As humans we have an innate need to grow and develop. We are born curious and we are hard-wired to learn. And we know from our research, that the ability to grow at work is a key feature of our best experiences.
But it is often the case that well-intentioned workplace learning and development interventions fall short. For example:
- Even when training is liked by participants, only 37% of it led to learned new skills, just 13% was relevant to the workplace and only 3% had an impact on the company (Association of Training & Development)
- Up to 80% of new skills are lost within 1 week of formal training if not used (ATD)
- $13.5m is lost per year per 1000 employees, due to ineffective training (Grovo)
- Only 20% of training shows transfer of learning or impact a company’s bottom line (Tannenbaum)
We know that employees want to grow and develop, and that organisations are actively trying to facilitate this, but something just isn’t working. We need to rethink our fundamental understanding of L&D and how we approach growth at work. It seems that somewhere along the way, when it comes to learning at work, we have forgotten some simple truths.
As psychologists, our approach has always continually evolved, as it is informed by evidence-based research. And the Pandemic offers us a unique opportunity to do things differently.
We believe that it’s possible to create a values-based environment, where employee engagement and productivity are both at an optimum level. A lofty ambition? Possibly but as we know, all sustainable change is the result of continuous adaptation. Over time, tiny tweaks create a profound impact.
We need to change the narrative and start to intentionally design a desired learning experience for our people, rather than relying on isolated training interventions. We need to consider:
- Fertile Soil
The business is responsible for creating the right environment for their people to learn and grow. So many learning interventions fail because the environment is not set up to support application of new ideas or skills. - Clear vision
There needs to be clearly defined outcomes for both the individual and organisation, which work in harmony with each other. - Embedded Learning
When we awaken peoples’ innate curiosity and desire to learn and grow, it becomes part of their everyday activities. Learning and Development training stops being an isolated, disconnected experience and instead becomes embedded in the flow of work.
We have been working with clients over the past few years to help them bring these concepts to life and design a learning experience to great effect.
Using the methodology outlined in Emma and Belinda’s recent book, Employee Experience by Design, this approach essentially involves intentionally creating learning experiences that are human-centred. This approach borrows tools and thinking from both positive psychology and design-thinking to create learning experiences which are right for employees, the organisation, and for the work they do.
