One-day workshops, meetings with expensive external consultants, traditional classroom-based courses—none of these delivers sustainable results. They all fail to take into consideration the need for personalized learning in employee learning and development (L&D).
Over the past decade or so—and especially during the pandemic—there has been exponential growth in the number of people who work remotely at least once per week. As teams now settle into permanently fully remote or hybrid work arrangements, a much-needed transformation in traditional learning and development is underway. The goal of this shift is to better support people in how they now learn today, particularly as reskilling, upskilling, cross training, and internal mobility continue to shape companies’ hiring and development practices.
In one recent study, nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated “no opportunities for advancement” as a significant factor in their decisions to quit their jobs.1 Because the business world is still struggling with a talent shortage, organizations are looking for ways to grow and retain the employees they have. With this in mind, many employers will look to build their workforces through internal mobility programs tied to reskilling initiatives and to engage contingent talent instead of hiring externally. In order to implement and scale employee L&D programs that put the learner at the center, companies should be sure those programs incorporate three critical elements.
Internal Advocacy
Over the last few years, companies have suddenly and overwhelmingly begun relying on IT to help meet evolving business needs, and IT is now regarded as a key component of success in a post-COVID-19 workplace. Today, the business world is increasingly relying on technology to deliver a better employee experience, which includes improved and expanded L&D opportunities. This shift will lead to greater agility, power digital transformation, and drive customer centricity.
L&D facilitators and HR must now communicate openly and collaborate with IT teams and leaders across the organization to identify pain points, business issues, and key growth areas, and then develop learning programs in response to that information. This ongoing two-way communication increases internal alignment and employee engagement, thus ensuring that the organization is meeting actual needs (and not perceived needs) and encouraging employee buy-in.
With IT support, companies can better identify individuals with the skill sets and passion to help drive program adoption and active participation. Those employees should be empowered to step forward and drive action in executing changes that deliver value for the business.
Similar to the client advocacy arm of marketing departments, employees can function as internal advocates for L&D programs. They can show the benefits of such programs and promote the adoption of new systems and platforms. They can serve as mentors for others in upskilling programs and provide support outside of formal training sessions. These are the people who can help to empower employees, motivate colleagues to participate, foster greater agency, and give others a voice.
Investment in internal change agents yields positive results that ripple across all talent in the organization. As teams become more efficient and support other colleagues in upskilling and adopting new tools and techniques, organizational transformation can happen faster.
Personalized, On-Demand Programs
The new demands of hybrid and remote work require organizations to be much more intentional about learning design. Employee expectations around more human-centered learning are creating a need for more personalization within L&D. At the same time, leaders must be proactive and help distributed employees learn from one another despite the distances among them, create innovative approaches to non-classroom learning, and ensure that learning is accessible in all locations, in multiple formats, and to all employees.
Instead of the outdated and rigid model of an onsite classroom, learning environments should be part of employees’ daily workflow—existing at their desks, on their mobile phones, or from wherever they work. Employees are much more likely to acquire and retain information when they decide on the timing and place of their training, not when the schedule and location are determined by the needs of a large group class.
Continual Reinforcement
Any workplace learning (whether it takes the form of a formal L&D program, a mentorship, or some other opportunity) requires continual reinforcement for it to stick enough to gain traction. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through formal recognition. If a program is measured by certain key performance indicators, learning targets, or engagement activity tracking, celebrating milestones as they are achieved can increase motivation, excitement, curiosity, and confidence in trying new things. It also ensures that progress is measured, setbacks are addressed quickly, and failures are seen as important opportunities to learn and make progress toward a solution. Fostering a culture that celebrates learning encourages proactive upskilling across the organization and instills a growth mindset for all employees.
The needs of today’s market for employee learning and development continues to evolve. In this increasingly complex work environment, individualized, adaptive training journeys (including tailored and scalable micro-courses with built-in real-world practice opportunities) will help people thrive. They will empower individuals and teams to be agile, innovative, and motivated by company goals and new ways of reaching those goals.
