The Earning Curve: Corporate Learning Moves Up in HR Rank
By Rocky White, President and Founder, The SyN Learning Institute
Earlier this year, Deloitte released its Global Human Capital Trends for 2015.
Deloitte Human Resource Analyst Josh Bersin says leadership continues to top the chart as the perennial favorite. Not surprising, says Bersin, when only ten to 20 percent of corporations make leadership development a priority by devoting significant dollars – three to five thousand per leader – to programs, coaching and assessment.
What is surprising, however, is the move of corporate learning from number eight in priority in 2014 to number three this year. Bersin recently spoke with Jacob Morgan, author of The Future of Work, frequent Forbes contributor and host of a weekly HR podcast.
“We live in a funny world where you can find educational content anywhere you look, including rather rigorous topics. The corporate learning environment has fallen behind the consumer environment,” says Bersin, referring to video tutorials that teach everything from how to fix a coffee maker to how to give a speech.
Bersin explains that when the idea of e-learning came on the scene in 2000, no one – consumer or business leader – knew what it meant. Between you tube-type platforms and advances in smart phones and digital technology, consumers caught on to the possibilities and developed sophisticated, organized and clear instructional content. It’s now time for the learning industry to follow suit.
“The learning curve is the earning curve,” says Bersin. “If an employee falls behind in knowledge, they’re not going to succeed in their job. If an organization doesn’t offer a continuous learning environment, they will fall behind.”
Bersin expects to see a “reinvention” of corporate learning with more efficient, targeted online instruction developed and offered by companies, as well as content that is more strategic and interwoven into an overall HR plan that supports an organization’s mission.
Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends report is one of the largest longitudinal studies of talent, leadership, and HR challenges and readiness around the world. The research represents surveys and interviews with more than 3,300 business and HR leaders from 106 countries.
Deloitte’s Top Ten HR Trends for 2015:
Leadership: Why a perennial issue? Companies are struggling to develop leaders at all levels and are investing in new and accelerated leadership models.
Culture and engagement: The naked organization. Organizations are recognizing the need to focus on culture and dramatically improve employee engagement as they face a looming crisis in engagement and retention.
Learning and development: Into the spotlight. Companies are actively exploring new approaches to learning and development as they confront increasing skills gaps.
Workforce on demand: Are you ready? Companies are taking a more sophisticated approach to managing all aspects of the workforce, including the hourly, contingent, and contract workforce.
Performance management: The secret ingredient. Organizations are replacing traditional performance management with innovative performance solutions.
Reinventing HR: An extreme makeover. HR is undergoing an extreme makeover to deliver greater business impact and drive HR and business innovation.
HR and people analytics: Stuck in neutral. Too few organizations are actively implementing talent analytics capabilities to address complex business and talent needs.
People data everywhere: Bringing the outside in. HR and talent organizations are expanding their HR data strategies by harnessing and integrating third-party data about their people from social media platforms.
Reimagining Simplification of work: The coming revolution. Organizations are simplifying work environments and practices in response to information overload and increasing organization and system complexity.
Machines as talent: Collaboration, not competition. The increasing power of computers and software to automate and replace knowledge workers is challenging organizations to rethink the design of work and the skills their employees need to succeed.
The SyN Learning Institute is proud to be your learning partner. To get started on your accelerating and reinventing your learning function, contact Rocky White at ([email protected] or 913-815-1494.)
