It’s time to reimagine learning and development

The past year has been one of social, economic and digital upheaval. At the start of the pandemic the world of work was turned upside down and business priorities have changed rapidly. Against this backdrop, the need for learning and development has never been greater. Our latest ‘Learning and Skills at Work’ research with the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) provides a snapshot of the future of learning in the workplace. There are many challenges ahead for learning leaders and practitioners, and the survey results may provoke a bit of soul-searching when it comes to planning your future learning strategy. But one thing’s clear – it’s time to reimagine learning and development in your organisation.

?There’s no going back

The current crisis has likely changed the face of learning for good. Our research found that 75% of organisations had to change their learning strategy and resources in response to Covid-19 and just 18% think their learning strategy and resourcing will go back to where it was pre-pandemic. Last year saw big challenges and disruptions for businesses in every sector, but a strong thread throughout the report is the resilience and ingenuity of learning professionals as they took a look at the future of work, skills and learning. ?There are shining examples of organisations who responded at pace despite the evolving situation they were facing. For example, Co-op experienced a rapid increase in their delivery and digital offers. Their learning and development team managed to successfully onboard 5,000 new colleagues by adapting their approach to e-learning, focusing on providing people with appropriate training ‘just-in-time’. New e-learning modules were developed within two weeks.

?Shrinking budgets and nurturing skills

A third of respondents in the report saw budgets shrink and nearly everyone saw a change in their organisation’s planning and strategy around learning. However, despite this, there was an upswing in the use of digital learning technologies, with 70% of organisations seeing an increase in the use of digital or online learning solutions. With an ever-growing move towards digital working and increasing automation, it’s vital that organisations equip their employees with new skill sets. This is not just about upping technology know-how, but also about learning truly human skills needed to promote personal growth and about making work more inclusive and meaningful. That’s not to say that digital skills aren’t important though. As business leaders consider the ‘return to work’ plan in light of the government’s recent announcement, our Future of Work research shows that digital skills will be essential for on premise and digital hybrid work to be successful.

It’s clear that preparing for the future means that two very different skill sets must be integrated: creativity, problem-solving and teamwork need to merge with technical skills in areas such as cybersecurity, data, cloud and AI (artificial intelligence). When it comes to honing your digital edge, you need to focus on achieving digital fluency across your business at all levels rather than mere digital literacy. This will require not only time, energy and resources but strong leadership and a far-sighted strategy.

?Co-creation and connectivity

Nurturing relationships and connections to other human beings is more important than ever so it’s imperative to build the right culture within the business. It’s important for leaders to understand that L&D is a strategic lever for growth. Find senior role models who not only ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk’ and involve them development of the learning strategy. And at an organisational level, make sure that line managers, as well as business leaders, are supporting and encouraging their teams and peers by helping them to make time for – and to prioritise - learning. Sage is a brilliant example of where this has succeeded. As the organisation changed how it operates, pivoting to a software-as-a-service business, the learning team focused on building leadership skills at senior level as well as driving a continued focus on leadership and good management practices at line manager level. Over 90% of Sage leaders now have ‘license to lead’ after undergoing the programme. A contributing factor to its success was how the company fostered a culture of belonging where all colleagues feel confident, trusted and listened to.

?As our Care to do Better report reveals, the Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the fundamental human need for employability and growth. The crisis has not only created an opportunity for businesses to rethink, reinvent and reimagine themselves, but how, where and when people will work. Leaders need to rethink how learning is used to handle disruption in work and transition to future roles or employers.?They will need to build cultures that value continuous learning and new skilling and create space for their L&D team to experiment with new learning methods, breaking down silos and enabling collaboration to solve business challenges. And while some organisations are well on the way to building their new creative and resilient work environment, no matter how far along you are in your L&D journey there’s a question every learning professional needs to ask: how will you continue to build better learning for the future of work in your organisation?

You can read the full ‘Learning and Skills at Work’ report here.