Learning at the point of need: 3 essential aspects

I started my morning today with reading LinkedIn’s insightful 2018 Workplace Learning Report, based on a survey of over 1,200 Talent Development managers and 2,800 other professionals.

It’s great to see that the industry is truly recognising the importance of soft skills.

“Talent developers say that training for soft skills is their key focus for 2018. In the age of automation, adaptability rules. While maintaining technical fluency will be important, demand for soft skills will continue to accelerate. Industry experts and organizational partners agree that this should be the top focus for talent development in 2018.” – LinkedIn 2018 Workplace Learning Report

What is even more interesting is that the study shows that 58% of employees prefer to learn at their own pace and 49% prefer to learn at their own point of need. These numbers together with ‘getting employees to make time for learning’ being identified as the number one challenge for talent development in 2018 highlight the gap between employees’ needs and existing training solutions.

It is obvious that digital learning can bridge that gap in a way that no other type of training can, but how come many of the existing platforms fall short of expectations? In my view, here are three of the main L&D technology pitfalls:

1. It’s hard to use.

We live in the instant gratification age. People are used to getting answers within a matter of seconds. Digital learning solutions need to make sure employees can get to the content they need within just a few clicks.

2. It’s not fast enough.

This goes beyond the time needed to access the content. Employees don’t want to wade through heaps of irrelevant information before they find what they are looking for. They also want to be able to implement what they’ve learned almost immediately. Having to read a 200-page book or attend a webinar in two weeks’ time doesn’t really tick that box.

3. It’s not practical or useful.

Employees want to learn, and they want to be able to use what they learn. It’s as simple as that. Rehashed content by non-experts or information that is too theoretical puts employees off more than anything else.

“Talent development professionals are most excited about digital learning solutions that can support quick takeaways, immediately solve needs, and provide great engaging content.” – LinkedIn 2018 Workplace Learning Report

These three points might seem obvious but think of the e-learning solutions you’ve come across that are actually easy, quick and useful. I bet you can count them on one hand. But for those L&D professionals that do get right there are some exciting times ahead…

“94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development.” – LinkedIn 2018 Workplace Learning Report

Thomas Buus Madsen is the COO and co-founder of Bookboon, the world’s largest e-book publisher for employee effectiveness and soft skills. Through Bookboon’s aim of keeping all business e-books under 50 pages, it caters for time-poor employees that want to improve themselves in the workplace.

This article first appeared on LinkedIn Pulse.