In my role as Business Development Manager for Bray Leino Learning, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with many talented people from the Learning & Development world. I believe this dialogue, in combination with my own research into learning trends, allows me to gather an accurate insight into the L&D field.
Along with the great work that goes on within L&D, I do find there can be a hesitancy to innovate and embrace the new technologies that are now available.
I was recently reading Andrew Jacob’s excellent blog where a similar point was raised; that L&D’s failure to innovate is a result of 4 factors:
- Have they done it before?
- What others do
- The space allocated or the technology/resources procured specifically for L&D
- A mirroring of the education system where development is measured by attendance rather than the value of the learning activity
I found myself in agreement with Andrew; my greatest frustration is when L&D limit themselves to what’s been done before and ‘best practice’ - shying away from innovation.
No Risk = No Innovation
To a large extent, I can understand this hesitancy. With innovation comes risk - an organisation wants proof that it’s worked before and it will work for them before investment… and they want to see a return on this investment (but ROI is a can of worms that I won’t open just now!).
This has got me thinking - putting risk aside and with one eye on future learning trends, what elements would I use to build my ideal L&D strategy?
The definition of my ideal learning strategy is “to provide each individual with access to a personalised learning plan in line with their role and career goals – giving them the support they need, where and when they need it and delivered via a medium that is suited to their preferred learning style”.
With this in mind, I will be writing a series of blogs where I will introduce the elements of my ideal L&D strategy, discuss the reasons behind their inclusion and the factors that have guided my thinking. These elements will include…
- The Importance of the Curator
- Social Learning and Business/Social Collaboration Software
- Mentoring/Reverse Mentoring
- Gamification and eLearning
- Virtual Learning
- LMS/Delivery Platforms
- Generational Learning Styles
- Personal Branding
- Instructor-led Training
- MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
- Personal Responsibility for Learning
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you agree with the 4 factors? What would go into your ideal learning strategy? Follow me on Twitter and continue the discussion.
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