Learning at Work is Broken

There's a major problem in our work culture. It hurts business and prevents employees from reaching their full potential. Learning at work is broken. Across the country, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year on employee training--and most of it is a waste.

A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review reported (1): 70% of employees claim they don't have mastery of the skills needed to do their jobs, only 25% believe training measurably improves performance, and only 12% apply new skills learned in learning and development (L&D) programs to their jobs.

This is far from an optimal state of operation. But what causes these problems with learning in our workforce? The answer isn't simple. There's a combination of factors at play, both causing the issue and further complicating it. But at the core of the problem is the simple fact that our work environments do not take into consideration how the human mind learns, retains, and grows.

One of the largest reasons learning at work is broken is the forgetting curve. Did you know that without proper follow-up and assessments, some 90% of new skills are lost within a year? (2) 

CHANGE

In its most simplified form: learning is broken at work because it ignores the way the human mind was made to function. It's no person's fault they're apt to forget 90% of what they learn within a year. It's simply biology. Thankfully, the solution is simple. Employee learning and development initiatives must shift toward practical, efficient methods aligned with what science and statistics on learning tell us. So, what are the best ways to learn and retain information? Most sources have all drawn similar conclusions.

MAKE TRAINING RELEVANT

As the Harvard Business Review reported, employees want to learn things that will benefit them. So, how can you shift the conversation away from corporate growth and large scale benefit to employee growth and benefits? The organization's gains will follow suit, but employees--the boots on the ground--need to be all-in and on board from the very start. Seeing how they can grow professionally from what your trainings offer, can work wonders in increasing L&D efficiency.

ENCOURAGE TEACHING TO LEARN

How often are your employees involved in training? Are they active participants or passive attendees? One is obviously more effective than the other. Involve your employees in the training process. This might require extra planning or spending time to train one employee before others. However, the protégé effect is real. Elisabeth Stock, CEO and co-founder of PowerMyLearning (3) in NY says there's few better ways to teach, than to have students involved in the teaching.

Peers respect peers. Additionally, co-workers naturally communicate with each other in ways far more fluid and efficient than upper management. Think about how you can involve employees in your D&L initiatives. When employees are involved in the process, they--and their peers--take ownership. Ownership directly correlates to memory potency and longevity.

CLEARLY, THIS REQUIRES A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH

Reskilling and upskilling will continue to be important in the workforce. Especially if companies want to thrive against the raging, unpredictable tides of change. But there isn't a magic catchall. There's no one or two things a company can do to stay on top of effective employee training that works. The approach needs to be versatile and broad (4) to best affect the most employees possible.

Don't resolve to be reactive, creating solutions and skill sets to share with your organization only as problems arise. It also isn't very beneficial to be predictive. You could waste countless hours and dollars in trying to predict what the next major hurdles will be for your organization. 50% of HR leaders think prediction is the best solution to cope with future needed skills. But employees apply little of the new skills they learn from organizations using predictive approaches.

Instead of worrying about what new skills and knowledge must be taught in the future, focus on adjacent skill sets. Think of your current pool of employee talent as one you can grow and invest in, starting with the existing foundation, not laying new bricks.

CONCLUSION

Biologically, our minds work best when we care about what we're learning (the less forced and more personal the better), we get involved with the learning process, feel our time is being valued, and understand when and where we can directly apply what we've learned--with relative immediacy.

When all these things are considered and regular positive reinforcement is given, employee training and other L&D programs are vastly more efficient. Instead of employees meeting requirements on a training checklist, they will naturally grow and develop their skills--leading them and your organization to thrive.

SOURCES: 

1) hbr.org/2019/10/where-companies-go-wrong-with-learning-and-development

2) elearningindustry.com/forgetting-curve-combat 

3) www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-24-want-students-to-remember-what-they-learn-have-them-teach-it