“What is dangerous is not to evolve.”- Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com
“We play the role of facilitators and motivators more than anything else.” Janice Burns, Chief Learning Officer, MasterCard
“Put the support structure in place to make (learning) happen and then get out of the way.” Karen May, VP of People Development, Google
Do you consume content now the same way you did five years ago? 10 years ago? Chances are good the answers are no and no.
Learning used to happen at designated points in time. Just like the lines between home and work used to be very defined, now they blur together … thanks to technology.
Similarly, the lines between where learning and development (L&D) start and stop have blurred. Your employees learn off and on every day. Development is not a “check the box” activity that takes place at designated intervals.
Every time someone has a question, they use a resource to find the answer:
- Ask a colleague
- Reach out to their manager or a mentor
- Search online, either internally or outside of the company
- Use an app
- Watch a video
- Read a blog
Rarely when someone seeks to build new skills is their first thought, “I should talk to the training department about that.”
In a study published last week by degreed.com, the headline reads “Traditional L&D is not obsolete, it’s just incomplete.”
The function has significant challenges ahead. Consumer habits have changed so dramatically in recent years the impact the workplace has been unavoidable.
Key points made in the study by degreed include:
- If you really want to build a culture of learning, you need it all: Formal and informal, job training and career development, L&D and self-service
- Formal L&D-led training is still a valuable part of how workers learn… just not frequently
- Three of four employees invested their own money ($339 on average) in career-related development in the last 12 months
- While 85% of people said they learn at work, 67% do so on personal time and 18% learn during travel or commutes
The biggest conclusion for L&D department is very clear:
Learning follows the path of least resistance. Speed, simplicity and easy access matter most.
How will you advocate for change in your organization to meet your employees where they really are today and help them transform into who your organization needs them to become tomorrow?
Betsy Winkler is a Partner at PeopleResults. She can be reached on Twitter @BetsyWinkler1. Sign up to receive the PeopleResults blog at Current.
