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Employee training and development is top of mind for many human resources teams that want to overcome skills gaps, improve employee performance, and future-proof their organization. Finding the right talent to lead this initiative can be challenging, but asking effective interview questions to assess each candidate’s knowledge, skills, and work experience can help.

Whether you’re making your first hire or growing your team, here are 10 interview questions for learning and development professionals to get you started:

1. Tell me about the most successful L&D program you’ve run.

Asking candidates to share an accomplishment provides valuable information about their past performance and potential for future success. It also creates an opportunity for candidates to showcase their abilities and strengths, which can boost their confidence and engagement throughout the job interview process.

Make sure you learn about the candidate’s specific role in the program and how they contributed to its success. While teamwork is an admirable quality, details about the candidate’s role and responsibilities can help you better determine their level of impact and expertise so you can give credit where it’s due.

2. Tell me about a time you implemented a new L&D strategy or technology.

Effective talent development programs are constantly evolving to meet your organization’s and team members’ needs. Asking candidates about new strategies and tools they’ve implemented can demonstrate their ability to grow and fine-tune your L&D program as needed. For example, expanding training methods to include things like e-learning, role-playing, mentoring, and seminars can appeal to different learning styles and encourage more team members to participate.

Ask follow-up questions as needed to learn how your candidate determined the need for a new strategy or solution, attained stakeholder buy-in, planned implementation, and encouraged employee adoption.

3. Tell me about an L&D program or job training you led that failed.

Everyone fails sometimes. Failure is often a sign that someone isn’t afraid to try new things — and it can provide a valuable learning experience.

Ask your candidates to tell you about a time they’ve failed at work. Pay attention to how they knew their initiative was failing, how they addressed it, and what they learned from it. If they don’t share those details, ask for them so you can gain a full understanding of the situation and learn more about their adaptability and problem-solving abilities.

4. How would you encourage a culture of learning at this company?

Talent development is more important than ever. Skills sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015 and this number is expected to double by 2027. Continuous learning can help your organization overcome current and anticipated skills gaps so you can maintain a proficient team.

Ask your L&D candidates how they would improve learner engagement and cultivate a learning culture at your organization. Try to tease out specific strategies that have been successful for them in the past and new ideas they’d like to incorporate into their playbook.

5. How do you stay current on L&D trends and best practices?

Exceptional L&D professionals understand that their own growth and development are key to staying at the forefront of their field and effectively supporting employee learning needs. They recognize that continuous learning allows them to bring fresh perspectives, innovative practices, new technology, and the latest industry trends into their work.

Find out what your candidates do to stay current, asking for specific examples of how they’ve applied new ideas or techniques in their work. This can give you better insight into their learning mindset, competencies, and ability to transfer knowledge into practical solutions.

6. How do you see AI fitting into the role of L&D practitioners?

AI is a hot topic. Many L&D practitioners are already using AI in their daily work and it has the potential to transform workplace learning. For example, AI can be used for everything from content creation and learning program communication to adaptive development plans and skills gap analysis.

Learn how your candidates are embracing this technology, how they intend to use it, and whether they can use it responsibly. Candidates who feel comfortable harnessing AI can help you build a more efficient, effective L&D function — and build training programs to help your entire company do the same.

7. How do you ensure equity and inclusion in L&D programs?

People from historically marginalized communities don’t typically advance at the same pace as their colleagues. For example, women in the U.S. hold nearly half (48%) of entry-level positions, but only a quarter (26%) of C-suite roles.

Professional development can give more of your team members the opportunity for career advancement — but it has to be equitable and inclusive.

Ask your candidates what they do to ensure everyone has access to development opportunities and feels empowered to take them. This should go beyond gender and racial equality. For instance, people with learning disabilities, people with hearing and vision impairment, and remote employees should all have access to appropriate learning opportunities.

8. Tell me about a time you worked with a cross-functional team on employee training.

Employee training needs differ by organization and may include onboarding, sales training, compliance training, skill development, and leadership development. Building and deploying these training programs can require L&D professionals to work cross-functionally with other departments, managers, and internal subject matter experts.

Learn about your candidates’ experience working with cross-functional teams and how they’ve divided responsibilities to design and deliver effective training and development programs.

This question can be more specific if you’re focused on a particular area. For example, you might ask the candidate how they’ve partnered with recruiters and hiring managers on new hire training if that’s a focus area for your organization. 

9. How do you measure the success of L&D programs?

Analyzing the impact of talent development initiatives is crucial to ensure alignment with organizational goals, identify areas for improvement, and quantify return on investment.

Ask your candidates how they measure the success and value of L&D programs. Ideally, they go beyond traditional learning and development metrics like course completion rates to also include things like ramp-up time, employee retention, and internal mobility. These key performance indicators enable you to tie learning outcomes to overall business success.

10. What do you like most about working in L&D?

A passion for learning can be infectious. When your talent development team has a genuine enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge, learning new skills, and exploring different perspectives, it can influence your other team members to do the same.

Make sure the candidates are applying for your L&D role for the right reasons by asking what they like most about this line of work. Their response can help you gauge their motivations and assess their alignment with company values.

Final thoughts: Interview questions for learning and development professionals should match your organizational needs

Every organization has its own specific requirements when it comes to learning and development, such as industry-specific skills, company values, and strategic priorities. While these interview questions are a great starting point to assess your candidates’ competencies, they should be tailored to fit your unique needs. Only then can you find the candidate who’s best suited to make an impact at your organization.

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