Dive Brief:
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As employers seek to improve their training programs by making them both fun and productive, they’re focusing on four key areas, says Gwen Moran, contributing to Fast Company. These areas include: choosing the right format, respecting the time of employees, making learning more interactive, and gaining management buy-in.
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A 2015 report from Training magazine indicated that while instructor-led training makes up 46% of all corporate training efforts, new methods and technology are replacing this to improve satisfaction and participating levels from employees.
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Roy V.H. Pollock, PhD, CLO at The 6Ds Company and author of ‘The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results’, told Moran candidly, “What is changing, but albeit much too slowly, is thinking much more about the whole learning ecosystem and what has to happen before people go to training, what has to happen after training.”
Dive Insight:
Moran’s article is spot on when it comes to understanding the motivating factors of employees who are eager for better learning opportunities at work. Blended learning and on demand micro-learning are the preferred formats, replacing instructor led classroom sessions. She shared advice from two leaders in the learning market who back this up. Leslie D. Ciborowski, founder and CEO of TrainSmart, Inc. emphasized the importance of catering learning to the needs of employees, and their learning styles. Dr. Pollock mentioned that the bigger picture of the entire learning process needs to be honored.
The future of learning will be determined and led by the demands of employees in their thirst for knowledge. Companies can embrace new technology and learning methods to ensure their workforces are engaged in learning and have the skills needed to remain competitive.
