Article: L&D in 2014 - The Game Changers

Learning & Development

L&D in 2014 - The Game Changers

This year will see adoption and innovation of platforms such as micro learning, MOOCs & gamified onboarding
L&D in 2014 - The Game Changers

The role of the Learning and Development function has evolved over the last few years. The hyper-connectedness and changing needs of the business have placed the learning function at a pivotal point within the organization. Back in 2011, the focus was on informal learning and asynchronous e-learning programs delivered through LMS.

In 2012, the Training Manager evolved from being a manager of teams who designed and deployed content on behalf of their internal clients to that of a supply chain manager of knowledge. L&D teams became internal consultants with much of the design and delivery outsourced to vendors through preferred supplier arrangements.

2013 saw social media integration within training. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were considered for corporate learning. Emergence of enterprise social networks & mobile learning becoming mainstream were also trends to watch. While these trends surfaced last year, I believe 2014 will be the year which will see adoption and innovation around these platforms.

The L&D leadership league half day event, which was organized last month in Mumbai, focused on these themes and I had the opportunity to share some implementation ideas with an audience of over 50 CLOs. A poll that we ran on social networks four days prior to the event revealed interesting results: Here are some implementation ideas that organizations could consider around the said platforms:

Enterprise Social Networks (ESN)

  1. Create virtual learning communities focused on domains/behaviors/themes
  2. Try corporate ESNs like Chatter, Yammer, Jive, Socialcast or free social communities like Edmodo.com
  3. Let L&D / HR champion adoption & build use cases
  4. Incorporate ESN as part of pre, in & post workshop activities
  5. Share resources, links, files, polls, videos etc.
  6. Encourage employees to work & learn loud

Micro Learning

  1. Share daily tips, instructions, articles, podcasts or videos on ESN
  2. Post quiz, polls & open ended surveys
  3. Run tweet chat like events on your ESN for brainstorming, idea generation etc.
  4. Managers can participate in external tweet chat events & create their own external personal learning networks

MOOCs & Online Learning Marketplaces

  1. Add MOOCs to the continuing education policy
  2. R&R for employees completing MOOCs on signature tracks
  3. Crowd-source recommendations on the enterprise social network
  4. Track MOOC aggregators (Top-classes.com etc.)
  5. Provide employees’ access to learning marketplaces like udemy.com
  6. Blend MOOCs within learning tracks / journeys
  7. Blend MOOCs with some off line interaction & Push MOOC notifications via LMS

Social & gamified on-boarding

  1. Create an online orientation group on the enterprise social network
  2. Use Video to introduce leadership & create engaging learning content
  3. New hire group could also serve as a central repository for new hire information
  4. Organize tweet-chat like sessions within the new hire group. Invite leaders to participate
  5. Use gamification platforms like Wheeldo.com to make assessments fun & social
  6. Measure the time to competency to get an ROI

In summary

Leveraging technology for learning is about connecting learners. Good learning is device agnostic & in 2014, learning leaders should invest time in building the 21st century digital skills within their enterprise. ‘Buy the technology but build the behaviour’ is clearly the way to go.

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Topics: Learning & Development, #PMRoundtables

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