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L&D, historically the poor relation and the first function to cut, has in more recent times grown in providence and kudos, becoming an integral partner that provides solid development, solutions and interventions to meet everchanging skills and capability needs. When the pandemic hit and the word ‘pivot’ dominated the business lexicon, L&D, at last, gained indispensable status as a vital lynchpin between business objectives and crucial skills. But as we transition to the new working world, what does the next chapter hold?
The traditional face of L&D was to train for job competency, irrespective of sector, job description or level. But increasingly, it is about creating the environments for individuals and organisations to learn and grow. It requires knowing the current and future capability needs of the organisations, as well as how to create learning cultures that drives engagement in continued professional development. If we remain true to this statement, then organisations now have the opportunity to assess whether culture and environment allow for continual growth and development, through holistic, organic and seamless integration that is part of everyday life.
Given the current challenges, it would be easy to become consumed with the digitalisation of learning because, where learning is concerned, digitalisation is only one vehicle – an essential one for sure – but not unique. The scope of what a digital learning future could be is extensive and constantly developmental through; simulations, hackathons and gamification, which align with communication tools that support conversation – provides a very powerful and compelling platform. Indeed, it is the communication side, the ability to discuss, explore and to experience, which is the essential formula that makes the learning happen and stick. However, the big L&D conversation must start with what the culture should be, you cannot just shoehorn change in and make an announcement, you have to gain cooperation and perspective, to understand why this isn’t already part of the furniture, what has stopped this from previously happening and how could the future be different. Taking a moment to revisit self-determination theory, it essentially argues that people have three psychological needs in order to fulfil their potential – at work and in life – and to feel good about themselves; competence, relatedness and autonomy. Here, it is the role of L&D, to explore the psychological needs of people and to define the solutions then support employees to be more autonomous and self-responsible for their development, promoting accountability for personal growth. In this frame of mind, people seek information and request learning, rather than waiting to be spoon-fed.
Conducting a demographic review of L&D can reveal more understanding about how people consume learning and it demonstrates that, across the generations in work, there is disparity. For example, Gen Z – the first social generation to have grown up with the internet and digital technology in the age of rapid innovation – are primary consumers of TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat and their entire digital existence has provided them access to continuous learning. If they want to learn more about a topic, they find the information they need, consume the learning and put it directly into action. This is not so different from Millennials, but the point here is that different generations look at and consume learning differently. Digital is an enabler for this, but it isn’t a panacea and it doesn’t always fulfil the experiential element of learning, that has the most significant impact. This feedback is useful for deciding upon a digital platform and the most essential part will be to select a tool that can seamlessly integrate into people’s lives and daily activity. When learning becomes the norm and an instrumental part of day-to-day life, then the discussion about how long do employees need “off the job”, stops being an obstacle and instead, their development becomes a continuous process, which is subsequently perceived as an intrinsic link to overall organisational performance.
Right now, there are a significant number of departments spending an inordinate amount of time rebranding content to host on a central platform, because that is deemed the right approach. But for businesses with a generally younger, digital native demographic, they will be looking in other places for this information, which poses the question, is time and resources being squandered on areas that add no real value? With this in mind, research clearly shows that, when there is relatedness and an emotional connection, then the learning and the retention will be far more effective. Consequently, designers of learning content and experiences need to look at the individual nature of learning, why this learning is important in the business context and what it means to the learner as an individual.
We have all witnessed how the annual performance review has been lambasted and criticised over the past few years. But along with the hackneyed perennial review, was the annual development question; “what would you like to learn this year”? Plus the personal development sheet to ponder. If we don’t change the narrative here, organisations will struggle with adopting a learning culture. Learning is not an item delivered at you, it is in every moment of the day, where there is an opportunity for someone to do something in a different way, to learn a new skill, however large or small. It is the identification that what someone has achieved was great and to encourage them take the next step, to further push themselves to do more and to be more. Redefining the organisational approach to learning first will pay dividends, before we become lost in a digital solution. Yes, digital is an enabler, but when a function becomes all-consumed with translating content into digital format, we can easily lose sight of what employees most need and how best they learn.
