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)
Micro Learning
MOOCs & Online Learning Marketplaces
Social & gamified on-boarding
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.