Understanding the L&D Maturity Model and business impact ready for 2026

As 2026 approaches, the world of work is changing considerably. Artificial intelligence has fundamentally reshaped the learning and development landscape, moving from buzzword to critical business function. Pair this with upskilling and reskilling emerging as the primary HR challenge and it's clear that L&D has moved to the centre of organisational strategy. 

Leaders are heading into 2026 with the challenges of: 

• Responding to fast-paced change and the urgent need to upskill the workforce 
• Integrating AI and technology advancements while meeting expectations for L&D to serve as a strategic business partner 
• Balancing employee wellbeing alongside performance demands, with a quarter of UK employees believing work has a negative impact on both their mental and physical health 
• Addressing talent and capability gaps that are limiting business growth and productivity 

When it comes to learning and development, leaders cannot afford to take their foot off the gas. Approaches to professional development should continue to evolve within organisations, aligning priorities with the challenges that lie ahead in the business and economic landscape. 

Leaders should prioritise creating future-ready workforces in 2026, creating a continuous learning culture that puts learning for professional and personal growth first. 

Organisations that are in the first two stages of learning in the L&D maturity model are typically focused on delivering essential learning interventions, such as compliance training and foundational knowledge transfer. While these organisations ensure employees have access to important information, learner engagement with development opportunities may be limited, as programmes at this stage tend to be transactional rather than strategically aligned to broader business objectives. 

Many organisations struggle to surpass stage one of learning maturity, which can lead to skills gaps and issues with retention. This is especially problematic within the current financial climate, as businesses need to leverage every resource possible to encourage growth. 

Numerous barriers impede organisations from moving towards stages three and four of learning maturity. These stages occur when learning is transformational within an organisation; that’s to say that it has a significant impact on: 

• Growth 
• Transformation 
• Productivity 
• Profitability 

Accessing these stages requires a shift from learning that has a surface impact to learning that has a deep impact. 

For learning to have a deep impact within an organisation, leaders must diversify their learning approaches and incorporate both formal  eLearning courses, such as  Governance, Risk and Compliance, and on-demand learning opportunities.  

Employees should be empowered to seek out learning driven by their own intrinsic motivation to grow rather than extrinsic mandates from management. It is only when we empower this flexible learning approach that we unlock the full benefits of having a high-impact learning culture in the workplace. Acknowledging that learning happens in many ways beyond formal training also helps address the time constraints employees regularly cite as a barrier to development.

Progressing through the stages of L&D maturity requires a strategic combination of technology and content that evolves with your organisation's needs.  

An AI powered Learning Management System (LMS) coupled with relevant and engaging content is great for creating a compliant and future-ready workforce. It ensures that the right people are doing the right learning at the right time and provides the foundation to creating a learning culture. However, this should be built upon with opportunities to carry out on-demand learning too.  

When content is personalised to your skills or directed by your own interests the motivation to learn is high and this drives engagement and daily interaction. By integrating content with social tools, you amplify the learning further, opening up the possibilities of learning from each other. 

This connected approach transforms learning from isolated activities into a continuous experience woven into daily work. 

Ultimately, creating an impactful learning culture in the workplace is a process of normalising learning as part of employees’ everyday flow of work and weaving a learning strategy into the employee lifecycle.  

In doing so, organisations can: 

• empower their people 
• improve retention rates 
• accelerate business growth 

Moving through the stages of L&D maturity requires the right technology foundation combined with quality content. Organisations need solutions that support both compliance-driven training and employee-led development, creating a process where learning becomes embedded in daily work.