Building an L&D Strategy from the Ground Up

The Challenge

Our client is a well-established national charity dedicated to improving mental health outcomes across the UK. Operating with a lean team, a flat structure, and a significant proportion of contractors and fixed-term employees, they faced a common challenge for purpose-led organisations: how do you invest limited L&D resources for maximum impact?

• A national mental health charity had no clear L&D strategy and needed to maximise impact from a very limited budget.
• Strategic plans at senior level were not translating into measurable objectives or a clear sense of personal contribution for employees.
• Internal progression and cross‑departmental moves were rare, leaving people without visible career paths.
• Contractors and fixed‑term employees often could not access development, creating a perceived “two‑tier” workforce.
• Management development was viewed as optional by leaders, despite exit data and employee feedback highlighting gaps in support and people management capability.

The Results

• A six‑week discovery phase combined data analysis, senior leader interviews and employee focus groups to build an honest picture of the current L&D reality.
• Insights were translated into an 18‑month L&D strategy structured around five core building blocks: leadership, career growth, talent management, high performance and culture.
• The organisation received a visual L&D Strategy Pyramid, a prioritised cost/impact workstream plan and a top‑level TNA mapped across key development categories.
• The roadmap was designed specifically for a resource‑constrained charity, prioritising high‑impact, low‑cost interventions and leveraging internal expertise.
• The new strategy gave leaders a clear, transparent view of where to focus L&D investment and how to communicate the plan credibly to staff.