Ninety-four percent of employees agree that they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development, does your organisation tick the boxes?
With Learning and Development at its peak like never before, talent developers are working hard to ensure their organisation is up to date with the preferences of their modern learners. Since 2017, talent developers have used their budgets to spend more on e-learning compared to previously popular, instructor-led training. Read our previous blog for more on e-learning and the benefits it can provide your organisation.
With L&D scrapping the old and welcoming the modern and effective strategies, it is time to ask; is your organisation up to date?
How can you implement L&D in your workforce?
Understand the Skills Gap in Your Organisation
By 2020, it is projected that 35 percent of the skills demanded for jobs will change across all industries. Therefore, it is key to pursue the challenge of identifying the skills gap.
Adopt a multipronged approach
- Utilise internal skills gap assessments, monitor business KPI’s and key metrics and attend meetings with executives and senior managers are the top three ways to identify the full scope of the skills gap.
PwC’s Workforce of the Future study identified that the movement toward diverse routes of recruiting are proving to be a positive step toward closing the skills gap. Avenues include internships and developing internal academies as well as working closely with education institutions and universities.
Identify Learner Preferences
Introducing our newest workforce, Generation Z – those who do not remember a time without the internet. With 98 percent owning a smartphone and 50 percent connected online for up to 10 hours a day, this is the perfect opportunity to utilise mobile learning.
From Baby Boomers to Gen Z’s, over half of each generation feel motivation when around their colleagues at work, this represents the opportunity to encourage cross-generational collaboration in learning programs such as forums, groups and Q&A sessions.
Spare Time = Learning Time
- Current trends suggest 74 percent of employees want to learn during their spare time. Take advantage of this by providing e-learning which allows your employees to upskill in the moment, rather than waiting for in-person training. E-learning can provide relevant and up-to-date content enabling your employees to be proactive and take the initiative.
Heavy on the Comms
Do not under value email marketing
- Sixty-one percent of employees discover learning programs through email marketing
- Most workplace learning happens in the first three days of the work week, send emails at the beginning of the week to increase impact.
Promote Learning through Managers
- Seventy-five per cent of employees would complete a course their manager assigns to them.
- Capitalise on this opportunity and ensure that your employees are discovering learning programs through your leaders.
Software company, SAS have utilised a development platform, ‘Development @ SAS’ which involves interactive workshops which provide insights from team members on the importance of development as well as self-assessment tools to determine interests and strengths.
When comparing light employees, those who learn for less than one hour a week to heavy leaners, five or more hours a week, heavy learners are 48 per cent more likely to find purpose in their career, as well 47 per cent less stressed at work. So, while it may be difficult for employees to begin their learning, it can make a significant difference for employees and the organisation as a whole.
Interesting in boosting L&D in your organisation? Contact us for more information on how we can help your organisation design, develop and deliver an L&D program.
Sources:
Workplace Learning Report 2019. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report.
Our Culture 2019. SAS. Retrieved from https://www.sas.com/en_au/careers/culture.html.
Reducing the Skills Gap 2018. PwC. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com.au/ceo-agenda/ceo-survey/2018/reducing-skills-gap.html.
