The writing is on the wall: the way organisations learn currently is under the microscope, some feel it’s broken and there’s a need to fix it.  The signs have been there for some time – the massive changes that have swept through organisations over the past few decades have brought major disruption to just about every aspect of business.

A combination of factors – including the impact of technology, the changing nature of work and evolving management theory – have left organisations struggling to keep up.  Along the way, numerous organisations have taken their eyes off the ball in regards to developing and nurturing their people. In many cases it’s been because they haven’t known how to or they’ve just resorted to old methods that no longer deliver results.

In past blogs, we’ve explored some of the key disruptions and challenges we face in the exciting, fast-changing world of organisational development.  But let’s step back and look at some of the challenges which have left many organisations struggling to implement effective workplace learning strategies.

Disruption, disruption everywhere  

As we all know there are many disruptors impacting everyday life and workplaces, and they are mostly interconnected.

The most obvious is technology that is now ubiquitous, mobile, accessible and available to all.  This mass impact has meant organisations no longer have as much control over workplace learning and   need to take on the role of coaches and curators of relevant information to achieve business objectives.  

While probably a result of the Global Financial Crisis, the rise of the gig economy has also been spurred by rapidly changing technology.  This significant labour market shift characterised by the growth of short-term contracting at the expense of permanent positions, is increasing transience and providing another knotty problem for organisational development. 

Commonly used learning models are also being challenged.  In a previous post we looked at the 70:20:10 learning model and asked whether it’s become too prescriptive and simplistic in the modern workplace environment.  You can read the full report here.

An increasing spectre in the middle distance, and getting closer, is automation, machine learning and AI – once considered science fiction these are now “science fact”.

Whether you feel this to be an opportunity or threat, automation has stripped away a significant number of “blue collar” jobs that can now be done by machines and robots, and artificial intelligence is arguably on the cusp of doing the same to a vast amount of “white collar” positions currently occupied by predominantly analytical and structured thinkers.

This transformation means organisations and employees alike need to consider a future where a different way of thinking is needed.  With workers’ roles shifting to becoming increasingly focused on “whole brain” skill-sets, it is inevitable that what’s effective in the workplace learning realm will also need to evolve.

We are having a Think Tank to discuss this question - we intend for this to be the first event of a series about workplace learning and what needs to be done to help businesses to be ready for the future of work - Register here!

The impact on workplace learning

The upheaval in the workplace has left those responsible for organisational development struggling to catch up with the impact.  They are often at a loss when it comes to figuring out how to implement a workplace learning strategy that will add the most value in their vastly changed organisations.

A report released earlier this year by Ambient Insight highlighted growing dissatisfaction and frustration among learning and development professionals.

While modern technology provides ever-improving platforms for education, revenues for e-learning are forecast to drop considerably over the next four years, as demand for self-paced products falls.

The question lies in how can the organisational development profession continue to play a leading role in this pressured and disrupted environment?

So what’s gone wrong?

As Jay Cross pointed out back in 2012, corporate training “needs to get back in step with the times” after failing to keep up with the speed of change.

As Cross put it: “What worked twenty years ago doesn’t work well in the social, always-on, networked world of business we now inhabit.”

Ironically, as the pace of workplace change increases, so does the need for learning and development – along with the level of difficulty experienced by those in L&D roles and others tasked with delivering on organisational development goals.

And as workplace learning struggles to reassert and even find its place, it risks losing its champions in the C-suite.

Learning and development needs to be about adding value to the business rather than just ticking the training box.

If CEOs are not able to see what L&D offers in terms of a return on investment – because those within an organisation are struggling to implement effective systems – then we are in a downward spiral where workplace learning is relegated as a priority, leading to lost growth opportunities in an environment where staff development is not nurtured.

The situation is made even worse by a wider breakdown of business culture perpetuated by the gig economy. It is much harder – but arguably even more important – to work on building a stronger corporate culture, including through learning and development, when a growing proportion of an organisation’s workforce is remote and/or transient.

What can be done to address these challenges?

Workplace learning needs to secure its place as a strategic element of ongoing business growth and success, rather than being just a box-ticking exercise.

While technology has been a major disrupter that is knocking organisational development off its perch, technology also offers some of the solutions OD needs to fully function as a strategic ally for businesses seeking the extra cohesion it can offer.

Some of society’s biggest technology trends over recent years are the same developments that will help save workplace learning. Mobility, video, gamification, social tools, analytics, machine learning, robotics and AI all have a role to play in delivering learning solutions that will meet the needs of workers in the modern corporate environment.

We’ll go into more detail about how these technology tools can help fix OD in a future blog, but for now we’d like your input into what’s currently wrong with workplace learning and how the situation can be remedied.

Join us to discuss this issue

We are having a Think Tank to discuss this question - we intend for this to be the first event of a series about workplace learning and what needs to be done to help businesses to be ready for the future of work.  Here are the details

Time:     7.30am

Date:     Friday 3rd November

Place:    The Clarian Room, 20 Beaumont Street, Auckland (upstairs) 

We’d love for you to join us for a robust and informative discussion, as well as some breakfast and a chance to swap ideas with other OD professionals.

To register for this event, please click on the button below.

See you there!