Busting workplace learning myths and aligning expectations

Dive Brief:

There are some big myths concerning learning in the workplace, such as the belief that employees don't have time to learn, traditional methods of learning are becoming obsolete, and the learning department owns the responsibility for employee skills development — says Todd Tauber, VP of product marketing for Degreed and contributor to Chief Learning Officer.
A webinar poll that CLO conducted this year advised that 20% of learning leaders said employees actively engage with learning and development resources once a week, but a Brandon Hall Group survey said that 61% of these same leaders expect employees to seek out learning resources. A Bersin by Deloitte report advised that 88% of learning professionals think employees just don't care or have the time for learning at work.
But, from the perspective of employees, learning is a focus of much of their efforts. The CLO poll advised that employees spend 3.3 hours each week learning on their own and 37 minutes on employer-provided training. 75% said that had invested money in independent learning over the last year. They also said that they would take more time to participate in their company’s L&D offerings, if they could receive some kind of credit or recognition for doing so.

Dive Insight:

Employees also prefer to engage in learning on demand. The CLO survey showed that 70% of employees take annual live, virtual, or eLearning modules most often from employers. According to another survey conducted by CEB, only about one-in-five employees rely on employers for learning, as they are more apt to conduct research or reach out to a manager or colleague for help first.

According to Tauber, there seem to be multiple misconceptions about L&D in the workplace. Expectations from learning leaders, management, and employees are not in sync. He says that the CLO survey did reveal that learning and development departments are revamping their efforts to help engage more employees in workplace learning.

Tauber says, "More than 60 percent the people CLO polled said they are already rethinking their learning strategies to adapt to the expectations and demands of today's workers. Almost half said they are investing in more modern content (40 percent) or new technology (48 percent)." Tauber recommends that learning leaders need to better connect with the workforce in order to align learning strategies with employee needs.