Employee experience has become a strategic priority for many organisations. Yet L&D often operates separately from EX initiatives, missing opportunities for mutual benefit.

Learning is one of the most impactful elements of employee experience. When L&D and EX functions connect, both become more effective.

Why Learning Matters for Employee Experience

Research consistently shows development opportunities significantly impact employee experience:

Engagement connection: Employees who feel they’re developing are more engaged. Gallup finds that development opportunity is a top driver of engagement.

Retention impact: Lack of development is a primary reason employees leave. LinkedIn research shows learning opportunity is among the top factors in retention.

Meaning and purpose: Growth creates meaning. Employees who feel they’re becoming more capable find work more meaningful.

Confidence and capability: Employees who can do their jobs well feel better about their work. Learning builds that capability.

Career progress: Development enables career advancement. Career opportunity is central to employee experience.

L&D is already affecting employee experience—whether or not L&D functions recognise it.

The Current Disconnect

Despite learning’s importance to EX, the functions often operate separately:

Organisational silos: L&D and EX may report to different leaders with different priorities.

Measurement differences: EX measures employee sentiment; L&D measures learning outcomes. Neither connects their metrics.

Journey mapping gaps: EX journey maps often ignore learning touchpoints or treat them superficially.

Technology separation: Learning systems and EX platforms don’t integrate.

Strategic disconnection: EX strategies don’t explicitly address learning; learning strategies don’t consider EX impact.

This separation means both functions miss opportunities.

The Integration Opportunity

When L&D and EX connect:

Learning becomes intentional EX lever. Instead of accidentally affecting experience, learning is designed to improve it deliberately.

EX insights improve learning. Employee feedback about learning experiences drives improvement.

Journey consistency improves. Learning touchpoints align with overall employee journey design.

Technology integration enables. Connected systems create seamless experience.

Combined impact multiplies. Coordinated investment produces greater return than separate efforts.

How to Connect: Practical Steps

Share EX Data with L&D

EX functions collect employee feedback. L&D needs access:

What to share:

• Feedback specifically about learning experiences
• Overall sentiment data that correlates with learning patterns
• Journey friction points related to development
• Employee suggestions about learning improvement

How L&D should use it:

• Identify learning experiences that hurt employee experience
• Understand what employees want from development
• Prioritise improvements based on EX impact
• Track whether learning changes improve EX metrics

Include Learning in Journey Mapping

When mapping employee journeys, learning should be explicit:

Key learning moments:

• Onboarding learning experiences
• First skill development challenges
• Career transition learning needs
• Major change requiring new capability

Questions to address:

• What learning do employees need at each journey stage?
• How do current learning experiences affect overall experience?
• Where are learning friction points in the journey?
• How can learning better support journey outcomes?

Align Measurement

Connect L&D and EX metrics:

Learning metrics that matter for EX:

• Learning experience satisfaction (specifically)
• Development opportunity perception
• Capability confidence
• Career progress enabled by development

EX metrics that matter for L&D:

• Overall engagement correlated with learning participation
• Retention patterns related to development investment
• Employee sentiment about growth opportunity
• EX survey items about development

Coordinate Investment

Learning and EX investment should reinforce:

Joint initiatives:

• Onboarding improvement that addresses both learning effectiveness and experience quality
• Manager development that builds both capability and EX-supportive leadership
• Career development that creates both growth opportunity and positive experience

Resource sharing:

• EX design expertise applied to learning experience
• Learning technology supporting EX initiatives
• Combined budget for integrated initiatives

Regular Collaboration

Build ongoing connection:

Joint planning: L&D and EX participate in each other’s planning processes

Shared reviews: Regular sessions examining how learning affects experience and how experience insights improve learning

Combined reporting: Integrated view of learning and experience metrics for leadership

Relationship building: Personal connections between L&D and EX professionals

Learning Experience Design

L&D should explicitly design for experience quality:

Accessibility and Convenience

Learning should be easy to access:

• Available when employees need it
• Accessible on preferred devices
• Integrated with work tools
• Minimal barriers to starting

Relevance and Personalisation

Learning should feel relevant:

• Connected to actual job needs
• Personalised to individual context
• Applicable to real work situations
• Respectful of existing knowledge

Quality and Engagement

Learning should be engaging:

• High production quality
• Appropriate use of interaction
• Variety in approach and format
• Respectful of learner time

Progress and Achievement

Learning should create progress feeling:

• Visible advancement through content
• Recognition of achievement
• Connection to broader development journey
• Certification or credentials where appropriate

Support and Community

Learning should feel supported:

• Help available when stuck
• Peer connection opportunities
• Manager engagement with development
• Coaching and mentoring access

The Manager Factor

Managers are the connection point between L&D and EX:

Manager impact on development experience:

• Whether employees have time for learning
• How learning is reinforced and applied
• Whether development conversations happen
• How capability growth is recognised

Building manager capability:

• Development enablement skills
• Experience-conscious leadership
• Feedback and coaching ability
• Recognition practices

Investing in manager capability improves both learning effectiveness and employee experience.

Measuring the Connection

Track whether integration is working:

Leading indicators:

• Learning experience satisfaction trending positively
• EX survey scores on development questions improving
• Manager engagement with development increasing

Lagging indicators:

• Engagement scores improving for high learning participants
• Retention higher for employees with strong development experience
• Performance better for employees reporting good development opportunity

The Strategic View

Learning and employee experience both serve organisational outcomes. Connecting them:

Strengthens employer brand. Organisations known for development attract talent.

Improves retention. Development opportunity keeps people.

Increases capability. Better learning experience produces better learning outcomes.

Builds culture. Development culture is a key element of overall organisational culture.

Disconnected, L&D and EX both underperform. Connected, they multiply each other’s impact.

Starting the Connection

For L&D leaders seeking better EX connection:

1. Identify EX counterparts. Who leads employee experience work? Build relationship.

2. Share learning’s EX relevance. Help EX colleagues understand how learning affects experience.

3. Access EX data. Get learning-relevant feedback from EX channels.

4. Include EX in learning design. Consider experience alongside effectiveness.

5. Propose joint initiatives. Find opportunities for combined investment.

6. Demonstrate value. Show that connection improves both learning and experience outcomes.

Learning is employee experience. Treating them as separate diminishes both.

Build the connection. Both functions—and employees—will benefit.