Overcoming the 5 Biggest Challenges to L&D Adoption in the Modern Workplace

I have been waiting to talk about this for a while, but after almost 500 meetings about this, I feel that I can share a bit of what I've learned:

For the past few years, I've had countless (not really, I've been counting it) conversations with HRBPs, L&D specialists, team leaders, business owners, and even CEOs about how to enhance their teams' wellness and performance.

During these discussions, we often talked about Mindvalley and the benefits of having a single destination for personal growth, meditations and community.

Many of these individuals became our members and experienced transformational changes and decided to share it with their employees and colleagues.

However, I noticed a recurring issue:

Despite having access to top-notch learning and development platforms, many employees still don't take advantage of them.

Which is a paradox to me. I believe that work should be a mix between the application of current talents and the process of shaping new ones.

I like to picture that organizations are the playground for professionals throughout their careers.

So why people are not using the tools / platforms that are given to them?

In this article, I'd like to explore some of the possible reasons behind this phenomenon and share some insights on how to overcome them.

It will mean the world to me if you can share your comments at the end.

There could be several reasons why people don't use the platforms provided by their companies to improve themselves:

1?? Lack of Awareness:

Employees may not be aware of the existence of such platforms or the resources available on them. The company may need to increase the visibility of these platforms and provide information and training on why and how to find and use them.

Your communication channels, weekly meetings, team leaders should be a part of your implementation strategy.

It's gotta be a collective effort in alignment with your business goals. Getting your People strategy aligned with your most recent investment in L&D is key for the success of any platform implementation.

2?? Time Constraints:

Employees may feel that they do not have enough time to engage in learning and development activities due to their busy work schedules. In this case, the company may need to provide more flexibility in terms of when and where employees can access the platforms.

I remember this one CEO of a 60 people company mentioning to me that he joked but meant it on their general meeting: "If you feel like you don't have the time, don't you worry about it. Picture me saying that I am paying you to use Mindalley while you're at work. I am saying this because I know it's only going to take less than 20 min a day."

I'm not saying you should do that, but...

Can we agree that this team may have felt like it was important to give it a shot? That they could be comfortable to spend some time investing on themselves while at work? That working on themselves is a part of the work they should do?

I think so.

3?? Lack of Motivation:

Some employees may not see the value in using these platforms and may not be motivated to engage in learning and development activities.

The company may need to communicate the benefits of these platforms and provide incentives to encourage participation.

One effective strategy is to incorporate gamification and reward systems to enhance engagement and create a sense of friendly competition.

Also, consider implementing a book club-style format, with meetings scheduled on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

This approach allows individuals to learn from each other's perspectives and elevate one another within the organization.

The key is to create "tribes" of like-minded individuals who are motivated to grow and learn together. Empower members to become tribe facilitators, you'll be surprised with the results.

By fostering a sense of #community and #accountability, organizations can increase participation in learning and development initiatives.

4?? Content Relevance:

The content available on the platforms may not be relevant to the employees' job roles, career aspirations or personal challenges. The company may need to ensure that the content is tailored to the employees' needs and interests.

Skills sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015. By 2027, this number is expected to double.

Speaking of relevance, there's no denying that AI is a hot topic right now, and "prompt engineering" has become a buzzword in many industries. Your organization may have been exploring ways to leverage AI to optimize workloads or automate certain tasks, which is undoubtedly crucial in today's fast-paced environment.

However, as we prioritize the adoption of new technologies, it's essential to remember that our people are the ones driving our success.

(Let that last part sync in for a moment)

It's crucial to take care of our employees and ensure they have the skills and support they need to thrive.

I like to say that Mindvalley is on the Life Skills business, rather than hard or soft skills. Check our programs to learn why.

Before we wrap up...

A friendly reminder to fill out the poll if you haven't already done so. You should be able to find it easily by visiting my profile, or just check the comments section.

I'm curious to hear from you which reason you believe is the most impactful when it comes to low engagement among team members.

It's worth noting that while we've covered the top reasons why employees may not be utilizing learning and development platforms, there are additional challenges organizations may face, such as technology-related issues. If your team is struggling with...

5?? Technology Challenges:

Some of your employees may face technical challenges while using different platforms, such as difficulty accessing them or navigating the interface.

In this case, your vendor needs to provide technical support, or you should work on providing them with training to help employees overcome these challenges.

And last but not least, feedback is more than welcome, so your L&D partner learns how they can better support you.

To keep in mind:

It is important for companies to understand the reasons why employees may not be using the learning and development platforms provided to them and take steps to address these issues.

By doing so, they can create a culture of continuous learning and development that benefits both the employees and the organization.

Would you add anything else? ???

???? Please, share with me in the comments one insight you got from this, and I'll be excited to learn from you.

I hope this helped you to begin working on improving the ROI you initially expected from that L&D platform you got a while back. ??

Today’s leading organizations know something about their employees that most others don’t.

It’s a fact that gives them a tremendous advantage over their competitors, and that’s captured in one simple phrase:

“Mindset matters.”

Learn more about Mindvalley Busines and book my team for a quick call this week.

There is a long way to go, but we're keen to develop the best platform for your team's personal transformation.

References:

• 2023 Workplace Learning Report