argues that modern organisations require learning systems that respond to complex, rapidly changing contexts, yet HRD often sits awkwardly between business, education, and social policy. The study highlights recurring tensions in HRD’s strategic visibility, identity, and effectiveness, particularly when responsibilities are devolved to line managers and outcomes are difficult to measure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and background

Challenges in aligning workplace learning with business goals

HRD identity, credibility, and strategic contribution

Workplace development tensions and managerial roles

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010 Challenges in aligning workplace learning with business goals: A perspective from HRD professionals in New Zealand Tom Short University of South Australia Roger Harris University of South Australia Modern organisations have become more complex, less mechanistic and increasingly sensitive to rapid changes in the external environment than in previous eras. Today, executives lead employees through a maze of complexity and changing contexts. However, another group of dedicated professionals, the human resource managers and practitioners, also play a big part in shaping business success. For human resource managers, learning how to cope with a diverse range of people-centred challenges has generated a succession of workplace development initiatives aimed at aligning education and training with business strategy (Anderson 2009). In the knowledge economy, the value of workplace Challenges in aligning workplace learning with business goals 359 education and training has become a mantra for business survival. Simultaneously, in response to a requirement for change, the human resource management (HRM) profession has engaged infrequent and often inward-looking processes to re-define its own contribution, not only to the effectiveness of an enterprise but also to the individual employee and wider community. Within this evolution, in some organisations, the traditional sub-areas of HRM, such as human resource development (HRD), have gradually become detached from mainstream HRMand assumed a role quite different in both purpose and approach to from the more hegemonic notion of resources management. This paper draws insights from a group of senior HRD professionals in New Zealand to review the significance of workplace learning in a strategic context and identify the challenges the profession faces in meeting the demands of complex workplaces. The paper focuses on how HRD professionals go about aligning learning activities with business objectives—often with mixed results. Introduction and background In recent years, human resource management (HRM) practices have grown systematically to become firmly embedded within a business mindset (Boxall & Purcell 2003, Elsey 1997), yet by contrast, human resource development (HRD) activities have evolved to perch awkwardly between the more-established disciplines of business, education and social policy (Short 2009) . In the academic world, HRD specialists are ‘struggling for their own space and freedom, distinguishing themselves from HRM or vocational education’(Sambrook 2004: 617). HRD professionals have ‘long searched for credibility’(Iles, Preece & Chuai 2010: 125) and much has been written about the challenges HRD faces, primarily keeping the field relevant, adopting more strategic approaches, embracing technological changes and measuring its contribution 360 Tom Short and Roger Harris to organisational performance (McGuire & Cseh 2006). Its gradual evolution has both generated opportunities and created limitations for HRD research. In becoming wedged between mainstream academic disciplines, HRD can be perceived as fertile ground and an attractive place for applied study; on the other hand, this positioning can also be interpreted as being in the disciplinary wilderness, resulting in a lack of interest from purists on all sides and a diluting of the importance of HRD as a strategic area of interest. Part of this response comes from the recurrent tensions of ideology between the disciplines. The unfortunate result is that HRD offerings become overlooked by top executives or subsumed as a less important activity of HRM, and this situation becomes most evident when an organisation re-aligns its strategy in order to cope with ever-changing market competition and demand. Some organisations have amplified this estrangement by placing HRM in a centralised, corporate service while devolving HRD to line mana

FAQs

What central alignment challenge does the paper address?

It focuses on how HRD professionals align learning activities with business objectives, noting that results are often mixed.

Why is HRD described as difficult to position strategically?

The paper explains that HRD has evolved between business, education, and social policy, creating tensions that can lead to reduced recognition by top executives and a weaker strategic profile.

How do line manager responsibilities affect HRD outcomes?

When HRD is devolved to line management, the paper notes tensions over HRD’s purpose and whether line managers have the knowledge, skills, motivation, and time to organise workplace training.

Oct 15, 2026

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