Digital Transformation in Learning & Development – An Overview

• New L&D Thinking

  Many organizations have been slow to adopt upskilling, reskilling, and learning and development opportunities. But, encouragingly, the global pandemic experience of remote mass work has brought the value and importance of digital transformation into sharp focus.

  One survey found:

  • Over 80% of organizational decision-makers prioritize expanding digital learning resources and new training techniques.
  • 94% of L&D professionals say Covid-19 will force them to adopt new L&D strategies.

  If these figures reflect the thinking of business leaders in general, it’s a very positive sign. So now we’ll look at why.

• Pre-pandemic L&D

  First, let’s look at the state of upskilling and reskilling initiatives before the global pandemic.

  Consider this company’s research from early 2020:

  • At the time, most employees (65%) were actively seeking professional development opportunities on their initiative, regardless of what their employers offered (or did not offer).
  • The most sought-after professional development paths for these achievers involved hard skills that improved their technical knowledge and abilities.
  • Meanwhile, soft skills like communication were valued by 41% of employees.

  Reflecting on how self-directed development initiatives and the importance of soft skills can be linked to digital transformation initiatives. This is central to organizations that are still lagging in L&D.

• Learning and Development in A Digital Age

  McKinsey found that the success of digital transformation initiatives is primarily determined by two factors: organizational culture and behavioral challenges, such as willingness to adopt new tools or workstreams.

  Finally, here’s how L&D strategy relates to digital transformation proficiency.

  Let’s start with culture. There’s a direct link between L&D spending and positive cultural outcomes. However, retention alone could be a proxy, as 94% of employees say they’d stay longer with an employer that invested in their career growth.

  Concerning behavioral issues, employees who are actively upskilling or reskilling on their own time will embrace change rather than resist it. With all signs pointing to employees wanting more L&D opportunities, let’s hope companies have the good sense to provide them.

  Finally, L&D alone won’t solve issues like retention. Wherever that’s a problem, our advice is to compare your current pay to your competitors’, and if you haven’t, the latest salary data.

  These L&D strategy insights should help your company’s outlook in 2021 and beyond as you consider the costs and benefits of organizational investments.

Fig. The New L&D for Digital Transformation

Strategies to Transform L&D

As you prepare to embrace your organization’s transformed learning and development landscape, here are some strategies that can help you successfully lead this change.

• View education as a journey:

  Gone are the days when learning was thought to be a phase that ended once you started working. Organizations nowadays treat training and development as a continuous process with clear objectives and KPIs. Learning and applying information are made more accessible when the learning process is broken down into smaller, more structured chunks. Thanks to the digitization of training and development, online training courses and skill development through credible online platforms. Users can access data from these courses no matter where they are.

• Make Learning a Participatory Experience:

  Employees and learners must be involved in ensuring a culture of continuous learning. Allow them to select the skills and content they wish to learn and provide constructive feedback to help them improve their learning experience. For new content to be created, existing courses to be curated and verified, and a well-rounded learning process to be designed, organizations must collaborate with existing or new online learning platforms.

  Certifications from IT behemoths like Microsoft, Cisco, and Amazon certify a professional’s knowledge of a specific application or program. Please verify that your employees are aware of these certifications and prepared for them using credible and trusted online learning platforms.

• Restructure Your Failure Perspective:

  Your company must eliminate the fear of failure to make learning and growth a continuous process. Legacy organizations view the inability to achieve a goal as evidence of a method’s or person’s incompetence or ineffectiveness. On the other hand, failures must be considered opportunities to learn and improve, and employees must be taught that loss is not always bad. In some cases, a method or process that fails in one situation may be highly effective. Learners and employees must be taught how to analyze problems and draw valuable conclusions for future success.

• Strive for flexibility and agility:

  Due to the digital transformation of L&D, several online platforms offer skill development courses. Organizations must determine which platforms are trustworthy and add value to employees’ skill sets and the organization.

  Online platforms that certifying organizations have vetted are considered credible. For example, Microsoft Gold Partner is a designation given to platforms such as Koenig, indicating a reliable source for Microsoft certification preparation. Make sure the platform you choose offers self-paced learning, one-on-one learning, and a diverse range of courses relevant to your business.

• From a Social Network:

  People are more likely to learn when they realize they are not alone. Therefore, create an internal network of learners where employees can share information, learn from one another, compare where they are on their learning paths, and be inspired to continue learning. Incentives are also beneficial at this stage because they aid in engagement and team building.

• Putting Money into Innovative Solutions

  Consider mobile learning solutions, mainly offline mobile learning, so that your dispersed workforce can continue to learn even if internet access is intermittent. Immersive learning solutions such as personalized learning paths, gamification, and scenario-based learning can keep learners engaged and motivated. To support remote learners’ attention, convert high-impact classroom training to VILT, keeping in mind that the session should not last more than 30 to 45 minutes.