This blog covers the 7 learning and development companies leading the way in transforming L&D for your team. These companies include: Risely, Innovito, Global Development Experts, NextGen, Alpha Apex Group, AllenComm and Unboxed.
7 Learning and Development Companies You Need to Know
Learning and development of employees is crucial for organizations to grow and adapt. As HR or L&D professionals, you know that talent management has come a long way from old-school HR practices. Top learning and development companies are now focused on creating dynamic, engaging learning experiences that bring out the best in employees. They provide the tools to overcome challenges, foster continuous growth, and elevate team performance.
This blog covers the 7 learning and development companies leading the way in transforming L&D for your team.
What are the Top 7 Learning and Development Companies?
Following is a list of the top learning and development companies, known for their creative ideas and commitment to changing how people learn at work and providing them the leadership development they need. They offer various services, like Risely’s Merlin – an AI Leadership Coach and custom learning platforms, to meet different needs.
Each learning and development company listed has been chosen based on its reputation in the industry, positive client feedback, and focus on good learning results. Whether you run a small business or a big company, this guide will assist you in finding the right L&D partner to reach your business goals.
1. Risely- AI Copilot for Leadership Development
Risely is an AI copilot for leadership development, designed to meet the unique needs of every manager while fitting effortlessly into your daily workflow. By offering personalized learning journeys and aligning development plans with your company’s values and team dynamics, Risely ensures that leadership growth is not just relevant, but impactful. It is the learning and development company you need to build the people leadership skills your managers require.
The State of Leadership Development Report 2024 states that 42% of managers need to take frequent follow-ups while 38% of managers struggle with difficult conversations. Risely’s AI-driven approach, powered by Merlin- an AI Leadership Coach for managers, addresses issues like these and makes sure your team’s growth aligns with the goals that matter most to your organization.
With features like comprehensive self-assessments covering 30 key skills and real-time team feedback, you’ll have all the actionable insights needed to fine-tune leadership performance. Your team gets to learn every day in the flow of work through daily nudges and interactive masterclasses.
Whether you’re leading a small team or an entire department, Risely provides flexible plans to suit your needs—starting at $59/month for individuals, $299/month for teams, and custom pricing for larger organizations. And with a 14-day free trial, you can explore the platform risk-free, with no long-term commitment required.
2. Innovative Learning Solutions– Innovito
Innovito is your go-to eLearning partner, offering a range of solutions from AI-powered learning management systems (LMS) to custom eLearning content and a library of ready-made courses. They specialize in creating engaging learning experiences that drive business success for organizations like yours.
With a team of skilled instructional designers, project managers, and subject matter experts, Innovito collaborates closely with clients to tailor training programs that fit their unique needs. Their offerings include interactive e-learning modules, virtual instructor-led training, gamified learning, and blended learning solutions. By focusing on innovation and measurable results, Innovito ensures that every training initiative aligns with your business goals and delivers a strong return on investment.
With a reputation for creativity and expertise in adult learning methodologies, Innovito is committed to inspiring learners and supporting your organization’s growth.
3. Global Development Experts
Global Development Experts Global Development Experts is here to help your organization develop the talent needed for a global workforce. With deep expertise in cultural understanding and language nuances, they create learning programs that fit the diverse needs of your team. Whether it’s leadership development or cross-cultural communication training, their services are designed to set you up for success in today’s global market.
They provide the tools and strategies you need to overcome the challenges of managing a global workforce. By fostering a culture of inclusion and offering tailored learning experiences, Global Development Experts ensures you can tap into the full potential of your global talent.
Their team of experienced consultants works closely with you to understand the unique demands of operating in a global business environment. Together, they craft custom solutions that deliver real results and boost your organization’s overall performance.
4. NextGen Learning & Development
NextGen Learning & Development is revolutionizing how your team learns on the job, offering over 3,000 courses and training programs that meet the needs of today’s workforce. They understand that you want flexibility, easy access, and content that’s truly useful, so they’ve designed learning experiences that are both engaging and effective for your employees.
With a focus on microlearning, gamification, and customized learning paths, NextGen tailors skill development to fit your organization’s goals. Plus, they’re using the latest technologies—like virtual and augmented reality—to make learning more immersive and memorable.
By staying on top of the latest trends, NextGen ensures your team can quickly build the skills they need to excel, helping your organization achieve better results faster.
5. Alpha Apex Group
Alpha Apex Group is your trusted partner in transforming how your organization approaches learning and development. With a strong focus on creating innovative and impactful L&D solutions, they specialize in instructional design, technology integration, and strategic planning to ensure your training programs not only engage employees but also align with your business goals. Whether you’re looking to enhance skill development or drive performance, Alpha Apex tailors solutions that meet your workforce’s evolving needs.
Their expertise spans across a wide range of services, including leadership development, eLearning, and customized L&D strategies that scale with your company’s growth. By using cutting-edge tools and methodologies, Alpha Apex ensures that your training initiatives are not only sustainable but also deliver measurable results. From skills gap analysis to content development and competency-based training, they cover all aspects of learning to ensure success.
6. AllenComm
AllenComm stands out as a leader in corporate training and eLearning, with a sharp focus on creating innovative training solutions that resonate with today’s workforce. They understand that for training to be truly impactful, it needs to align with both the company’s brand and culture. With their experience spanning industries like financial services, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing, AllenComm has a proven track record of quickly scaling training programs to meet diverse business needs.
Whether you’re looking to strengthen leadership skills, enhance compliance practices, or onboard new employees seamlessly, AllenComm provides tailored solutions designed to drive results. They go beyond standard training, crafting engaging digital learning experiences that leave a lasting impact on participants.
What sets AllenComm apart is their ability to deliver customized, scalable training quickly and effectively. By blending innovative design with cutting-edge technology, they help organizations stay agile and ahead of the curve, ensuring that their employees are well-prepared to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving business landscape.
7. Unboxed Training and Technology
Unboxed Training & Technology brings a fresh perspective to workplace learning with its innovative focus on Skill Agility. Their cutting-edge platform, Spoke, ensures that learning is not only accessible but also personalized and engaging, tailored to the needs of today’s workforce. By designing custom training programs and offering creative solutions, Unboxed empowers employees to grow and thrive in a way that captivates and challenges them.
Their training programs go beyond the basics, offering turn-key solutions that are fully aligned with your organization’s unique goals. From employee onboarding to leadership development, Unboxed creates interactive content that’s both relevant and engaging, fostering a culture of continuous learning. Their commitment to delivering high-impact, real-world applications keeps teams motivated and equipped with the skills needed to stay ahead.
By aligning their coaching tools with their training solutions, Unboxed ensures that organizations not only boost employee development but also see measurable improvements in performance and engagement.
To enhance your L&D process, read our blog on How To Build A Learning And Development Strategy?
Comparing the Top Learning and Development Companies
The table below highlights the core focus, key services, and unique features of each learning and development company, making it easier to compare their offerings:
Company
Focus
Key Services
Unique Features
Risely
AI-driven leadership development
Personalized learning journeys, self-assessments, team feedback
Integrates seamlessly into daily workflows; AI copilot powered by Merlin
Innovito
eLearning and custom training
AI LMS, custom eLearning content, ready-made courses
Collaboration with clients to tailor training programs; focus on ROI
Global Development Experts
Talent development for global workforce
Leadership development, cross-cultural communication training
Deep expertise in cultural understanding; tailored learning experiences
NextGen Learning & Development
Modern workforce training
Over 3,000 courses, microlearning, gamification
Use of virtual and augmented reality for immersive learning experiences
Alpha Apex Group
Transforming L&D practices
Instructional design, eLearning, skills gap analysis
Innovative and impactful L&D solutions; scalable training initiatives
Customized and scalable training solutions; aligns with company culture
Unboxed Training & Technology
Skill Agility and personalized learning
Custom training programs, learning technology platform (Spoke)
Innovative focus on skill agility; coaching tools for manager feedback
How can You Choose the Right L&D Partner for Your Business?
Choosing the right L&D partner requires careful thought. Start by aligning your organization’s learning goals with what potential partners can offer. Instead of focusing on broad services, look for a partner that specializes in your industry or the specific skills you need to develop.
Check how they design their programs and whether they incorporate modern learning trends. Ensure their methods keep employees engaged and help them retain information. Don’t hesitate to ask for client testimonials or case studies to gauge their success.
Assessing Your Organizational Learning Needs
Begin by identifying the skills your team lacks and the areas that need improvement. Use tools like project and change management to develop more targeted learning strategies. Evaluate your current performance in leadership development and talent management to stay competitive. Look for L&D partners who prioritize modern skill development and use effective instructional design to meet evolving workforce needs.
Evaluating Expertise and Track Record
Go beyond the surface when assessing potential L&D partners. Look for a strong track record and proven success in your industry. Ask for client reviews, case studies, and results that showcase their impact. Make sure their team has the experience to meet your unique learning needs. Choose partners who are committed to innovation and stay ahead of trends in learning and development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, learning and development companies are important for building the skills and knowledge of workers. This can greatly affect how well an organization does. The top 7 companies listed provide special training programs and advanced online learning tools for different needs. When selecting a partner for L&D, it is key to check what your organization needs and look at the company’s skills and past results. By teaming up with the right learning and development provider, you can give your workforce the tools they need for growth and success.
Avantika holds an undergrad degree in Political Science and Psychology, bringing a unique blend of analytical and psychological insight to her writing. With extensive experience in content creation and research, she crafts engaging and well-informed content that resonates with readers and drives meaningful conversations.
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To Do or Not To Do: Learning and Development Outsourcing
Learning and development teams have a lot to do. However, your bandwidth is often limited. As teams rapidly expand, evolving training needs arise due to technological advancements, and people want to see an impact before they move the budgets ahead; it’s a lot for an L&D team to handle.
Given the wide range of learning and development needs, L&D strategies need to make space for external providers. Is it the right choice for your team? To answer that, let’s try to understand learning and development outsourcing in detail below.
Learning and development outsourcing means hiring an outside company to manage employee training. Instead of just using your own staff, you can use the skills and resources of special L&D providers.
This teamwork lets you access more knowledge, the latest technologies, and new training ideas that you may not have on your own. By outsourcing some L&D jobs or even complete training programs, you improve training efforts and reach your strategic goals more efficiently without overwhelming the function. It becomes important when we note that about 87% companies surveyed by McKinsey were either experiencing a capability gap or expecting it pretty soon.
So, the question is, how do we outsource L&D?
L&D outsourcing can take many forms, such as:
Fully outsourced L&D ops: As the name suggests, the entire training and development program is managed by an external provider. This service is most commonly used by companies that lack the internal resources and bandwidth to conduct required training. It includes collaboration with your leadership to develop effective strategies and then complete the execution of the action plans with analytics, reporting, and feedback.
Project-based outsourcing for L&D: As the name suggests, this includes hiring relevant specialists, consultants, and/or vendors to meet your company’s learning and development needs in a specific area. The applications of outsourcing work like this commonly include instructional design agencies, content development houses, video production companies, eLearning development specialists, and assessment design experts.
Individual contractors: You can also use L&D outsourcing to complement your organization’s internal learning development initiatives. For instance, you can hire an instructional designer to turn the know-how of subject matter experts into easily understandable learning content. Similarly, individual contractors and freelancers are available for many functional areas of L&D, such as technical writing, LMS administration, and learning experience design.
Moreover, certain tasks in L&D are good for outsourcing. This is often because these tasks need special skills or extra resources, like:
Content Development: Creating training materials that are helpful and engaging takes a lot of time. It also needs special skills in designing instruction. By outsourcing content development to experts, you get high-quality, tailored training materials for their specific training needs.
Compliance Training: It is tough to keep up with changing rules and compliance standards. This task takes a lot of time and resources. Outsourcing compliance training makes sure your workforce receives the correct and current training in a fun and effective way.
Technology Implementation and Support: Setting up and managing systems for learning, like Learning Management Systems (LMS), needs technical skills. When you outsource these tasks to experts, you enjoy smooth integration and ongoing help. This also allows your IT team to focus on other important business systems.
Why should you consider outsourcing L&D?
One big reason why more companies are choosing to outsource L&D is the many benefits it provides.
In the survey cited above, McKinsey also notes that half the people noticing skill gaps put “reskilling” as the most important combat move for their teams. But, that means an intense run for already burdened L&D teams! Thus, when you hire experts for certain training tasks, your internal teams are free to focus more on important business tasks. It keeps your operations smoother and improves overall work efficiency. Plus, reskilling ensures cost savings as compared to hiring.
Outsourcing also allows you to work with top L&D professionals and new technologies without the hassle of hiring people, investing in infrastructure, or dealing with training costs for your internal staff. Whether it’s leadership development, technical skills training, or compliance programs, you can find specialized help to create effective learning experiences. It’s a great way to develop talent in new areas which are not already present in your team. This, in turn, boosts employee satisfaction and helps you curb turnover.
Things to consider before L&D outsourcing
But, there are costs to manage when your are thinking of learning and development outsourcing. First up, you have to pay the vendors and contractors you will engage. You will also need to ensure that they have an open communication channel with your team, potentially bringing up costs for managing the vendor relationship, communication, and tracking performance.
Think on both the fronts: the benefits you get and the costs you pay before deciding.
Primarily, consider these questions when you are thinking of outsourcing L&D ops:
What is the cost structure, and how are fixed versus variable costs managed?
What quality control processes are in place to ensure consistency?
Who holds IP ownership, and what are the terms around it?
How will this integrate with our internal teams and existing workflows?
Can this solution scale to meet growing demands or needs?
Are there any specific geographic or cultural requirements we should consider?
Before outsourcing, you should carefully look at your Learning and Development functions. You need to clearly tell apart which activities are core and which are non-core.
Core L&D functions are those that are closely linked to the main business processes. These tasks strongly impact the your company’s goals. Usually, it’s best to keep these core functions in-house. This helps maintain the company’s culture, values, and long-term vision.
Non-core L&D functions, on the other hand, often require special skills or knowledge that may not be available within the company. These could include tasks like content development, platform administration, or parts of compliance training.
By outsourcing non-core functions, you can free up their internal resources. This allows you to focus more on important initiatives while getting help from outside experts. A few scenarios where you can outsource L&D are:
#1 You have to scale L&D ops rapidly
Sudden demands are not new. They happen often when a company rapidly expands operations or the competitive environment changes quickly. As a result, you need to roll out training yesterday and implement it today already. When growth outpaces the internal L&D capacity, you need support. Outsourced L&D operations are a great saver in such situations because you can reach more areas quickly with them. It’s a good way to get through a major product launch that requires everyone to brush up on their knowledge or a new offshore team that uses a different language than yours.
#2 Your team needs specialized training
Another scenario where learning and development outsourcing can help you is when the needed expertise is not core to your business. In such cases, you would hardly have enough internal experts to create and guide training programs for highly technical or regulated areas. These L&D programs are often shaped like one-off programs outside the core business focus, have certifications requiring accredited providers, or involve complex simulations or specialized learning technology. For most L&D teams, building such capacity is a big ask; thus, outsourcing is the way to go.
#3 You need to mitigate infrastructure cost
Not all training can happen quietly in rooms with just a whiteboard. When training involves high infrastructure costs that outweigh outsourcing, you should go this route. For instance, your company ideally needs leadership coaches for people managers. But you do not have enough senior leaders who can double up as coaches. Executive coaching is expensive. What’s the way out? An AI coach like Merlin for people managers fills in. Similarly, high infrastructure cost could mean investing in high-end video production needs or VR/AR content development. Large-scale content localization projects are another area you can outsource instead of building in-house capacity.
When should you not outsource L&D?
On the flip side, some scenarios exist where learning and development outsourcing does not make sense, such as:
#1 Your core business knowledge is involved
When learning directly relates to competitive advantage, you must keep it in-house. Why? At this stage, you are likely delving into proprietary processes and methodologies. These could include company-specific employee development practices and strategic capability-building programs that are closely tied to your team’s context and challenges. As noted above, core L&D areas directly impact business outcomes and maintain the company’s culture, values, and long-term vision. Hence, they need to remain under your purview.
#2 Your sensitive information/IP is involved
Like culture and core values, your company’s sensitive information, such as IPs and internal processes, must remain confidential. In such instances, you must not outsource learning and development initiatives. It includes programs involving unannounced or unreleased products, strategy-related training, competitive intelligence, and market positioning.
#3 Your L&D plan needs continuous evaluation and updates
Training needs are often dynamic. Contacting vendors to update learning programs as your business priorities shift would create a significant burden. It is commonly observed with agile learning initiatives tied to product development and programs closely tied to employee feedback. A high degree of integration with internal processes and workflows can impede synergy with external L&D service providers. In such cases, you should stick with in-house learning and development plans.
To sum up
Making smart choices about which parts of L&D to outsource is important. It helps you use outside skills while keeping control over key learning projects. First, look at which L&D tasks take a lot of resources, need special skills, or can be done better by outside teams. You should think about some things like how complex the training materials are, whether you have the skills in-house, how urgent the training is, and the possible cost savings from outsourcing.
Successfully handling the challenges of L&D outsourcing needs a well-organized plan based on industry standards. It’s not just about handing off tasks. It’s about building partnerships that match your organization’s values, goals, and focus on promoting a culture of ongoing learning.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
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Learning analytics is changing the way we look at research. It uses data to help improve learner success. With the insights from this data, L&D teams better understand how employees learn. This helps them learn more about employees behavior, likes, and performance. As a result, you can create better learning and development strategies. It allows for personalized learning experiences and timely help for your employees and successful interventions focused on business goals.
This field combines research, data science, and analytics to find useful information from the large amounts of data produced in workplaces to create impactful learning programs.
Learning analytics refers to the process of collecting and analyzing data about how people learn to improve training effectiveness. It focuses on the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their educational set-ups.
By looking at patterns, trends, and connections in this data, L&D professionals make better choices. You can adjust your teaching methods and create a learning environment that encourages learner engagement, success, and well-being.
What data should we be collecting?
Learning analytics is not simply data about who is learning what. Instead, it allows you to take a more data-driven approach to solve your organization’s learning challenges and enhance outcomes. For example, if an employee struggles with a particular task or concept, the system can suggest relevant resources or training modules to promptly address the issue. This targeted approach enhances individual performance and aligns with broader business goals by ensuring that employees have the necessary skills to contribute effectively to the organization.
Some other examples of learning analytics at work include:
Tracking the performance of a sales team pre and post-training implementation
Monitoring the engagement of a team on the learning platform
Using skill assessments to find out role-based skill and competency gaps
Identifying the costs involved in training per employee and its resultant impact on performance
Measuring the effectiveness of content in terms of engagement rates and feedback
Learning analytics are an L&D team’s go-to tool for getting answers in many critical business areas. But before jumping on to that, let’s look through the ways learning and development teams can use learning analytics in different aspects:
Ensure training effectiveness: Learning analytics are the first and foremost way to track the effectiveness of your training and development plans. You can consider filling skill gaps, rectifying performance issues, or determining how employees work with the learning content. It can further help you evaluate and make smart choices when it comes to planning, structuring, and designing learning and development strategies for your organization.
Calculating ROI: Many training programs have an ROI that is difficult to quantify or often ignored. Learning analytics prevents this and ensures that you can consistently evaluate and showcase the results of your efforts. It further helps in resource and budget allocations and creates proof of L&D success for relevant stakeholders.
Create better workforce planning practices: Learning analytics, specifically with workforce planning, such as upskilling and succession planning, can help your overall HR strategy be more effective and fail-proof. It includes preparing for future skill needs and adapting to industry trends to retain a competitive edge.
Learn how employees want to grow: Learning analytics gives you a bird’ s-eye view of what your employees want in terms of learning opportunities, how they are using the existing ones, and what you can do to create more in the future. As a result, you can emphasize learner-centricity with data-driven insights. It further ties into career development and growth plans for employees.
Keep building good content: As L&D professionals, we simply do not want to create content. We want to create learning content that efficiently resonates with employees and solves their problems. Learning analytics support this principle by tracking how employees engage with content, their satisfaction levels, retention, and application.
Compliance and risk management: These are essential concerns for many training and development programs because our environment is constantly evolving. Analytics help you see whether you are able to keep up or whether there’s a gap between the training that employees need and what you are currently offering. Moreover, it helps you comply with legal and normal training requirements.
Decode the business impact of L&D: That’s the most vital function of learning analytics because, ultimately, it is a question of impact. As little as about 5% of companies evaluate their training programs. Evaluation and analysis can put you among the top innovators and builders in the L&D space and ensure that the organization recognizes your contributions.
Key business questions learning analytics can answer across various L&D focus areas:
Training Effectiveness
How well are employees retaining information? Which learning methods are most effective for different roles? Are employees applying what they’ve learned on the job? Which courses have the highest/lowest success rates? How does training impact employee performance metrics?
Return on Investment (ROI)
What is the cost per learner for each program? How does training investment correlate with performance improvement? Which programs deliver the best value for money? What is the opportunity cost of training time? How does e-learning ROI compare to instructor-led training?
Skill Gaps and Workforce Planning
Where are the current skill gaps in the organization? Which departments need additional training? How prepared is the workforce for future skill requirements? What competencies are most critical for specific roles? How effective is the current upskilling strategy?
Employee Engagement and Behavior
When and how do employees prefer to learn? What motivates employees to complete training? Which content formats drive the most engagement? How do social learning features impact participation? What barriers prevent training completion?
Content Optimization
Which learning materials are most/least effective? What content needs updating or removal? How can we improve course design? Where do learners struggle or drop off? What additional resources do learners need?
Compliance and Risk Management
Are employees up-to-date with required training? How quickly are compliance gaps addressed? What is the certification completion rate? Which areas pose the highest compliance risk? How effective is mandatory training?
Career Development and Succession Planning
Who are the high-potential learners? What learning paths lead to successful role transitions? How effective are leadership development programs? Which skills correlate with career advancement? How well are we preparing future leaders?
Business Impact
How does training affect key performance indicators (KPIs)? What is the impact on customer satisfaction? How does learning contribute to employee retention? What is the relationship between training and productivity? How does learning affect innovation and adaptability?
What are the common methods of learning analytics?
Primarily, learning analytics can be of four types. Let’s understand each of these in detail below:
#1 Descriptive analytics – What happened?
As the name suggests, descriptive analytics are all about things that have happened. They summarize the data collected historically over incidents and events to figure out trends and patterns. It will help you understand how the team received a certain training program, engaged with the material, and how many of them eventually completed the assignment. Some examples of descriptive analytics in L&D include course completion rates, time spent on modules, assessment scores, video watch times, login frequency, etc. With this, you can understand the performance of your present L&D functions. However, it cannot help you think of the next steps or predict employees’ future behavior.
#2 Diagnostic analytics – Why did it happen?
Once we are aware of the what, the next question is why. Diagnostic analytics answers that question for L&D teams. It helps you understand the reasons behind your employees’ current learning behavior. It will help you answer questions like why some employees are not completing a training module or why around 75% of test takers fail at one specific point. A few examples of using diagnostic analytics in L&D include identifying common wrong answers in assessments, learning path bottlenecks, and performance gap analysis. Similar to descriptive analytics, diagnostic analytical methods also help you evaluate past and present behavior only.
#3 Predictive analytics – What will happen?
This is an important question because who would not like to know the future? Predictive analytics, focused on identifying signs and possible future courses of action, helps L&D teams figure out how learning will be impacted by both internal and external factors. It can help you determine the skill and learning gaps that are about to be created as the industry moves forward, as well as the expected completion timelines and forecast future learning needs. Since L&D teams cannot afford to play catch up, predictive analytics are critical for L&D teams to keep up with the changing world.
#4 Prescriptive analytics – What should you do?
Knowledge is one thing; the actions based on it are the real deal. That’s what prescriptive analytics help you determine. Prescriptive analytics are key to understanding the insights about the future course of L&D and putting them down into actionable steps. For instance, if you foresee the need for digital literacy in your sales team, prescriptive analytics will help identify what type of training you can do, what your employees are expecting, and how to conduct it efficiently, keeping the organization’s goals in mind. Similarly, a few other examples of prescriptive analytics include personalized learning recommendations and adaptive learning paths, intervention triggers, resource allocation suggestions, and content optimization recommendations.
How to get started with learning analytics for your employees?
Setting up learning analytics for your team has many advantages. But it looks like a confusing task, doesn’t it? We can simplify this process and break it down into eight steps as follows:
#1 Create the foundation setup
Learning analytics is a tool for offering more clarity within and about the L&D strategy. Thus, clarity is what we should start with. The process begins by identifying the goals you want to achieve and the relevant KPIs for them.
For example:
If your goal is to improve sales team’s performance. Your KPIs will include:
Training completion rates for product knowledge courses
Post-training assessment scores
Time to reach sales quotas for new hires
Number of successful sales demonstrations
Customer satisfaction scores
Further, to do this analysis, you need data. Data can be generated from many sources, including assessment scores, performance reviews, feedback meetings, etc. Depending upon the use case, you need to identify what data sources you are using for learning analytics with your team.
Once these are done, you will also need to set benchmarks for the data. The key question is, what is the ideal score on a particular metric? Benchmarking for learning analytics goes two ways:
Internal benchmarking: Deriving a standard of scores based on the overall performance within the organization.
External benchmarking: Deriving a standard based on the wider trends across the industry in similar organizations/competitors.
Since you are dealing with data, you need a data governance framework to ensure the secure transportation and ethical use of the data being collected. It can also help specify regular reporting schedules for the learning analytics team.
#2 Build the technical infrastructure for learning analytics
Learning analytics do not look the same for every organization. Instead, your team’s learning maturity, the level of comfort with digital infrastructure, and what you set out to solve impact the shape of the technical infrastructure you will use for analytics.
It includes choosing appropriate tools that you might need, such as:
Learning Management System (LMS): An LMS is software that essentially manages learning content, delivery, and distribution for your team. It can have basic features like tracking logins and completion rates and collecting feedback through quizzes.
Learning Experience Platform (LXP): An LXP is an evolved form of learning software that emphasizes keeping the individual user at the center with tailored recommendations and learning pathways. It can often have features to support social learning and microlearning, so you can also track those.
Analytics dashboards: These visual interfaces display key learning metrics and data in real-time, such as Risely’s skill center for admins, which shows your learners’ progress on key people management skills. Some platforms offer a great deal of customization and automated reporting, too.
Data visualization tools: These are simply tools that translate your data into clear visual representations. With tools like PowerBI and Tableau, you can create custom interfaces to match your needs, but managing these could be challenging.
Survey and feedback platforms: Lastly, these are simply tools for collecting learner data and input to support your decisions. Many options exist, such as SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, and Google Forms, which you can use for free or at a minimal charge.
To make things easier for the L&D teams, you should also look into integrations across platforms. This cuts down on the need to reshape and migrate data consistently. Similarly, data collection can be a tricky process to handle. Look for ways to automate things wherever you can.
#3 Create a data collection strategy
Once your goals and tools are set, you need to decide how you are going to collect the data. A few learning analytics tools we listed above support data collection. You can also look into performance reviews, collect feedback directly, and use methods like our skill gap analysis template and training evaluation forms.
Given that we understand the impact of learning analytics across three areas, we will have three types of data to collect:
Learning data: It includes metrics such as training completion rates and time spent learning, along with metrics tracking learning application and transfer. Tracking resource usage and learning patterns is the key here.
Performance data: Learning needs to impact performance ultimately, and these metrics show exactly that. It includes job performance metrics, skills assessments, certification progress, on-the-job application, and manager feedback.
Business data: The last set of metrics tracks the impact of learning investment on business outcomes. It would include productivity metrics, customer satisfaction, employee retention, error rates, etc.
#4 Implement learning analytics
When you start implementing learning analytics at work, start with a smaller set of goals and metrics in your mind. You can pick something like the example used above. Start small with a few key metrics and learning programs targeted to a team or department. You will start with descriptive and diagnostic analytics, primarily to understand what is happening in learning and work and why it is happening. Once these are mastered, you can grow further in predictive and prescriptive capabilities and have a future-oriented outlook toward learning.
Over time, you can test and refine the process and implement it. At the same time, ensure that you document learnings and mistakes as they happen. Over time, you should add more complex metrics and develop more sophisticated reports for the learning and development processes.
#5 Enhance L&D team capabilities
To master learning analytics, you need a few team members trained to use learning analytics tools and interpret the results. It presents an opportunity to upskill the L&D function while running a test on how analytics for learning work.
Further, once your capabilities grow, you can think of dividing the work across functions such as:
Data collection: The main responsibility includes gathering and organizing learning data systematically. This role requires comprehensive knowledge of data collection and processing and care toward ethical and normative guidelines.
Analysis: An analyst is essentially a translator who converts raw data into meaningful points to consider and act upon. The skills needed here include statistical analysis, analytical thinking, data modeling, and problem-solving.
Reporting: This is where your team creates clear, actionable reports from analysis. You need data visualization and automation skills here, as well as the ability to design and manage learning dashboards effectively.
Stakeholder communication: All your audiences won’t understand what a training completion rate stands for. That’s why managing stakeholder communication is essential. It involves translating data insights for different audiences and needs skills such as communication, storytelling, and relationship management.
You can also consider hiring consultants or outsourcing parts of the process to help your team out.
#6 Design a reporting framework
Once your data is collected, the rest hinges on effectively communicating them. This is why we need a reporting framework for learning analytics. A reporting framework will help you generate standardized reports across the organization and design intuitive dashboards. You can also set up automated reporting.
The other focus area here is to create different views for different stakeholders that your L&D teams need to manage. For instance, the C-suite and executive leadership would appreciate focusing on business goals. Lower turnover and a positive employer brand can pique their interest. However, the stakes are different for a team manager who is implementing learning with their team. They would be more concerned about reducing skill gaps and properly using the learning opportunities to promote employee satisfaction. Similarly, the employees would be more concerned about how learning can enable them to achieve their long-term career goals. Thus, the same data needs to tell multiple stories.
Read more: How to Obtain Buy-In for Training from Stakeholders?
#7 Think of quality assurance
Quality is critical in any data-heavy process, and the same holds for learning analytics. Validating and cleaning the data is important to get helpful results. However, more concerns are hidden behind the curtains, such as error-checking protocols and legal bindings on how to use the data. Ensuring all of these things run properly means that you put a regular and comprehensive data audit process in place for the L&D team.
#8 Continuously improve
Ultimately, there’s always more to learn. Learning analytics has the same journey. As you keep going, you can identify mistakes and determine the scope for improvement. For instance, you might discover that there are better metrics to track phenomena or there’s a better visualization platform that your team can use. Some considerations for improvement can include:
Is there a new tool for reporting/visualization/data collection that we can use?
Are we tracking the right metrics?
Does our team have the required skill set?
Is our process efficient? Can we cut down on some excesses?
Are we following the privacy compliance directives properly?
Is our data accurately collected and reported?
Keep your eyes open and your mind curious to constantly enhance the impact you are making.
Wrapping up
Learning Analytics is changing learning at work for the better. It gives useful insights that help to create personalized learning experiences and improve results for employees. When L&D teams use data correctly, they can increase learner engagement and spot where help is needed. As technology improves, AI’s role in learning is getting bigger. This is leading to better predictive analytics and smarter decision-making. Still, there are challenges like privacy concerns and skill gaps that need attention. Looking to the future, learning analytics shows exciting trends and changes that will influence new workplace learning strategies.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get Started with the Free Training and Development Plan Template!
Grab free L&D resources and more for holistic growth of people managers. Only on Risely.
The old way of simple lectures and too much information is behind us. Now, active learning techniques are a great method to boost student learning and improve the overall learning process. This blog looks at what active learning is, its advantages, and how to put it into practice at work for your team’s success.
Active learning is a big change from old, passive learning methods. Instead of just taking in information, workers are asked to take part in the learning process. This way of learning shows that real understanding comes from doing, asking questions, and getting involved with the subject matter. It is a sure-shot way to beat one of L&D’s common challenge, that is, disengagement with the learning material that many teams face.
Active learning matches well with theories about how adults learn. These theories highlight that it’s important for your learners to have experiences, find relevance in what they study, and actively take part in learning. Adults learn better when they can connect new information to what they already know and use it in real life.
In contrast to passive learning, active learning gets people involved in solving problems, thinking critically, and working with others. This approach helps them understand the course content more deeply. By focusing on the needs and interests of adult learners, you build a better learning environment that is more engaging.
What are some examples of active learning at work?
Examples of active learning activities for adults include group discussions, case studies, simulations, and role-playing. The main idea is to create tasks that make the participants in your learning program think critically, solve problems, and use their learning in useful ways.
For instance, Sarah, a product manager, needed her team to learn a new project management software. Instead of a traditional training session, she structured it this way:
CONNECTING TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE “I know most of you already use Trello for personal tasks, and some use Asana at work. Let’s start by comparing how you organize your current projects, and then I’ll show you how those same principles apply in our new software.”
APPLYING TO REAL WORK Instead of using generic examples, she had the team do simple tasks like migrating their actual current project into the new system, setting up their real upcoming sprint, creating templates based on their most common workflows, and customizing dashboards for their specific needs
MAKING IT RELEVANT When teaching new features, she tied each one to their daily challenges: “Remember how we struggled to track dependencies last month? Here’s how this feature would have solved that problem…” “This automation will save you those 30 minutes you spend each week updating status reports…”
BOOSTING ENGAGEMENT Team members shared their own productivity hacks and they identified process improvements based on new capabilities. Ultimately, everyone contributed to creating team best practices and they immediately saw time savings in their actual work!
The result? The team mastered the new software in half the expected time because they were working with familiar concepts and solving real problems, not just completing training exercises. When your employees take part in the learning process, they think about information more deeply. They link ideas together and create strong mental pictures. This helps them understand better and learn for a longer time.
Why should you choose active learning over other methods?
Adult learning theories, like Malcolm Knowles’ andragogy, highlight how important it is for learners to be in charge of their own education. They also focus on learning through experiences and making sure what they learn connects to their personal goals. Active learning fits well with these ideas by giving your learners control, thus raising the level of satisfaction and trust.
When adults take part in activities, they can use what they already know. They can apply new knowledge to real life. This makes learning meaningful and shows how relevant it is. It also boosts their motivation and engagement. Active learning is becoming more popular in training at work. It works well for adult learners because it meets their specific needs. It shifts away from the old-fashioned, mentor-focused way of learning and promotes a more learner-focused experience. This helps create a deeper and more valuable learning experience.
Using active learning at work does not need a big change in your training programs. You can begin by finding ways to add interactive parts to what you already have and enhance the impact of your learning and development strategies. Even small changes can help. Think about what you want to learn and the topic you are teaching when choosing active learning activities. To make a more lively and interesting learning environment, encourage your team members to work together and share knowledge.
#1 Identify opportunities to use active learning with your team
The great thing about active learning is that it can fit in many different places. It works well in many formats. When you look for chances to use it in your organization, think about:
Onboarding: Instead of giving new hires too much information at once, use icebreakers, group work on real situations, or mentorship programs. This helps them engage early.
Team Meetings: Set aside time for brainstorming, solving problems, or discussing case studies related to current projects. This encourages active participation.
Training Workshops: Avoid dull presentations. Add group activities, quizzes, role-playing, or simulations to make the training more interesting and effective.
By using active learning in these areas, you aren’t just sharing information. You are also making a space for people to explore and apply what they learn.
#2 Choose the active learning methods that match your needs
Active learning in the workplace thrives on practical, hands-on methods that connect directly to daily work. One of the most effective approaches that you can try is case study workshops, where teams tackle real business challenges using actual company data and scenarios, developing solutions they can implement immediately. This pairs naturally with peer teaching sessions, where employees share their expertise through 15-30 minute demonstrations followed by immediate practice and feedback sessions.
You can also create skill application sprints provide focused learning opportunities, with teams mastering one new skill each week through deliberate practice and progress tracking. This approach works particularly well with interactive tech training, where employees learn new tools by completing actual work tasks while receiving live support and building an internal knowledge base. Regular reflection sessions, typically 15 minutes weekly, help your teams review what worked, capture lessons learned, and plan implementation steps.
Active learning works best when your employees feel they own their learning. They should not be afraid to ask questions or seek help if they need it. It is also important to have regular feedback and open talks between employees and trainers. This helps everyone improve.
#3 Take a helping hand from tech
Technology is important for improving active learning. It gives us access to many learning resources and tools. Online platforms and team software allow employees to join in exercises, simulations, and group projects anytime and anywhere. Video conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams allow live sessions. You can have discussions in breakout rooms and get real-time feedback. Collaborative platforms such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 let people edit documents together, manage projects, and brainstorm online.
But that’s just the beginning! For example, instead of regular pen-and-paper quizzes, use online quiz tools. They provide instant feedback and fun game features. You can change case studies into simulations where employees make choices and see what happens safely. Similarly, you can enable role play training for everyone in your company with the help of AI coaches like Merlin.
#4 Consider resistance and approach with an open mind
Implementing active learning can be tough. One big challenge is that some employees resist change since they are used to traditional, passive learning styles. To overcome this resistance, you need to communicate the benefits of active learning clearly. Similarly, to get buy-in from the C-suite, focus on showcasing how it enhances skills, boosts engagement, and leads to better outcomes. Providing training and support during the transition can also help employees adapt smoothly.
Another common challenge is time constraints. To address this, integrate active learning into existing processes or shorten activities without compromising on effectiveness. Prioritize activities based on their impact and relevance to maximize learning in limited time frames. At times, something interactive can save you from hours of lectures, so ensure that you are leveraging this technique with your teams effectively.
Wrapping Up
Active learning helps adults grow by making their education more engaging. When you use active learning strategies, you create a workplace culture that focuses on constant improvement and new ideas. Using technology makes these strategies even more effective. This leads to real benefits for employees and the organization. By adopting active learning in your workplace, you can give your team the skills and knowledge they need. This helps them adapt and grow in today’s changing business world.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get Started with the Free Training and Development Plan Template!
Grab free L&D resources and more for holistic growth of people managers. Only on Risely.
Learning Design: Why Instructional Design is Old School Today
Designing learning and development initiatives to be great is not as simple as it seems! Learning and development strategies involve multiple steps, including setting learning goals, designing the content in various formats, delivery and distribution, and so on. Learning design, or instructional design, is concerned with the making of the training and development material that you will ultimately use. In this blog, we will learn all about how these designs work, where they can help you ace your L&D goals, and what key ideas are central to making effective learning designs for your team.
Learning design is defined as a framework that supports learning experiences. What does that mean?
Learning design is the systematic approach to planning, creating, and delivering learning experiences that cater to specific learning and development goals. It includes the use of many learning theories and models and aims to deliver effective learning.
Effective learning design is more than just sharing information. It is about making learning experiences that help people gain, remember, and use new knowledge and skills. This approach is learner-centered. It looks at what the learners need and want to help them grow and develop.
What is the learning design process?
The design process in learning design includes several important steps. These steps are analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Each step is vital to create effective learning experiences.
In the analysis phase, instructional designers work with experts and stakeholders. They figure out the learning goals and see what learning opportunities are needed.
The design phase is about organizing the content, choosing teaching methods, and making engaging activities for the learners.
Development is when instructional materials and resources are made.
The implementation stage is where the learning experience is delivered.
Throughout the design process, regular evaluation and feedback are key. This helps gather information and make changes to improve the design. This way, learning opportunities are always being updated to better serve the needs of the learners.
At the heart of effective learning design is really knowing the learners and their situation. By figuring out what they already know, their skills, what drives them, and any problems they face, instructional designers can create learning experiences that connect with the learners and meet their needs.
Evolution of the learning design landscape
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, learning design is impacted by many areas. In its earlier avatar, it was known as instructional design, but the modern world has called for a more holistic approach and a new name for this facet of corporate learning and development.
In the very early days, learning design was informed by psychology theories, including behaviorism, which focused on stimulus and response relationships, and cognitivism, which shed light on the mental processes underlying how we learn. In the later years, new developments in the fields of linguistics and neuroscience have added more insights.
Technological advancements have added their share of impact by forcing some of these changes. Back then, corporate learning was restricted to classrooms and seminar halls, so at best, you only designed instructional material. The later focus on using video as an effective learning medium and the current wave of AI has forced L&D teams to rethink the entire paradigm and tilt in favour of ideas that keep the learner at the center. As a result, there is a higher emphasis on engagement with the end-users (the employees in our case), focus on their unique needs and preferences, and personalization in learning design.
How does learning design differ from instructional design?
Learning design and instructional design are closely related but have distinct differences. While instructional design focuses on creating effective learning materials and strategies, learning design goes a step further by emphasizing a more learner-centered approach.
Instructional design primarily deals with the development of training materials and methods to facilitate learning. It is more about the technical aspects of delivering information effectively. On the other hand, learning design takes into consideration the specific needs, preferences, and motivations of learners. It aims to create experiences that not only transfer knowledge but also engage, inspire, and empower learners to apply what they learn in real-life situations.
Why can’t we just stick to instructional design? There’s not a lot of change after all. Except, there are very important reasons why your success as an L&D professional depends on how you use and understand learning designs. Let’s understand them in some detail below:
#1 Learning design is critical in L&D success
You have a great learning and development strategy. Your content was built by in-house subject matter experts and is ready to be sent to everyone across the team. But there’s one issue: the learning content is a document lasting 100+ pages. We both know that no one is reading it. Learning design practices can save you from blunders like this by informing you what learning methods and mediums of delivery would be well received by the end-users in your organization. It ensures you match the objectives and helps you create memorable learning experiences. These further help reduce inefficiency and improve knowledge retention and practical application.
#2 Adult learning principles
The learning design approach is informed by many learning theories and models in the context of adult learners in workplaces. It uses frameworks such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gage’s Nine Levels of Learning, ADDIE, and GROW coaching models to inform actions in the L&D function.
It ensures that employee training methods have a theoretical basis and evidence backing their efficacy. As a result, we can maintain higher levels of motivation and engagement. Learning design helps boost engagement. It changes old, boring ways of learning into fun, interactive experiences. By using gamification, storytelling, and real-world simulations, learning designers can spark interest, encourage active involvement, and make learning more enjoyable.
#3 Content development
Learning design processes structure the entire content development, creation, and delivery timeline into a systematic flow of events. As a result, you create digestible chunks of learning arranged in a logical sequence, which helps balance theory and application-based learning. Along with the content, you can create assessments and other activities in the learning and development process to build milestones and monitor progress as you go. Ultimately, the clear learning paths you get are helpful for the employees navigating the learning material and also simplify the process of calculating the impact and ROI of learning.
#4 Technology integration
Most teams are looking forward to using tech to reach more learners and create more impact. But the question is, how do they do it best? Learning designs help you in this journey by enabling a mix of appropriate delivery methods (e.g., eLearning, blended, instructor-led) to balance in-person learning with digitally delivered one. As a result, you can utilize learning technologies instead of merely getting lost in the huge jungle of emerging tech.
When you approach learning and development with design thinking, you can also cater to the unique needs of your employees working in distributed teams across the globe, such as the language options we have on Merlin. Risely’s AI coach can talk to people managers in over 40 languages! Similarly, a design process enables you to create many more ways to build inclusivity and accessibility within your learning experiences.
#5 Communicate value to stakeholders easily
As we noted earlier, due to the precise targeting of specific strategic learning objectives and high clarity, learning designs are a great tool to calculate ROI and demonstrate the impact of your L&D operations. A well-curated learning design will help you showcase a variety of programs focused on specific goals, the depth of your learning interventions, personalization and employee satisfaction that you created, and, ultimately, the performance improvements you enabled.
When we are talking about stakeholders, the C-suite is just one side of the equation. The employees who are the end-users of your L&D programs are much more directly impacted by learning designs. Ensuring that their needs are met and preferences are kept in mind will help you get more satisfied learners. When this ties in with personal development goals and internal mobility, you end up happy employees who believe that learning is their super power.
Read more: How to Obtain Buy-In for Training from Stakeholders?
#6 Meet the learners where they are
Employees are an important cog in the L&D machine. A good learning design will keep them at the center of everything and focus on meeting their needs regarding what they want to learn, how they want to learn, and when they want to learn. For instance, most manager development programs take people out for two or three days and place them in a seminar hall with an expert offering tips and tricks. It’s great, but what if they have a challenge they cannot discuss in front of a crowd? It happens more often than not; we have all been there, hesitating and keeping challenges to ourselves.
In such spots, you need an AI coach like Merlin, who will surely not share the concern with anyone ever and will answer as many questions as the manager needs. Keeping such things in mind ensures that your design does not burden the learners but gives them a safe space to correct themselves and develop better versions. As a result, you will also witness a higher level of learning transfer and application in the workplace.
What are the pillars of effective learning design?
Now that we know why learning designs matter let’s focus on the key question: What makes some learning designs good?
#1 Strategic alignment
Impactful learning designs are strategically aligned. It means that there is a clear connection to business/organizational goals. For example, suppose the organizational goal is to increase sales over the next quarter. In that case, your learning design will incorporate an online course to give product knowledge to everyone and mentoring sessions to enhance negotiation skills. Thus, it is mixing up two methods to cover two different areas as needed for the broader goals. Similarly, the learning process has goals and milestones to help track progress. Such learning designs are relevant to the organization and employee as they focus on addressing performance gaps critical to their success.
#2 Learner centricity
The learner is the pivot for any effective design. Learner centricity means that their needs and preferences are considered during the development of the learning plan at every moment. These choices are not made by someone else and imposed on them. Learner centricity is critical in getting engagement for your programs. It further secures buy-in, enhances learning transfer, and raises the satisfaction levels of the employees. It could include designing learner personas to understand the people you have, creating learning content at the right difficulty level, focusing on inclusion, and remaining sensitive.
#3 Engagement factors
We don’t want the learners to be bored, do we? Otherwise, they will just drop out of the program. If the learning program is mandatory, they will sit through it, find it annoying, and never apply anything to their daily work. That’s why you need engagement factors and consciously design for them. Overall, the program should provide a challenge that they can tackle but one that forces them to think. It is similar to how SMART goals are set – they are achievable but need effort. Beyond that, think of interactive and participatory elements that bring real-world applications and examples. You can also use story-driven or scenario-based learning to create the right balance of content and activity.
#4 Effective structure
Good learning design follows an effective structure in delivering the learning content. It has a logical content progression and chunked information for better retention. For example, if we are talking of project management principles, it should ideally look like this:
Module 1: Project Basics (Foundational Concepts) Chunk 1: What is a Project? (15 min) Definition and characteristics Types of projects Quick knowledge check Chunk 2: Project Life Cycle (20 min) Initiation to closure Key milestones Practice Activity: Identify phases
Module 3: Execution Skills (Application) Chunk 1: Team Management (20 min) Roles and responsibilities Communication plans Role-play exercise Chunk 2: Risk Management (25 min) Risk identification Mitigation strategies Scenario-based practice
The progression follows: Understanding basics > Learning planning tools > Applying management skills
Each chunk starts with clear objectives and contains 3-5 key points. It also includes a practice element, gives an approximate timeline and ends with a quick review, Having a clear structure is essential in ensuring effectiveness of any learning plan.
#5 Learning transfer
Did you notice how the plan above had some practice elements? The 2nd chunk of the 2nd module asks the learners to create a timeline just like they would do in real life while handling projects. Such actions break the friction that learners experience while applying new things at their jobs, But hesitation is one aspect, there are many more sources of concern. A good learning design breaks them down by creating opportunities for learning transfer. It can include follow-up mentorship sessions or activities, peer groups to continuously engage on the topic, or reinforcement strategies like the nudges Risely uses for people managers.
#6 Evaluation framework
Ultimately, we need results. And for that, we need to measure things. As we started, there has to be a clear focus on learning goals derived from business goals. Further, along with goals, you must define success metrics and create regular assessment points. For instance, in the example above, some chunks of learning ended with a quick quiz to reinforce and track learning until that point.
The data you collect this way is quite helpful in two key areas:
First, it will help you present the program’s ROI to the concerned stakeholders. Based on this, you can enable more data-driven decisions and seek higher budgets and bigger roles in the organization.
Second, the data regarding the evaluation of learning programs helps improve the program itself. Multiple feedback points such as employee surveys, satisfaction scores, and beyond-the-performance scores help you shape more effective learning designs.
#7 Support systems
Last but not the least. People can be your biggest enablers but also your biggest source of trouble. Leadership development programs worldwide have faced challenges because the senior leadership is not role modelling the values they call these programs to propagate. Similarly, if the employees don’t see value in your programs, there’s bound to be trouble. The key is to anticipate and beat these challenges by design.
One of the foremost things is to provide adequate learner support. That’s where a lot of plans fail. Because the content might be great but there’s no one to answer a question. Some organizations building leadership development programs have been stuck there too, and now they have incorporated Merlin in their L&D plans to provide support when humans cannot. That’s just one angle. There’s more to creating a support system for learning at work including solid peer networks that motivate progress, managers who support training and application, and creating resources to be used once the training is over – because learning does not end the moment training does.
Janis Cooper shed more light on this topic in a podcast with Risely about building great learning experiences at workplaces:
Wrapping up
Learning designs are very important for how employees perform and how successful a company can be. When companies connect learning goals to their business needs, use engaging activities, and take advantage of technology, they can boost how involved and motivated employees feel. To make learning better, it is key to check how well these designs work by using clear measurements. Keep up with the best ways to learn and assess how good your learning plans are to help keep and grow your staff.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get Started with the Free Training and Development Plan Template!
Grab free L&D resources and more for holistic growth of people managers. Only on Risely.
This blog lists the top eight learning and development conferences happening in 2025.
8 Learning and Development Conferences You Need to Attend in 2025
As an L&D or HR professional, it is absolutely important to keep up with the learning and development industry trends and best practices. Learning and Development conferences not only give you a chance to learn from the best industry leaders but also offer opportunities to network while getting hands-on with new tools and techniques. To help you out, we made a list of key learning and development conferences you should attend in 2025. Each of these events promises to provide valuable knowledge, inspiration, and insights. Ready, set, level up your L&D game!
Essential Learning and Development Conferences in 2025
Much like every other industry, learning and development evolves and you have to keep up with these changes to be successful. The learning and development conferences listed here offer a wide variety of topics within the L&D world, whether you’re interested in exploring new technologies, best practices, or the latest trends. They’re not just opportunities to attend talks—they’re about networking, sharing ideas, and discovering actionable insights that you can immediately apply to your work. Whether you’re a seasoned L&D pro or just starting out, these events give you the tools to level up both personally and professionally.
Think of this list as your roadmap to growing in 2025. Each conference presents a chance to refine your skills, gain fresh perspectives, and bring value back to your team.
1. World of Learning Summit
February 4-5 2025 | Olympia London, UK
The World of Learning Summit is an ideal event for those looking to explore the newest advancements in learning and development. This conference and exhibition is one of the UK’s most important events focused on learning and development. Leading experts, brands, and professionals from the L&D community will come to learn, interact, and build networks.
What’s in it for you:
Free Seminar Programme: Open to all visitors, featuring informative sessions delivered by leading L&D experts.
The Life Skills Lounge: Facilitated by Liggy Webb, offering complimentary bite-sized books and digital resources to help L&D professionals develop their own skills and those of their teams.
Learning Design Live: Specifically for those involved in learning technology design.
Business & Networking Lounge: A place to relax, connect, and discuss new learning opportunities.
Mental Wellbeing Zone: Facilitated by Jigsaw@Work, offering group workshops and one-on-one discussions about mental wellbeing.
Interactive Roundtable Sessions: Engaging 30-minute sessions led by industry experts.
2. ATD TechKnowledge
February 12-13 2025 | Las Vegas, USAATD TechKnowledge annual conference is a big event for professionals interested in learning technologies and talent development. With over 10,000 participants from more than 80 countries expected to attend, it’s a gathering that focuses on shaping tech strategies, adopting innovative tools, and implementing best practices.
What’s in it for you:
Industry leaders share their perspectives and experiences.
Sessions that empower participants to elevate their knowledge.
Get equipped with actionable insights, hands-on strategies, and the right tools to succeed.
3. Training Conference & Expo
February 14-16 2025 | Orlando, USA
The 48th Annual Training Magazine’s Training 2025 Conference & Expo is the premier event for training and development professionals looking to expand their expertise. Hosted by Training magazine, this conference covers essential topics like instructional design, leadership development, behavioral analytics, and digital learning.
With 104 interactive breakout sessions, 13 hands-on clinics, and 10 certificate programs, attendees will gain practical skills and innovative strategies to enhance workplace learning. The Virtual Engagement Lab offers a unique space to develop virtual event skills while engaging with industry leaders.
What’s in it for you:
Gain expertise in train-the-trainer essentials, from instructional design to evaluation and measurement.
Explore innovative approaches like serious games for learning, behavioral analytics, and emerging technologies.
Develop leadership skills to drive high-performing teams and effective learning strategies.
Enhance virtual engagement capabilities through hands-on experience in the Virtual Engagement Lab.
Network with L&D professionals to share insights, challenges, and solutions.
Earn industry-recognized certifications to boost your credentials and professional growth.
4. People Development Summit
March 12-14 2025 | Lisbon, Portogal
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the People Development Summit is a premier event designed to foster meaningful connections between L&D leaders and solution providers. This invite-only gathering brings together 80 senior L&D professionals from top UK and Ireland corporations and 30 leading L&D solution providers, including business schools, learning technology innovators, and leadership development experts.
Discussions will cover AI in L&D, neurodiversity, proving L&D ROI, psychological safety, and the future of workplace learning. The event provides a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge strategies and engage with key decision-makers shaping the future of learning and development.
What’s in it for you:
Gain insights into AI-driven L&D, talent management, and data-driven learning strategies.
Explore solutions tailored to boost engagement, enhance learning impact, and prove ROI.
Learn from top L&D leaders about workplace wellbeing, neurodiversity, and psychological safety.
Build high-value connections with industry peers and solution providers.
Discover the latest advancements in leadership development and learning technology.
5. Learning Technologies Conference 2025
April 23-24, 2025 | London, UK
Get ready to experience Learning Technologies 2025, where workplace learning meets innovation. Whether you’re an L&D veteran or just getting started, this event will fuel your growth and spark new ideas to take back to your team. With over 200 exhibitors, 200+ free seminars, and plenty of opportunities to get hands-on with the latest L&D tools, it’s the place to be if you want to stay ahead of the curve. You’ll also dive into data and analytics to make smarter decisions and enhance how learning is delivered in your organization.
At the heart of Learning Technologies 2025 is the idea that learning is for everyone, and this conference will help you unlock potential—not just in your workforce, but in yourself. From networking with peers to hearing inspiring talks from thought leaders, you’ll leave feeling recharged, informed, and ready to put what you’ve learned into action.
What’s in it for you:
Stay ahead of the game by learning how to integrate AI, data, and analytics into your L&D strategies.
Discover innovative ways to approach skills development and build talent within your teams.
Gain actionable insights into learning experience design to create engaging, impactful learning programs.
Explore future trends in L&D and how to align them with your organizational goals.
Walk away with practical ideas and solutions you can immediately apply to improve workplace performance and leadership development.
6. HCI International 2025 Conference
June 22-27, 2025 | Hybrid Event; Gothenburg, Sweden
Get ready to connect with innovators, researchers, and practitioners in the field of Human-Computer Interaction at the HCI International 2025 Conference. This unique hybrid event ensures that whether you’re attending in person or virtually, you’ll experience the same world-class content and networking opportunities.
Kicking off with fully virtual sessions from June 22-24, you’ll engage in paper presentations, workshops, and interactive courses—all accessible remotely. The hybrid portion, from June 25-27, invites participants to dive deeper into the discussions with both in-person and online attendance options, ensuring flexibility for every attendee. With 21 international boards overseeing the event, you’re guaranteed insights from the brightest minds in the field.
What’s in it for you:
Get hands-on with the latest HCI research and practical applications in areas like AI, virtual reality, and UX design.
Engage interactively with workshops and sessions that offer you real-time feedback and collaboration.
Be inspired by leading experts sharing actionable insights and future trends in HCI that will shape tomorrow’s digital experiences.
Expand your network by connecting with professionals and academics.
Equip yourself with future-ready skills, focusing on the intersection of technology, design, and human behavior.
7. ATD 2025 International Conference & EXPO
May 18–21, 2025 | Washington DC, US
Get ready for ATD Conference and Expo 2025, where thousands of talent development professionals from across the globe will converge to share, grow, and innovate in the field of workplace learning. This isn’t just another conference—it’s your chance to expand your horizons, gain fresh perspectives, and reignite your passion for personal and professional development.
With 300+ expert-led sessions across 13 tracks, from instructional design to leadership development, ATD 2025 promises something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to future-proof your organization, explore the latest advancements in learning science, or simply enhance your skills, you’ll find endless opportunities to push your career forward.
But ATD 2025 is more than just sessions—it’s a dynamic space for real connection and collaboration. Imagine engaging with 300 of the industry’s top providers, experiencing cutting-edge solutions firsthand, and networking with peers from around the world, all united by a shared passion for learning and development.
What’s in it for you:
Sharpen your leadership toolkit with sessions that give you the insights needed to drive strategy and nurture a thriving workforce.
Elevate your instructional design skills with practical strategies to improve learning experiences and drive performance.
Leverage the latest technology to create agile, effective learning solutions that meet the demands of today’s workforce.
Strengthen your L&D function, learning to align programs with organizational goals and deliver measurable impact that resonates with leadership.
Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of your learning initiatives, ensuring they support both individual growth and organizational success.
8. Learning Ideas Conference
June 11-13, 2025 | a hybrid event held both in New York and online
The 18th Annual Learning Ideas Conference is a global gathering that unites researchers, educators, technologists, and L&D professionals who are passionate about using technology to transform education and workplace learning. With participants from over 50 countries, the conference offers a rich blend of perspectives, insights, and expertise.
What’s in it for you:
Discover innovative approaches to integrating technology into education and workplace learning.
Network with a diverse, international community of thought leaders and practitioners.
Gain insights into the latest research and trends in e-learning, XR, gaming, and user experience design.
Explore practical applications of emerging technologies like XR, AI, and data analytics in education.
Engage in discussions that shape the future of learning methodologies.
Why Are Learning and Development Conferences a Must-Attend?
Attending these learning and development conferences isn’t just about ticking off professional development boxes—it’s about immersing yourself in a community that’s as passionate about learning and development as you are. These events offer a chance to step away from the everyday grind and dive into new ideas, innovative solutions, and fresh perspectives that can directly impact your career and your organization. Whether you’re looking to future-proof your skills or explore the latest in leadership, technology, or instructional design, these learning and development conferences provide a treasure trove of insights that can help you stay ahead of the curve.
What truly sets these events apart is the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals from across the globe. You’re not just attending sessions—you’re sharing your experiences, learning from others, and building a network of peers who are navigating similar challenges. The conversations you have and the relationships you build can open doors to new opportunities and collaborations that extend far beyond the conference. When you walk away, it’s not just with new knowledge but with actionable strategies you can take back to your workplace to make a real, lasting impact.
How to Choose the Right Conference for Your Professional Goals?
Choosing the right learning and development conference starts with aligning it to your career goals. Think about what you want to focus on—whether it’s leadership development, instructional design, or staying ahead in talent development. Find conferences that offer workshops and sessions tailored to these areas.
Beyond the topics, look for events with engaging speakers and networking opportunities. It’s not just about learning—it’s about making connections and gaining insights that will benefit you and your organization long after the event. By being intentional, you’ll make the most of your time and investment!
Attending learning and development conferences is very important. These events help you stay updated on industry trends and support your professional development. They provide valuable insights, chances to network, and new ideas to grow your career. Make sure to take part in key learning and development conferences in 2025 to improve your skills and knowledge. Joining events like these can give you a competitive edge. By being active at these learning and development conferences, you can stay ahead with the latest L&D industry trends and find new opportunities for your personal and professional growth.
Avantika holds an undergrad degree in Political Science and Psychology, bringing a unique blend of analytical and psychological insight to her writing. With extensive experience in content creation and research, she crafts engaging and well-informed content that resonates with readers and drives meaningful conversations.
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3 Reasons Why Your Digital Learning Strategy Fails
In the last few years, digital learning strategies have changed how we learn. More and more organizations are using online learning platforms and tools. Because of this, it’s very important to have a clear plan. Sadly, many digital learning programs do not meet expectations. This blog post looks at three common reasons why digital learning strategies fail. It also offers tips for making learning experiences better.
Digital learning has changed the way we gain knowledge and skills. Online learning platforms have made it possible for people everywhere to access educational resources at any time and place. With more mobile devices around, learning is now easier and more convenient.
Today’s learning platforms provide many tools and resources. These include video calls, interactive modules, and personalized learning plans. In the latest wave of L&D’s digital revolution, the tides are shifting toward higher adoption and integration of AI in workplaces to create meaningful digital learning experiences. More and more L&D teams are exploring options like microlearning and personalized journeys for the employees to focus on key pain points like learner retention and application of training at work.
Still, having these technological features does not ensure a successful digital learning strategy.
3 Reasons Why Digital Learning is Not Working Out for You
Digital learning has many great opportunities, but it also has some challenges. You need to deal with technological changes, teaching methods, and what learners expect. As a result, you need to think of many points of failure while creating learning and development strategies.
Reason #1: Lack of Clear Objectives and Goals
A common problem in digital learning is not having clear goals. Without clear learning objectives, it is hard to create good learning experiences or to see if your learning strategy is working. Many organizations focus too much on technology and not enough on the results they want to achieve. When AI is becoming more of a buzzword rather than a tool, it is easy to fall into the hype and directly jump into the application stage without thinking through it.
To create a strong learning strategy, start by identifying the skills and knowledge you want learners to gain (this should further connect to your organization’s business goals). By setting clear learning objectives, you give a plan for teams and individual learners so everyone aims for the same goal. It is only after the goals are set that you can think of execution.
Moving to corporate learning plans for next year, keep this one mantra in mind:
Do: Use AI to achieve strategic learning goals.
Don’t: Treat “Use AI” as a goal in your L&D strategy.
One aspect of bad goal-setting is getting lost in the process. The second aspect is the lack of clarity. Each goal should explain what learners can do after finishing the training. For instance, instead of saying learners will “understand project management principles,” a better goal is “learners will be able to apply project management principles to create a project plan with clear timelines, milestones, and resources.”
Measuring learning outcomes helps you track progress and see how well your training is working. You can use different methods, such as quizzes, assignments, simulations, and observations, to check whether learners have the right skills or knowledge after the programs are complete.
Also, by creating realistic and relevant learning goals, you boost learners’ motivation and knowledge retention. When learners know the goals and values of their learning experience, they are more likely to get involved with the material and ultimately create strategic results that you are assessed on.
Reason #2: Ignoring the Needs of Your Learners
A learner-focused approach is very important for making engaging and effective digital learning experiences. Many organizations, however, do not pay enough attention to learner analysis and skills gap analysis. Ignoring the needs, preferences, and learning styles of your audience can cause low engagement, weak knowledge retention, and a poor learning strategy.
For instance, if an organization made up entirely of people who are largely not tech-savvy and above 60 adopts an online learning program, we know what to expect. Before heading into the action, think of what your learners need.
Tech skills: Are they good with online learning platforms, or do they need more help using them?
Time limits: Do they have flexible schedules, or are they busy with work, family, and other things?
Learning styles: Do they like visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or mixed learning methods?
The story does not end with analyzing the surface before creating a digital learning strategy. Make sure your online course is accessible. It means adding captions to videos, transcripts for audio, keyboard navigation, and alternative text for images. Meeting these accessibility needs, you help create a learning space that includes everyone.
Lastly, keep your content short, relevant, and engaging. Use microlearning methods to break big topics into smaller pieces. Include real-life examples, case studies, and scenarios to make the learning more useful and relatable. Catering to the needs of learners means focusing on both what they need to learn and how they can learn it best.
Reason #3: Over-Reliance on Technology
Technology is very important for digital learning. However, relying too much on digital tools without thinking about teaching methods can lead to problems. It’s easy to be distracted by new gadgets and software. But remember, technology should help improve the learning process, not take over.
A good digital learning strategy finds the right balance between technology and teaching methods. The main goal should be to create valuable learning experiences. It helps people gain knowledge, think critically, and develop skills. When you plan your digital learning strategy, think about the teaching principles that will help you choose the right technology and methods for teaching.
For example, think about using social learning tools to encourage teamwork and sharing ideas among learners. These can include discussion forums, group projects, or giving feedback to friends. Look into gamification methods or interactive simulations to improve engagement and help with knowledge retention. Or, if you’re teaching a highly technical subject, interactive simulations or virtual reality experiences might be beneficial for providing learners with hands-on experience. On the other hand, if you’re focusing on soft skills development, role-playing scenarios or video-based coaching sessions might be more effective.
The main idea is to pick digital tools that match your teaching goals. Ensure they add to the learning experience instead of taking away from it. Don’t let technology control how you teach. Choose the tools that best fit your teaching objectives and the needs of your learners.
TL;DR Your digital learning strategy fails when:
You don’t have clearly defined learning goals.
You don’t look into what your learners need.
You focus only on the “digital” aspect of the learning strategy.
Key Components of a Successful Digital Learning Strategy
Now, the big question is, how can we change learning and development for the present age? What makes a successful learning strategy? Let’s try to answer that next.
#1 Clarity on Goals and the Role of Tech
Goals are the pivot for your learning initiatives. This holds true even when the said learning happens in a digital landscape. Hence, start thinking of digital learning strategies in tandem with the wider learning and development strategy of your organization. Your business objectives should inform your learning objectives, and from there you can further carve out the areas that fall under the scope of digital learning.
For example, a retail chain wants to improve customer service ratings by 25% within six months across 50 stores. That’s the business goal. Upon analysis, the company realizes the need to improve its customer service practice, leading to three key learning goals:
Train staff in advanced customer service techniques
Standardize service protocols across all stores
Improve product knowledge among sales staff
When it comes to developing the digital learning strategy, the L&D team realizes that the staff needs something with a simple UI; they have limited hours to devote to training. Some soft skill training needs cannot be simply addressed through lectures, etc. Based on these ideas, we can think of a mix including:
Mobile LMS for easy access during store hours
Microlearning modules for quick learning between shifts
AR-based product demonstration tools
Virtual role-play scenarios for customer interaction practice
Similarly, you also need of think of where tech can fulfil your learning needs effectively and where it cannot before starting the implementation.
Need help for your learning and development plan? Download the free L&D strategy framework by Risely!
#2 Learner-centricity
As we saw in the example of a digital learning strategy above, the needs of the end-user (learner in our case) are critical in determining the ideal course of action. Practicing this ensures learners are at the center of the process, leading to higher engagement in learning and development initiatives. When employees understand the why behind a training program, they are much more open to understanding the what and how. Beyond the C-suite, you need to sell ideas here too. It results in higher participation, performance outcomes, and, ultimately, the success of L&D strategies.
But what does learner centricity even mean? We are designing learning for the employee, duh. That’s an extremely simplistic way of looking at it. Learner centricity would mean ensuring that your team can access and apply learning without additional trouble. It includes distributing and delivering material in the right format, gathering feedback and using it for improvements, and providing personalized attention to their unique needs with digital learning platforms and services.
For instance, Risely creates personalized learning journeys for people managers since their contexts and challenges cannot be lumped up into a single program. And since managers are often busy and booked people with overflowing calendars, Risely uses microlearning and nudging to meet them where they are – in the middle of a lot happening!
#3 Ease of Use in Digital Learning
No one likes clunky tech, but ask people what they hate the most about the learning systems (mostly an LMS) that their workplaces force down their throats, and you will hear about this age-old woe. Conventionally, digital learning comes in the form of online pre-recorded lectures, a quizzing module if you are lucky, and some platforms that seem to work best on mobile when you are on the desktop version and vice-versa. It’s 2024, and it’s high time this thing was left behind. Josh Bersin pointed to this move away from LMSs even back in 2017.
If LMS is out, what’s in?
We are moving to the era of digital learning that meets the learners where they are. It means fitting into their schedules and day-to-day routines. One way of doing this is microlearning, just like we practice at Risely with daily nudges and activities pictured above. But there’s more to it; another way to meet the learner where they literally are, which we have adopted lately, is integrations within digital workplaces like Slack and Teams. It helps reduce the friction in accessing learning content and thus makes your digital learning strategy much more visible in everyone’s eyes.
Similarly, we spoke of accessibility as one of the restricting factors in the success of digital learning strategies. But what if you could learn anywhere, anytime, and in the way you want? AI is making such adaptations possible, and organizations are loving them. In the 2024 LinkedIn Learning Report, we saw that coaching is used as a booster shot for career progression by many organizations, with about 47% actively using it. AI is set to double down on the impact.
We have worked on a few of these ideas and added them to Merlin, our AI coach for leadership development. On top of customized coaching to meet the unique needs of people managers, Merlin now offers:
An interactive voice mode along with chat mode for coaching
Support in 40+ languages across both the modes
Custom integrations to include company values in coaching sessions
And this is just the beginning! Voice mode is quite helpful in expressing unclear and abstract ideas in a coaching conversation, which often involves thoughts that are harder to put into words precisely. It’s hassle-free for everyone who wants to add a minute-long note to their coach before heading into yet another meeting.
Similarly, multiple languages are needed to make coaching easier and accessible for everyone. The coaching industry may be big, but it’s highly concentrated in a few regions and biased toward English speakers, thus leaving others at an automatic disadvantage. Adding company-specific culture and value-related notes also ensures that there’s a touch of you and your vision in every conversation that goes on. Plus, it saves your team members from digging into long PDFs featuring lists of do’s and don’ts. There’s more to come with greater tech innovation in the L&D space.
# 4 Giving Digital Learning the Space to Grow with You
Who doesn’t love a product packed with features and constant updates, right? But do you really need something to convert every document into a quiz with multiple-choice options? Probably not. Your digital learning strategy should always be rooted in the reality of your needs for success. Plus, we both know how learning budgets work. Let’s be frugal over prodigal.
Thus, a good learning strategy will include prioritization. Let me expand on prioritizing essential features for digital learning with a practical example of a company that wants to train 500 employees on safety protocols. We will implement this digital learning strategy in two phases.
Phase 1: Core Needs Assessment Essential Features
Basic reporting
Basic content delivery system
Simple assessment tools
Progress tracking
Mobile accessibility
Here the focus lays on getting the system up and running. This means creating the basic video lectures, thinking of the main elements of technical infra you need like playback options, some ways to assess to learning like quizzes and completion certificates to get started.
Phase 2: Nice-to-Have Features
Advanced analytics
Gamification
Social learning tools
AI-powered recommendations
Custom branding
Later, as you move forward, you can consider adding more elements, like AI-enabled personalization to match what the learner needs more precisely, offering options to share and collaborate on assignments, and so on.
Similar to how we think of an organizational learning maturity model, we need a digital learning maturity model in place which can help us progress step-wise rather than brute force a 0-1 change.
For instance, the initial phase starts with ad-hoc adoption of digital learning. It can mean an online course here and there, using tracking systems online, and sharing information over PDFs rather than traditional booklets. But all of this is without an LMS or any such platform at the center. In the second phase, as people gain trust in these methods, they become standard for some areas of the organization. You get digital learning advocates within your organization; some features are mentioned in L&D strategy documents.
Phase 3 of digital learning maturity makes things real, wherein there is increased adoption, ideally through a central platform. More interactive options are available, and data tracked digitally informs decisions about learning and development initiatives. Ultimately, toward the last phase, your organization develops into an avid user of a digital learning strategy with a focus on getting the best and latest on board. It could mean anything from AI-led personalized efforts to heavy use of analytics or even creating digital learning that is used outside the scope of your organization and puts you out as the leader in the arena.
In the initial phase, your team might not be ready to adopt the solutions you suggest, no matter how easy they can make lives. You will meet resistance and people favoring the status quo over anything and everything. The key is to be realistic with digital learning strategies regarding what you want to do, what you can do, and how you can do it best.
I discussed a few more ideas on the future of learning strategies in a recently recorded podcast with Inna Horvath, check it out here:
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, a good digital learning strategy depends on having clear goals, focusing on the learner, and mixing technology with teaching methods. It is important to understand how digital learning is changing. This helps us deal with challenges and find new chances. By setting clear and measurable goals, meeting learner needs, and wisely using technology, you can improve your learning programs. Having a complete view that connects learning results with business goals makes a strong and effective digital learning strategy. Remember, the key is to adapt to the changing needs of modern workplaces while putting learners first.
Get Started with the Free L&D Strategy Framework!
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Learning and development are critical to professional success. It is not just yours but that of your team when your job role includes the word L&D. However, the big question is, what should someone learn? Is that course on AI enough for the whole company? Or does the matter merit more consideration? I’d say it surely does. Learning needs are not exactly easy to spot. At times, they are hidden behind layers of team hierarchy, sloppy task completion, and performance reviews that always indicate a moderate level of achievement.
In this blog post, we will track down learning needs—what they are, what they look like, and, most importantly, how can we spot them from a mile away with solid analytical processes.
Any organization has a key set of objectives that it wants to accomplish. To ensure that the motion goes forward, every employee needs a certain set of skills, knowledge, and capabilities. Yet, some teams or team members might sometimes fall short of the requirements. These gaps that L&D needs to bridge are termed learning needs.
Learning needs at work refer to the skills, knowledge, and competencies that your people need to effectively contribute to organizational objectives.
Your team’s learning needs can be in many areas including the hard and soft skills they possess, leadership and management capabilities, industry knowledge, cultural competence, and compliance issues to name a few.
We can also look at learning needs in a three tiered structure based on what scope they have.
Organizational learning needs: These concern the entire organization and often arise from bigger reasons like technological advancements calling for shift in how people work or new compliance training needs coming from legal changes.
Operational learning needs: These are broadly concerned with the day to day activities of your particular team members and the knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to accomplish them properly.
Individual learning needs: At the last level, the learning needs are about the individual employee who might be facing performance issues or undergoing job transitions.
Learning needs show up at different points of time. For instance, let’s assume we have a team member named Lily taking up a leadership role after working as an individual contributor for about four years. Lily is an excellent person and professional, and her tech skills have no match.
But there’s some problem: Lily often likes to stay away from trouble. Why is that? Upon some probing, you learn that Lily avoids confrontation and would rather not be assertive. It can lead to problems when Lily becomes a manager, has to handle team conflicts, and even address mismanagement. This is not a unique issue at all, most managers remain unsupported at work with corporate learning strategies overlooking their needs even when they are out in plain sight.
Here, learning needs arise from professional changes. But that’s not all; there are more reasons behind learning needs arising.
Why do learning needs arise at work?
Learning needs are essentially caused by a shift:
Changing organizational objectives: Performance objectives and the learning and development plans needed to support them are defined by what the organization aims to achieve. Thus, new learning needs arise when an organization undergoes a major strategic pivot. For instance, if an insurance provider decides to offer all of their services online, their employees need to enhance digital literacy.
Changing organizational context: A company’s objectives are not moved in isolation. More often than not, they result from some external movement, such as shifting customer expectations, competitive pressure, or changes in their external environment (which includes political, social, legal, economic, and technological movements.)
Evolving technology and industry: This must be the most evident because AI now seems omnipresent. Several organizations are trying to use AI to cut down on expenses and support operations. The HR tech giant Lattice even set up digital employees with similar calendars to humans. But what do all these changes mean for people? We have all learned to interact with AI with safety and privacy considerations. Those in roles like content writing and software engineering have integrated AI into their processes. L&D teams are also catching up to speed with AI training for workers.
Changing job roles: Learning needs also arise when one changes jobs. This can include learning a new industrial context while performing similar hard tasks at a new company, taking up a leadership role within the same team, or switching departments internally. In these scenarios, employees need to learn more to effectively perform their roles.
Performance gaps: The discrepancy between current skills and expected skills leads to performance gaps, which are also the biggest and most common informants of learning gaps at work.
Why do learning needs at work matter?
If learning needs remain hidden in the workplace, it can lead to a host of negative consequences. Employees may continue to underperform, leading to decreased productivity and satisfaction. Unaddressed learning needs can also result in missed opportunities for growth and innovation within the organization.
Moreover, if these needs are not identified and addressed promptly, it leads to higher turnover rates as employees feel stagnant or undervalued. Ultimately, the organization may struggle to adapt to changing market demands and maintain a competitive edge.
Finding hidden learning needs is important for promoting individual learning and reaching learning outcomes. We can create better development plans by looking deeper than just surface-level observations. This allows us to meet the specific needs of each employee, which leads to effective and meaningful learning experiences. Let’s understand each of these in detail.
What is a learning needs analysis?
A learning needs analysis is a systematic process used to identify the gap between the current knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees and what is required for them to perform effectively in their roles. It involves assessing individual and organizational learning requirements through methods such as surveys, interviews, observations, and data analysis.
Where will a learning needs analysis help you?
A learning needs analysis will help you figure out:
What skills, competencies and knowledge areas does your team need to work on?
Who needs to work on what aspect and till what extent?
What learning gaps are causing performance issues on the team?
What are the vital learning needs for your organizational objectives?
Training needs vs. Learning needs: Which way to go?
They sound similar. They are somewhat similar, but they are not exactly the same. Learning needs offer a broader scope of activity and allow you to think of long term L&D and organizational objectives and tie in with the employee’s personal growth objectives too. Training needs analysis is concerned with answering what training should be offered to who and for how long.
Primarily, we can sum it up as:
Training Needs
Learning Needs
Training needs focus on the specific skills or knowledge employees must acquire to perform their job effectively. It is more task-oriented and relates to immediate job requirements.
Learning needs encompass a broader scope, including personal growth, long-term development, and overall career progression. They go beyond job-specific skills to encompass continuous learning and future readiness in a rapidly evolving work environment.
To be honest, neither approach is entirely right or wrong. Depending on your context, you need to pick and choose the right one for you.
Symptoms that your team has hidden learning needs
Before we start searching for learning needs, there are a few basic symptoms that can give us a head-start. Consider that your team needs help, if:
Decreased motivation or enthusiasm for work tasks.
Difficulty adapting to changes in processes or technology.
Low confidence in tackling new challenges or projects.
Poor communication or collaboration skills within teams.
Increased errors or lack of efficiency in daily tasks.
Methods of spotting learning needs at work
There are several effective methods that you can use to identify learning needs at work, such as:
#1 Skill gap analysis
A major part of discovering hidden learning needs is doing a thorough skills gap analysis. This means figuring out the difference between the skills needed for a job and the skills the employee currently has. By identifying these gaps, you can create focused training programs that aim at certain areas for improvement. You can use templates and guides for these processes, like Risely’s free skills gap analysis template for individuals and Risely’s free skills matrix template for teams.
Ignoring the real issue is like putting a bandage on a serious cut. It may give short-term relief, but it doesn’t fix the problem. Likewise, just adding training to a skills gap without knowing why it’s there will not give lasting results. On top of gap analysis, using techniques like a root cause analysis to understand not just the what and why of the problem but also the how aspect of it will help you in turning insights into action.
#2 Observation and overviews
Another helpful method is to watch employees in their daily tasks. This can show hidden signs of skills gaps. For example, you can check how good they are at using new software, how they communicate in teams, or how they solve problems when they face challenges. The best part is that you can outsource this job to their managers. The direct managers often have insights and ideas on how their employees can perform the best. This goes in tandem with using performance reviews as a source of information.
#3 Employee inputs
Surveys are a good way to collect a lot of numerical data. When you make surveys for a needs analysis, try to use different types of questions. Include multiple-choice questions, rating scales, and open-ended questions. This will help you get plenty of feedback.
A good method to add a qualitative angle to the above information is to hold focus groups with employees, especially those who are directly affected by the issue. These talks can show what challenges employees face every day. They help find out if there are deeper problems that stop workers from doing their best. For instance, if the onboarding process is wrong or if employees don’t have the tools they need, this could cause a performance gap.
Interviews, on the other hand, let you gather detailed information. They help you understand what individuals think and feel. One-on-one interviews give employees a chance to share their career goals, learning styles, and where they think they need help, but it could mean a lot of workload for you!
Integrating learning needs with L&D strategy
Gathering data is just part of the challenge. To really make the most of this exercise, you should organize your findings into useful insights. This means not just listing the gaps, but also grouping them into clear categories. Not all learning needs are equally important for business success. It is vital to match learning efforts with business goals. Showing this clear link between L&D programs and real business results will help you get support from senior leaders. This also makes it a strong argument for more investment in your L&D programs.
This matching means understanding what is important for the organization and how each team helps meet those goals. For example, if a company wants to improve customer satisfaction, skills like communication, product knowledge, and customer service should be the focus. Plus, when employees see how their personal learning paths relate to the company’s goals, they are likelier to be engaged. When they are committed to their growth, this leads to a more invested and motivated workforce.
Identifying and addressing hidden learning needs at work is important for helping employees grow and for the growth of the organization. You can find skills gaps that are not easy to see using effective methods like surveys, interviews, and data analysis. It is important to focus on these learning needs based on their impact and connect them to business goals. This way, employee training can be more targeted. Combining learning needs with the overall learning and development (L&D) plan and including clear success metrics helps you effectively demonstrate impact.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get started with a free skills matrix template!
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A skills gap analysis helps you understand the current and desired levels of skills for teams and even individuals within those teams. But what if we want to move one step ahead and create a skill analysis of teams with detailed information about the members? That’s where a skills matrix comes in.
A skills matrix is a helpful tool that gives you a clear picture of what your team can do. In this blog post, we will talk about why a skills matrix is important in your learning and development strategy. We will also give you an easy guide on how to make one using our free template. Plus, we will share its many benefits and a free template to get you started.
So, let’s hop right in!
A skill matrix shows the necessary skills in a team or organization. It maps these skills to how well each team member can perform them. This simple chart helps you see who is strong and who needs help. You can then decide how to assign tasks, what training is needed, and how to build the team.
A skills matrix is a visual tool, often in a table, comparing a team’s current skills to the required skills for specific roles or projects.
The skill matrix is very important for team management. It gives a clear view of the skills available in the team. This way, projects have the right people with the required skills they need to succeed. It also shows where the team might lack skills, which helps in creating development programs to fix those gaps.
Where does a skills matrix help you?
Primarily, there are two directions that a skills matrix can help you in.
Skill underutilization: It refers to a situation where a team member’s skills and capabilities are not fully utilized in their current role or within a team. It leads to feelings of frustration, lack of motivation, and decreased job satisfaction. Plus, this is a waste of valuable capacity in your organization.
Skill overload: The other side, occurs when an individual is assigned tasks or responsibilities that exceed their skill level or capacity. We know what happens next: it results in stress, errors, burnout, and decreased productivity.
Both skill underutilization and skill overload have negative impacts on employee morale, performance, and overall team effectiveness.
What are the benefits of using a skills matrix?
A skills matrix supports your decisions in four key areas:
Identifying Skill Gaps: A skills matrix helps you identify areas where employees may need training or development to meet job requirements effectively.
Resource Allocation: It enables better resource allocation by matching individuals’ skills with tasks, ensuring efficient use of talent within the organization.
Succession Planning: By understanding employees’ skill levels, you can plan for future roles and responsibilities, facilitating succession planning and employees’ career growth.
Performance Evaluation: A skills matrix provides a structured way to assess an individual’s performance based on their skill levels, making performance evaluations more objective and accurate.
Is a skills matrix same as a competency matrix?
A “skills matrix” and a “competency matrix” are often used as if they mean the same thing. However, they are quite different.
A skills matrix looks at a person’s skill set. It shows how good they are at certain skills. This matrix uses a rating system to measure how well someone can perform a task or use a skill.
A competency matrix, however, covers more ground. It includes skills, but also looks at knowledge, behavior, and attitudes that help a person succeed in their job. Competency levels are based on skills people can show, the knowledge they apply, and the behaviors that fit with company values.
In short, a skills matrix answers the “what” question about specific skills. A competency matrix answers “how,” or how those skills are used well in the organization. Both are useful for managing talent, but they serve different purposes.
How to create a skills matrix effectively for your organization?
It’s important to prepare before you start building your skills matrix. Knowing your goals, target audience, and the skills you want to check is key to a successful result.
You should be sure about two primary areas before developing a skills matrix for your team..
#1 Identifying Objectives: What You Aim to Achieve
Defining clear business goals is the key to making a useful skills matrix. First, ask yourself what you want to achieve with this tool. Do you want to spot skill gaps and decide on training needs? Or do you want to match employee skills with future business goals?
When you know your goals, turn them into specific and measurable objectives. Use the SMART method of goal-setting to help. For example, instead of saying “Identify skill gaps,” say “Identify and close the top three skill gaps in the Marketing team by Q2 2025.” This gives a clear target, time limit, and focus for the skills matrix study.
A few examples of goals that you can think of while creating a skills matrix include:
Spotting and closing skill gaps within a team or department.
Guiding the creation of specific training programs to fix noted skill issues.
Making workforce planning better by predicting future skill needs.
Boosting succession planning by finding promising employees with needed skills.
#2 Defining the Scope: Who and What Skills to Include
Defining your skills matrix means deciding who and what skills to include. Will it cover the entire organization or just specific teams or departments? There are three factors that you should think of:
Size of the organization: Small groups may only need one skills matrix. Larger organizations with different departments might find it better to create separate ones for each department or team.
Business objectives: The skills should match your business goals. For example, if you want to improve customer service, focus on skills like communication, problem-solving, and empathy.
Industry and job roles: The needed skills will change based on your industry and roles. For instance, a software development team will need a different set of skills than a marketing team.
A focused approach gives better insights. By defining your scope clearly, you make sure that the skills matrix stays easy to manage and meets the real needs of your organization or team. Now that this is set, let’s get going and build your team’s skills matrix.
Building the Skills Matrix Step-by-Step: A Step Wise Guide
Now that you have a clear goal and set boundaries, you can start creating your skills matrix. This means writing down important skills, setting up a rating system, collecting information, and filling out the matrix.
Keep in mind that making a skills matrix is a process that takes time. You might need to improve the list of skills, change the rating system, or get more information as you move along. The important part is to begin with a strong base and modify it as you go.
Step 1: Listing Essential Skills for Your Team or Organization
The first step to build your skills matrix is to find and list all the important skills needed for your team or organization. These are known as the functional skills. You can divide these skills into two main types: technical skills (also known as hard skills) and soft skills.
Technical skills are specific to a certain job or industry. Here are some examples:
Programming languages (like Python, Java, C++)
Data analysis tools (like Excel, SQL, Python Pandas)
Project management methods (like Agile, Scrum)
Soft skills, however, can be used in many industries and job roles. These skills focus on how people work and connect with others. Some key soft skills at work include:
Communication (both written and spoken)
Teamwork and working together
Problem-solving and thinking critically
Time management and keeping organized
Further, you have people skills. They enable effective relationships and help your people achieve goals and objectives together smoothly. It includes things like effective delegation and conflict resolution abilities. A skills matrix accounts for a mix of all of these skills.
Step 2: Developing a Rating System for Skill Levels
Once you know the important skills, make a rating system to check how good each team member is at those skills. The rating scale should be clear and simple. We have created these in our free skills matrix downloadable template to help you out.
A basic and useful rating scale uses numbers from 1 to 5. Each number shows a different skill level:
1 – Novice: Little to no understanding of this skill competency
2 – Beginner: Understands the basics but needs significant support
3 – Intermediate: Knows the fundamentals for task performance, needs support for deep dives
4 – Advanced: Able to independently handle advanced tasks and guide others
5 – Expert: Innovative and leading in this competency and can train others
Also, think about adding a column for “Interest Levels.” This lets team members show their interest in growing specific skills. Understanding these levels will help to create better training programs and career development plans.
A basic scale tracking interest levels within a matrix can include:
1 – Not interested: Does not desire to work on this skill
2 – Somewhat interested: Little interest in gaining proficiency in this area
3 – Moderately interested: Significantly interested in developing the skill further
4 – Highly interested: Actively interested in expanding knowledge and capabilities
5 – Passionately interested: Enthusiastic to master and apply this skill
#3 Implementing the Skills Matrix
With the structure and rating system ready, it’s time to fill your skills matrix. This means you need to gather information about the skills of your current employees. This means getting information on how good each team member is at the skills listed. Use different ways to get complete and balanced data:
Self-Assessment: Ask employees to rate their own skills using the rating scale you defined. Self-assessments can give good insights into how people see their own skills, but keep in mind that they can be biased. You can overcome that limitation by using tools like Risely’s leadership skill assessments that also include anonymous team feedback.
Manager Evaluations: Managers are important for giving clear evaluations of their team members’ skills. They can use their observations and feedback from projects to help.
Peer Reviews: Getting input from colleagues who work closely with individuals can show important strengths and areas for improvement that managers might not notice.
#4 Analyzing the Matrix to Identify Skill Gaps
Analyzing the populated skills matrix is crucial for identifying skill gaps and informing strategic decision-making. By carefully examining the matrix, you can pinpoint areas where your team’s collective skills align well with current or future requirements and areas where deficiencies exist.
Start by looking for patterns or trends within the matrix. Are there specific skills where a significant portion of the team has low proficiency levels? These areas might indicate a need for training or development programs. Conversely, are there skills where your team possesses a high level of expertise? This information guides resource allocation decisions and project staffing.
Skills matrix example
For example, consider the following simplified skills matrix for a marketing team:
Skill/ Person Name
Alex
Haley
Luke
Digital Marketing
3
2
4
Content Writing
4
3
2
Social Media Marketing
2
4
3
An analysis might reveal a potential skill gap in content creation for Luke. This insight informs decisions regarding training opportunities for Luke or even resource allocation for future projects. While this is a very basic example of a skills matrix, you can create a much more effective one with Risely’s free skills matrix template. Along with an actionable and adaptable format, it contains guidance to help you ace the process.
#5 Keeping the Skills Matrix Valid for Long Term Use
A skills matrix is not something you set and forget. It needs regular updates to stay useful. As your business grows, technology changes, and workers learn new skills, the matrix must show these updates.
Make a plan for checking and updating the skills matrix often. How often you update it can depend on your industry and how fast things change in your company. For industries that change quickly, you might need to update it every three months or every six months. For example, if many industries are starting to use artificial intelligence (AI), you might need to add AI-related skills to your matrix, even if those skills were not needed before. You can include updates in regular performance reviews or have special meetings just for skills assessment.
How to apply the insights from a skills matrix to your team?
After you find skill gaps and know your team’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to make a plan. This plan should lay out clear steps to fix the skill gaps, use the strengths you already have, and get your team ready for future challenges.
Next, look at the skill gaps to see which ones are most important. Focus on those that could affect your team’s performance and their ability to meet business objectives. For the high-priority gaps, think about creating specific training programs, offering mentorship, or looking into hiring outside help.
Think about using different ways to support skill development. You can offer various programs like online courses, mentorship, peer learning sessions, and workshops aimed at specific skills. This will help employees learn in a way that works best for them and at their own speed.
But there’s more that you can do with a skills matrix! A skills matrix is not just for finding skill gaps. It is also a useful tool for HR decision-making. It gives important information that helps with managing talent, planning the workforce, and preparing for future leadership.
Let’s consider a few scenarios that a skills matrix can throw up:
An employee shows high interest but low proficiency in a relevant skill.
A team shows low interest and proficiency in a key skill area.
An employee shows high skill levels but the team does not have use cases.
In the first instance, you can turn the employee into a change champion and empower them to develop proficiency in a new competency area for the team. It will further motivate them to perform better as they see that their efforts and ideas are acknowledged and utilized and create value at both personal and professional levels.
The second scenario points to a clear need for hiring. In this way, Your decisions for hiring new talent against training or upskilling the existing people on your team are thus informed by data and have a logic behind them, rather than relying solely on intuition. Further, as you know what gap you are trying to fill, you already have a few pointers about the Job Description you will have to write. It is as opposed to a situation where you saw low proficiency but high interest that calls for training.
Similarly, we see the need for a somewhat complex solution in the third scenario. The team has an asset but cannot get the best out of them. Depending on where your organization is, you can look for alternative opportunities for the team members, such as giving them a role with a wider scope, shifting them toward a management role, or changing the team.
The possibilities arising from a skills matrix are quite diverse. Your post-measurement analysis is the most critical part of unlocking these opportunities for your team and creating impactful learning and development opportunities. Download the free template of skills matrix today to get started.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, a Skills Matrix is a very useful tool for better team management and organizational success. It helps you find skill gaps, create development plans, and make smart HR choices, which can boost your team’s performance and productivity. Updating the matrix regularly keeps it relevant and aligned with your goals. You can use our free template to make this process easier and help your team grow. Give your workforce the right skills at the right time for lasting success.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get started with a free skills matrix template!
Grab free L&D resources and more for holistic growth of people managers. Only on Risely.
Learning And Development 70 20 10 Plans (Free Template)
Is classroom training enough? Or can on-the-job training do the job? Neither can do justice to an organization’s learning and development needs. What you need to create an impactful L&D strategy is a balance between all these learning and development methods for teams. The learning and development 70 20 10 plan helps you visualize this mix accurately to meet your team’s needs.
In this blog, we will further understand how learning and development 70 20 10 plans work, along with finding ways to effectively develop it for your team with Risely’s free template.
What is the learning and development 70 20 10 plan?
The 70-20-10 Model for learning and development became popular in the 1980s for the development of managers. This model helps us understand how people learn new knowledge and skills. It moves away from focusing only on formal training. Instead, it shows that most learning happens through different experiences.
According to this model, 70% of learning comes from job experiences, 20% from talking and working with others, and 10% from formal training programs. This way of learning reminds us that we should create an environment for learning. This environment should include real-world activities and sharing knowledge with others, not just classes and workshops.
The 70 20 10 model focuses on how people learn best through experience. It shows that people learn more when they actively do tasks and think about the results. This model encourages hands-on skill development. It helps your team use what they learn in real-life situations.
Social learning is also a key part of this model. It shows how important working with others is, like through collaboration, mentoring, and sharing knowledge. When people talk to their peers, mentors, and experts, they can see different views. This helps them make connections and deepen their understanding through feedback and observation.
Formal learning is important too, even if it takes up a smaller percentage. It gives people the basic knowledge and planned learning experiences they need to support both experiential and social learning.
However in the recent years, new research has called for a shift in the ratio between the various modes of learning, especially since the model focused heavily on learning for managers and not learning for all the kinds of employees you have. Training Industry has termed this the “OSF ratio,” referring to the mix of on-the-job, social, and formal learning which remains flexible to the context of application.
How to set up the 70 20 10 plan for your organization?
Designing a strong 70 20 10 plan needs a clear strategy. It should match learning activities with the goals of the organization and the growth needs of individuals in your team.
First, find out the skills and knowledge gaps in your organization. These gaps must be filled to reach your goals. After identifying these gaps, the next step is to build a plan. This plan will show how the 70 20 10 approach will be used. It should clearly explain the roles of everyone involved, like employees, managers, and learning professionals.
Before you get started: Setting up the 70 20 10 framework
A clear 70 20 10 framework helps create a strong way to learn and grow. Here are some steps to set up your plan:
Start with a Needs Analysis: First, check the current skill levels in your organization. Look at the skills you will need in the future and identify any gaps. This analysis will help you focus on what skills to develop.
Define Learning Objectives: Write down the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that people should gain from the 70 20 10 plan. These objectives will help you measure how well your learning and development efforts are working.
Establish a Supportive Environment: Create a culture that appreciates continuous learning. Give chances for growth and support employees in taking on challenging assignments. Encourage them to step out of their comfort zones and see challenges as helpful job experiences. Because a 70 20 10 plan steps away from conventional methods, this is very critical for success.
Incorporating Experiential Learning: The 70% Component
Experiential learning is key to the 70 20 10 model. People learn and remember better when they can apply what they know in real-life situations. This approach is not just about traditional classroom lessons. It focuses on practical, hands-on activities.
To use experiential learning in workplaces well, provide chances for on-the-job learning. This allows people to try new things, solve problems, and gain real experience. Job rotations, new tasks, and shadowing others can help develop skills and allow team members to see different parts of the business. Also, encourage a friendly space for informal learning. Make sure team members feel safe to ask questions, share their knowledge, and learn from their mistakes.
Let’s run an example of the learning and development 70 20 10 plans alongside to understand this matter. We have a manager; let’s call them Alex; your skills gap analysis shows they need to work on their people management skills to succeed in their first managerial role.
Experiential learning for a manager: In the first step, i.e., experiential learning, they can practice delegation by assigning a real project or task to one of their team members. It will include ensuring the person has the resources needed and setting regular check-ins to monitor progress. After completing the task, Alex can reflect on what worked and what could be improved in their approach.
Leveraging Social Learning: The 20% Component
Humans are naturally social. The 70-20-10 model shows that social activities are key for learning. To promote knowledge sharing and teamwork, we should start mentoring programs, coaching between peers, and groups to share experiences.
We can use technology to help social learning. You can do this by creating online spaces, discussion boards, and tools that let employees connect. It allows employees to share ideas and learn from each other no matter where they are. Creative leadership is very important for a great social learning space. Leaders should be the change agents and start to share their stories, be mentors, and create chances for their teams to work together and learn.
Social learning for a manager: You set up peer groups of people managers in your company for discussions or join a manager network where they can exchange experiences and tips on leadership. Alex can also take mentoring sessions or small group discussions with experienced managers, which offer insights into successful delegation practices.
Implementing Formal Learning: The 10% Element
The 70 20 10 model is based on experiential and social learning, but formal learning is also very important. It gives structured knowledge and basic skills. Make sure that formal learning matches the skills found in your needs analysis.
Formal training programs should add to and support what you learn from experiential and social learning. These programs can be in different forms, like workshops, online courses, industry certifications, and conferences.
Think about mixed learning approaches. These can combine online lessons, interactive workshops, and hands-on tasks. Doing so can make learning more engaging and help people remember better. Focus on programs that get everyone involved, use real-life examples, and provide chances for feedback and reflection.
Formal learning for a manager: Alex takes up the manager effectiveness masterclass on Risely, which offers in-depth ideas and insights on what it takes to succeed as a manager and gives real-life scenarios to practice on. The formal learning component in a 70 20 10 plan gives the theoretical framework for the learner to practice independently.
Using a 70 20 10 plan is just the start. You need to keep checking how well it works and change things if needed. Set clear ways to see how your learning and development (L&D) efforts affect both individual and team performance. Look at things like how engaged employees are, how well they keep what they learn, how they use their skills, and how these tie back to your plan’s goals.
Continue reading: Comparing Informal vs Formal Learning: A Quick Guide
Learning and development 70 20 10 plan example
Let’s see this in action with another example of learning and development 70 20 10 plans, this time for a marketing manager. We start with the organizational objectives your employee needs to meet and use them to derive personal learning goals. These learning goals are further split into three sections: on-the-job learning like running A/B tests, informal learning through peers, and formal learning via reading and video material.
You can effectively build similar learning and development 70 20 10 plans with Risely’s free 70 20 10 plan template. Grab your copy now! It also offers more ideas on building impactful plans, what ideas you can use in each component, and, of course, a free template.
Is your learning and development 70 20 10 successful?
Since we have three major action areas per the 70 20 10 framework, we can track the impact of initiatives with a similar model, although the impact comes from the combination of efforts.
#1 Employee Performance
Track improvements in individual and team productivity, efficiency, and the quality of work produced as a result of the 70 20 10 initiatives. These outcomes are primarily a result of the formal learning components and you will witness the impact in performance reviews, project outcomes, key performance indicators (KPIs).
#2 Talent Development
Measure the effectiveness of your L&D programs in developing future leaders and fostering a strong internal talent pipeline. These effects come in when learners utilize informal methods like peer groups and interactions, which not only boost their performance but also solidify their position, leading to career growth. How do you see these? Promotion rates, internal mobility, and succession planning metrics are your tools.
#3 Mindset and Attitude
Assess the impact on employees’ mindsets, including their willingness to embrace new challenges, their confidence in their abilities, and their overall job satisfaction. Learning together with peers and in the flow of work provides a relaxed atmosphere, allowing the employees to not just master skills but also gain confidence, recognition, and approval. Employee surveys, feedback sessions, and observation will help you notice these changes.
By regularly monitoring these metrics, you gain insights into the effectiveness of your 70 20 10 plan and keep growing!
Read more: 5 Steps of Developing an Effective Training Evaluation Program: With Best Practices
Explore other models of learning and development for your team: 6 Learning and Development Models For Employee Growth
Conclusion
The 70 20 10 model is a useful way to plan learning and development. It combines hands-on experiences, social interaction, and traditional teaching methods. This helps workers grow and do better at their jobs. It is important to track results and get feedback. This way, organizations can see how well the plan is working and make changes if needed. Small businesses can also use a customized 70 20 10 approach to build a learning culture. This model works well, even for remote learning. It can bring great benefits for both people and organizations. Check out our free template to start your 70 20 10 path to create a lively learning environment.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Get started with a free 70-20-10 learning plan template!
Grab free L&D resources and more for holistic growth of people managers. Only on Risely.
How To Build Learner Personas For L&D? Free Template
For every learning designer, the root question is who will use this content. All your actions to ensure that the learning plan and content match the ultimate goals at every level stem from this answer. But we cannot design tailored courses for every learner out there, can we? Not in the traditional sense. AI is changing this by including hyper-personalization in its action plans. Yet not every type and form of training takes well to it, and learner personas act as a great starting point in the design process for learning and development teams.
By knowing your learners’ journey well, you can create learning experiences that really connect with them. This is where learner personas help. These are semi-fictional images of your best learners based on real information. Using learner personas helps you build training programs that are personal and effective. It leads to real results. In this blog, we will learn all about these personas of learners at work.
Think of learner personas as models that show the typical traits, backgrounds, and aims of the people you want to reach. They provide more than just basic details.
A learner persona is a fictionalized representation of your target group or audience. It is used extensively in designing learning and development programs.
They give important clues about your learners’ needs, dreams, worries, and goals. When you understand these different parts, you can design your training content and the way you deliver it. This will help meet the special needs of your target audience and improve the overall learning experience. Ultimately, you get an impactful L&D strategy!
Learner personas are similar to the profiles of ideal buyers and consumers that marketing and sales professionals use to tailor their recommendations and fine-tune the offerings for better matching. The use case of personas in learning follows the same principle by creating programs for a hypothetical person who is an average summation of your learners.
Where can learner personas help you?
Effective learner personas are more than just demographics. They show real details about your target audience, like how they learn, what drives them, and what challenges they face. By doing thorough audience analysis and creating clear learner personas, you set up a strong base for training programs that work well.
These personas help you go beyond basic training materials. You can create content that truly fits your audience’s needs and learning styles. You can understand common characteristics, like how they prefer to learn, what they already know, and where they need help. This way, you can make training that is engaging and relevant. The outcome is better learner involvement and improved knowledge retention, because you design with empathy for the learner.
That gives us many use cases for learner personas in L&D, such as:
Curriculum Design: They help connect your training content to specific learning outcomes, making sure it is relevant.
Content Creation: You can adjust the format, language, and examples to connect better with your target audience.
Delivery Optimization: They help you choose the right delivery methods and technology.
But that does not mean that learner personas are the best thing out there. There are many pitfalls associated with misuse and overuse of learner personas in the L&D function. While learner personas are incredibly valuable tools in most training scenarios, there are instances where their use may not be as beneficial. One such scenario is when dealing with highly homogenous learner groups where individual differences are minimal. In such cases, investing time and resources in creating detailed personas may not yield significant returns.
What are the common pitfalls for learner personas in L&D?
Overgeneralization: Developing overly broad personas that do not accurately represent the diversity within your target audience makes them powerless as a tool.
Static personas: Your audience evolves and changes. Similarly, the level of learning maturity in your organization also grows over time. Thus, your personas of learners need to evolve with these. Otherwise, you will continue to design L&D with a non-existent person in mind.
Neglecting feedback: Not incorporating feedback from learners to refine and adjust the personas over time is another major issue. Remember, learner personas should be dynamic tools that adapt to changing needs.
Lack of validation: Relying solely on assumptions or limited data to create personas without validating them through research or direct input from the audience creates trouble as it can make you biased and stereotypical.
Ignoring outliers: Disregarding unique or outlier characteristics within your audience that could impact learning preferences and outcomes.
How can you build and use learner personas for L&D?
Creating effective learner personas is a smart process. It focuses on collecting, studying, and understanding data to clearly show who your target audience is. Let’s break it down into a few simple steps:
It’s about changing plain data into valuable images of your learners.
#1 Gathering and Analyzing Data for Your Personas
The success of good learner personas depends on having rich and detailed data. It’s important to collect both numbers and personal stories to fully understand your learners. You can use surveys and data analysis for facts about demographics and learning likes before averaging them out to get the profile.
But that’s just the beginning. Go deeper by gathering personal insights through interviews and focus groups. Ask participants to talk about their experiences, struggles, and hopes related to learning. The aim is to discover the ‘why’ behind how they learn.
Looking at this valuable data shows patterns and trends. It helps identify different groups in your target audience. This could lead to finding one main learner persona, along with secondary personas that represent other key parts of your learners.
#2 Validating Personas with Stakeholders
Once you make your first learner personas, it’s important to work with others to confirm them. Get ideas from subject matter experts, team members, and even future learners. This helps make sure your personas are correct and relevant.
Working with stakeholders helps catch any unrealistic profiles or unconscious bias that might slip in during development. Open talks and feedback help you make your personas better and more useful for training decisions. Keep in mind that creating learner personas is a process that changes over time. Be ready to adjust based on feedback from others.
There are two main actions here:
Stakeholder Feedback: Seek input from subject matter experts, team members, and potential learners. Specifically ask for feedback on whether the personas resonate with their experiences and observations.
User Testing: Conduct interviews or focus groups with actual learners to see if the personas align with their behaviors and preferences. Observe how users interact with your learning materials and compare it against the persona traits.
#3 Crafting Your Learner Personas
Bring your learner personas to life by transforming data-driven insights into relatable, easy-to-understand profiles. There are many ways to do it. You can use a Word Doc, or a slide deck, or even ready to use templates for learner personas like the one we have.
Structure the information using a clear and concise format, providing a snapshot of each persona. A learner persona should include details such as demographics (age, gender, location), learning preferences, motivations, goals, challenges faced in learning, preferred learning styles, tech proficiency level, and any other relevant information that gives a holistic understanding of the individual’s learning journey.
These insights create a vivid representation of the target audience, guiding the development of tailored development strategies. The key is to humanize the data and make it relatable for effective decision-making in training and educational planning.
You should consider incorporating elements like:
Element
Description
Example
Persona Name
A memorable name representing the persona
Tech-Savvy Sarah
Job Title
Reflects their role within the organization
Marketing Manager
Skill Level
Indicates their proficiency in relevant areas
Intermediate
Pain Points
Highlights key challenges they face
Struggles to keep up with the latest digital marketing trends
Learning Preferences
Describes their preferred learning methods
Enjoys interactive online courses and video tutorials
These tangible representations make it easier for your design team to relate to and understand the diverse needs of your learners. For instance, let’s try to create the learner persona of Andrew Antonoff, a Marketing Manager at XYZ Corp.
Learner Persona Example (with Free Template)
We start the process by obtaining hypothetical personal details for Andrew. Since he is a marketing manager, we develop educational and professional information that is in tune with that. Further, we attempt to understand Andrew’s personality type, which can help you judge the person’s openness to learning, likely reaction to different training methods, and preferences.
Similarly, the professional goals and challenges showcase what impacts the learner regularly as they carry on their daily business. All of this context comes together to help us summarize who Andrew is and add a quote that goes with his personality.
In the second part, we focus on learning-specific details. This is a critical area since we are designing the persona for L&D-related issues.
Does that sound good? You can do the same with our free learner persona template, which is packed with more insights and support for L&D teams.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating accurate learner personas is crucial for successful learning and development (L&D) strategies. By knowing what your audience needs and likes, you can adjust your learning materials. This helps keep them engaged and helps them remember more. Use the step-by-step guide to collect data, check it with stakeholders, and make detailed learner personas. These personas serve as a guide for making personalized and effective learning experiences for different styles. Embrace learner personas to improve your training programs and make your organization’s learning culture better over time.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Grab Risely’s free learner persona template now!
Start solving critical L&D challenges with Risely holding your hand.
How To Curate The Best Learning Environment For Your Team?
Have you ever felt really productive when you are “in the zone”? When you focus intensely, and everything seems easy? That shows how important a good learning environment is. A positive learning environment is not just about a nice place to work. It also means making sure everyone feels they belong. Team members should feel supported and engaged so they can do their best.
This article will look at how to build this kind of environment as a part of your learning and development initiatives. We will discuss different learning styles, create a welcoming atmosphere, and share helpful strategies for success.
What’s a learning environment and why does it matter?
Let’s return to the starting point:—feeling in the zone, or the flow state, as James Clear would call it. What puts you there? Usually, it is a mix of physical and mental factors; you have a clean and peaceful environment with a mind that has the space and time to deal with the matter at hand. If you are doing it virtually, it could mean a laptop that works smoothly and Zoom calls that don’t make you repeat am-I-audible every other minute.
To sum up, your learning environment refers to the physical or virtual setting where learning takes place. It includes multiple aspects:
the physical space you are in
the mental makeup of your mind
the social scenario
the resources and tools available at your disposal
What constitutes the learning environment at work?
Physical space
Virtual space
Social dynamics
Resources and materials
Psychological factors
Classroom layout
Online learning platforms
Interaction between learners
Handouts and digital content
Sense of safety and belonging
Lighting and acoustics
Digital tools and resources
Relationship of trainers and learners
Technology and equipment
Motivation and engagement
Furniture arrangement
UI and experience of e-learning tools
Collaborative opportunities
Libraries or resource centers
Stress levels and comfort
Your learning environment impacts everything relevant to the process of learning. Just think how even one of the elements misbehaving can trip the set-up.
Bad internet? You miss some bits and get frustrated.
Stress? You are not really there and you have to repeat stuff now.
Wrong team mate? Forget the group project.
These tiny interventions together define how successful a learning program is going to be, in terms of the learner’s engagement, participation, and the final outcome such as retention and application of learning at work.
Workplace learning environments are usually either conventional and offline, like lecture halls and meeting rooms that double up as classrooms with presentations on the wall, or they are held virtually, which is the in thing to do as more and more teams are going global and working in a distributed setting.
We spoke to Janis Cooper, who leads Leadership & Staff Development at Best Friends Animal Society and discovered what helps L&D teams succeed. Catch up on the conversation below:
What are the common types of workplace learning environments?
A learning environment is a place that helps people learn. It can be a real space, like a classroom, or it can be online. It can also be in casual spots where people gather. There are different types of learning environments that meet different needs and styles of learning.
Let’s look at what makes different learning environments unique.
#1 Traditional classroom environment
The traditional classroom learning environment at work is a familiar setting for many. It involves face-to-face interactions, structured lessons, and physical materials like books and whiteboards. This type of environment allows for immediate feedback, group discussions, and hands-on activities that cater to various learning styles.
However, some drawbacks include limited flexibility in timing and location, as well as potential distractions within a shared space. Despite this, the traditional classroom setting can be effective for your team members who thrive in a structured and interactive learning environment. Plus, it’s great for standard training programs.
#2 On-the-job training
On-the-job training offers a hands-on learning environment where employees learn by performing tasks in real work settings. This type of learning environment allows for practical application of knowledge, immediate feedback from supervisors, and the development of job-specific skills.
Unlike traditional classroom settings, on-the-job training is tailored to individual learning styles and job requirements, making it highly effective for skill development and retention. However, you have to face time constraints, limited resources, and search for experienced mentors to guide the learning process.
#3 Virtual learning environment
Virtual learning environments have become increasingly popular, especially after covid, offering flexibility and accessibility for learners. Through online platforms and tools, your team engages in interactive lessons, access resources at their own pace, and collaborate with peers from different locations.
This type of learning environment provides the freedom to choose when and where to study, making it convenient for working professionals with busy schedules. Additionally, virtual learning fosters self-discipline, independent thinking, and technological proficiency – skills that are highly valued in the modern workplace.
#4 Social learning platforms
Social learning is an innovative way to combine the benefits of structured learning environments with the interactive nature of virtual platforms. Social learning involves in-person interaction that leads to reinforcement and application of learning at work.
Online social learning platforms leverage social media tools and online communities to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving. This approach not only enhances employee engagement and motivation but also fosters a sense of belonging and community among team members, regardless of physical proximity, as discovered by LinkedIn.
#5 Mentoring and coaching programs
Mentoring and coaching programs play a crucial role in creating a conducive learning environment. Experienced mentors provide guidance, support, and valuable insights to help your team members navigate challenges and enhance their skills. Through one-on-one coaching, mentees receive personalized attention and constructive feedback to aid their professional growth.
Coaching programs, on the other hand, focus on unlocking individual potential, setting goals, and developing strategies to achieve them. Coaches serve as accountability partners, motivators, and catalysts for change, empowering learners to unleash their full potential.
How can you build a great learning environment at your workplace?
Effective learning environments have important traits that help create a good learning experience. Let’s break down each of them to understand how you can build a great learning environment:
#1 Learner centric design
The first and foremost factor in building a great learning environment is keeping the end-user, i.e. the learner, at the very center of the design process. This principle ultimately comes from the field of product development. Learning designs are a complicated exercise and include multiple facets such as the course content and delivery modules. Environment of the learning at work impacts all of these. You approach should then focus on putting the learner’s needs, preferences, and experiences at the center of all learning initiatives. It involves:
Gathering and acting on learner feedback before and after a training program
Personalizing learning pathways for different needs and choices
Offering diverse learning formats to cater to different learning styles
Ensuring content relevance and immediate applicability to job roles
A learner centric design also ensures that as the L&D team, you earn greater engagement and participation for them when their needs are taken care of.
What does a learner-centric environment at work look like? Let’s picture that with an example of a company that needs to deliver cybersecurity training.
Learning Environment Aspect
Without Learner Centricity
With Learner Centricity
Physical Space
A common classroom with a trainer delivering material
Flexible online/offline space with the option to interact
Time and Pace
Fixed schedule (e.g., one 2-hour session)
Self-paced modules
Resources and Materials
Static PowerPoint slides for everyone
Diverse media like videos, interactive e-learning modules, simulations with role-specific content
Which one do you think would be more comfortable setting for the learner? Our bet is on the second one! As an L&D professional, you need to ensure that you are matching the unique needs of different types of learners at work so that all of them have a comfortable learning environment, instead of a one-size-fits-all learning environment designed with a neutral user in mind that ultimately matches no one.
#2 Continuous adaptation and improvement
The second key tenet to acing learning environment for your team is continuously adapting and improving. This happens due to two set of reasons.
Internal reasons
Organization evolves over time: The first cause of adapting and improving learning is internal. As an organization evolves, the level of maturity in their L&D model changes. At one point an organization might have all learning programs in-house, in their common meeting room, but soon enough when the company grows the learning programs need to change shape and form. They might be reborn as an in-house online content repository that delivers self-paced modules.
The people evolve: The internal structure of your organization, the people who are influencers and decision makers, as well as the changing needs of participants are a factor in designing a great learning environment. Their feedback and opinions also cause shifts.
External reasons
Learning environments also need to keep up with the changes happening externally, such new methods of learning coming up and new tech that supports novel training methods. For instance, most companies relied on video content up until the last decade heavily, but AI is the newest buzz in town because it can curate personalized content effectively. The environment of workplace learning reflects the broader L&D trends and industry happenings.
#3 Technology-enhanced accessibility
Tech is pervasive in the modern times. Thus, if you are skipping on tech in your learning environment, your team could be missing out on a lot of features that define the success of modern learning. Microlearning is just one of those. Other areas of using tech to create a better learning environment could involve:
Leveraging digital platforms for anytime, anywhere learning
Ensuring user-friendly interfaces and intuitive learning experiences
Using technology to create immersive and interactive learning content
Providing multi-device support for seamless learning across devices
By using technological integrations, you can often shape up a much more accessible learning environment than the conventional methods. For instance, leadership coaching becomes hard to work with for many people because they do not have coaches within their teams, or they are not close enough to actually have a vulnerable and open relationship with any senior that would allow effective coaching. An AI coach like Merlin, which ensures that you are away from the chatter and other negative possibilities of opening up, is a great tool in those situations.
#4 Culture of continuous learning
The last, but definitely not the least important part of the equation, is culture. As you must have noted at the start of the article, learning environment also has social and psychological aspects. These two are often harder to navigate than the physical and technical areas, because as an L&D professional you need to approach with empathy for everyone while craving the best way out. The team’s culture is critical to what goes on here.
Using culture as a part of learning environment calls for a conscious effort to embed learning into the very core of your organization’s purpose. For example, our team values at Risely call for an approach that focuses on always progressing and being passionate about what we do. It ultimately leads us back to great performance, but before that it is a personal nudge to keep growing in our capacity and area.
How can you create a culture that adds to a great learning environment?
As the L&D team, your efforts should focus on promoting learning as a core organizational value. This could include recognition of learners in regular meetings, offering opportunities to learn, and even integrating learning KPIs in performance management systems so that the employees are able to see where their personal growth connects with professional success.
Second, it’s all about encouraging knowledge sharing and collaborative learning by being deliberate about it. Plenty of teams do not have the ready environment to do this. That’s where you need to step in and double down as the facilitator of change. Your people managers can become learning agents here. The same goes for involving leadership in championing learning initiatives.
Hostile learning environments and how to change them?
A hostile learning environment is the opposite of a productive one. It shows up as negativity, disrespect, lack of support, and fear of asking questions. Such places block learning, limit creativity, and slow down team growth – ultimately hurting everything your L&D strategy is trying to achieve. Spotting signs of a hostile atmosphere is the first step to changing it.
Signs of a hostile learning environment
Learners are afraid to ask questions or participate
Excessive criticism or harsh responses to mistakes
Exclusion of certain individuals or groups from activities
Fear of ridicule for making mistakes
Punishment-based discipline rather than constructive feedback
Emphasis on individual achievement at the expense of group learning
How can you change a hostile learning environment?
Recognizing these signs is crucial for addressing and improving learning environments. Keeping in mind the key components of a good learning environment that we have seen earlier, you can bring change with your L&D strategy. You should start by focusing on learner-centric design, with which we can create inclusive, respectful environments that cater to diverse needs and foster psychological safety.
After than, continuous adaptation allows us to regularly assess and improve the learning climate, addressing issues as they arise. Technology-enhanced accessibility provides tools for anonymous feedback, diverse learning options, and improved communication channels that curb the communication challenges and create an effective feedback loop for the L&D team.
Finally, work with stakeholders including the senior leaders and managers on cultivating a culture of continuous learning emphasizes growth, collaboration, and mutual respect, counteracting competitive or intimidating atmospheres. Showcase the ROI that effective learning can bring, and start winning!
Wrapping up
Creating a good learning environment for your team is about knowing different types of learning spaces. You also need to overcome challenges and boost engagement using teamwork and technology. It’s important to be flexible, adaptable, and inclusive to create a positive learning culture. Leaders have a big role in supporting different learning styles and improving current settings. By managing resources wisely, addressing resistance, and encouraging open communication, you can create an effective learning environment. This will help your team reach their full potential.
Deeksha, with a solid educational background in human resources, bridges the gap between your goals and you with valuable insights and strategies within leadership development. Her unique perspectives, powered by voracious reading, lead to thoughtful pieces that tie conventional know-how and innovative approaches together to enable success for management professionals.
Say goodbye to messy learning experiences. Revamp your L&D plans today.
Grab Risely’s free L&D strategy framework and get started on a journey toward growth.
Think Of These 4 Trends In Your Corporate Learning Strategy
Think of corporate learning, and the picture in your mind brings the worst of two worlds together:
It’s too rigid, like workplace structures.
It’s too boring, like some classroom lectures.
It’s often outdated, like educational curricula.
But the story does not need to turn out the same way every time. In fact, it happens because of some long-standing beliefs and behaviors among the designers and providers of corporate learning experiences. As an L&D professional, making them effective is a key part of your success; that’s why you should tune into the corporate learning trends of 2025 to keep up with the new and let go of the old.
In this blog, we will explore four key corporate learning trends to shape 2025.
This blog will highlight four main trends that are changing corporate learning and development. It will also show how you can use these trends to meet your company’s strategic objectives and reach your business goals.
#1 AI is more than a buzzword!
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how companies teach their employees. It provides new and creative ways to make learning more personal. This is improving the learning experience for workers. As AI technology becomes better, we will likely see more advanced uses in corporate training programs.
In a recent conversation with Inna Horvath, a learning strategist, we understood that the scope of corporate learning strategy is frequently misunderstood. Many L&D teams assume AI is about creating content at speed and scale, but that’s where the trouble comes in. AI struggles with originality and authenticity.
The effective ways to integrate AI into a corporate learning strategy are sometimes different and surprising, such as creating personalized learning experiences for your employees or scaling up initiatives that rely on human presence right now. Inna’s shared a way to best sum up the idea: “The goal is not to substitute humans but to make AI your thought partner.”
One of the biggest benefits of AI in corporate learning is how it delivers personalized learning experiences. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all style, AI can look at learner data. This includes skills, learning preferences, and career goals to make custom learning paths.
The changes have been coming since a while. For instance, Air Methods, a helicopter company that trains pilots in-house ditched conventional training for a more modern cloud-based platform that leverages AI to support learners as and when they need. The program is adaptive, it stays on a topic as long as the learner needs, until they are prepared to ace it. And this was back in 2016!
We keep a similar idea in mind while working on leadership development solutions at Risely. Given the number of variables that shape up a leader’s context (team size, reporting structure, years of experience, industry, learning preferences, time and financial constraints, openness, etc., to name a few), finding the right fit for a coach is a hard task. An AI coach like Merlin cuts down the struggle here by adapting to the leaders’ context and providing learning at their pace.
In the same vein, AI platforms can suggest online courses, learning resources, and development opportunities based on what each employee needs. LinkedIn Learning is putting this into action quite effectively. This tailored approach makes learning more interesting. It also helps employees gain the specific skills needed to succeed in their jobs and reach your strategic objectives.
#2 Corporate learning or employee development?
It looks like a semantic difference, but the impact is bigger. Learning at work is not just another check box you can tick if you are able to. It’s doing much more for organizations in 2024. Your corporate learning strategy:
shapes experiences of employees
contributes to employer brand
is a factor in turnover and talent attraction
offers you a competitive edge
That’s too much value to leave on the table with yet another cookie-cutter program. According to a survey, the post-COVID distributed workforce believes heavily in developing their skills outside the workplace. Their career paths matter greatly and even affect whether they say yes or no to your job offers.
And yet, only about one-fourth of the people surveyed by Gartner felt confident in their career progressing at their current organizations. The rest seek opportunities that promise better career growth and higher care toward their long-term development. In 2025, you cannot let your team feel unsure and insecure if you want them to remain 100% committed.
Thus, a corporate learning strategy for 2025 calls for integrating business plans with the learner’s plans. Your broad L&D strategy stems from business objectives, and it needs to join hands with your team members’ personal and professional goals. When this synergy is established, conversations about mutually contributing to a learner program and seeking participant buy-in become much easier. 9 out of 10 organizations are committed to this idea, wherein they are using a corporate learning strategy as a part of their retention strategy.
#3 How’s the manager?
At least a few job tasks are set to be eliminated by AI; that’s true for managerial roles, which are assumed to be safe from technological advancements. AI in management is obviously not going to be a decision-maker. Still, it can be your team’s analyst or auditor with the capabilities it possesses today and will have shortly. Management jobs are also prone to layoffs quite heavily recently.
The second point is that the new workers from the Gen Z are not keen on becoming managers. Wasn’t it the marker of success two decades ago? It surely was when my professional journey started. This disillusionment stems from the fact that people managers appear to be one of the most over-blamed and least supported parts of an organization. Did you get a layoff to announce? Call the manager. Two people argued? Call the manager. Everyone asks where the manager is, but no one asks how the manager is.
It’s high time we think of that question more while planning a corporate learning strategy. This is particularly true for the people managers down in the trenches, sitting away from attention and watching yet another assigned webinar without any real-time support to overcome the emotional burden and stress that their role creates.
A holistic learning approach looks at more than just technical skills. It includes emotional intelligence, social learning, and well-being. Companies are starting to see how important it is to create a learning culture. This culture helps workers grow and develop. When you focus on the whole person, they can build a more involved, strong, and flexible team. This method matches the idea of putting employee well-being first because it is key to success in an organization.
Plus, training people to manage and lead others better brings twin benefits:
They can effectively manage teams and build further value for your organization. They are already attuned to your company’s norms and practices. They understand what good performance looks like and how it is created after experience as an IC (individual contributor). They can put themselves in the position of their team members. So you get good managers for your organization from a new generation of people known for being digital natives and curious, open minds.
The second is great internal mobility and career progression. When such a system is in place, your employees know they have opportunities to grow, so they focus on achieving them rather than investing time searching for better avenues. Very few organizations are leveraging this effectively (the number stood at 15% as per a LinkedIn Learning Report), so you can stand out quite easily as a great place to work with a corporate learning strategy that offers holistic avenues for professional growth.
#4 Make yourself heard.
Cut down on training. That’s not the whole idea. Cut down on training that is proving ineffective. There’s little point in keeping up with annual training retreats, or three-day workshops, or webinars with that specific expert if you cannot see ROI. As per a CIPD survey, proving ROI and working with limited resources are among the top challenges in effective L&D at work.
Training budgets are tightening up. The pandemic brought bad news in terms of steep budget cuts. A lot of learning programs regressed to online, in-house, one-size-fits-all models that advertised themselves with high distribution. Impact matters more than ever, so keep one phrase in mind for your corporate learning strategy of 2025: optimization.
The key to getting this right lies in aligning with the business strategy (which LinkedIn also puts at #1 among L&D priorities) and focusing on bridging gaps (which CIPD highlights among the top priorities of the L&D function.) Tying up learning opportunities to performance management then becomes the first step. It calls for effectively identifying current skill gaps in the workforce, and predicting the future ones that are yet to arise.
Don’t measure the success of your corporate learning strategy the old school way. Think of a holistic picture when it comes of ROI of training.
Quantitative ROI
LinkedIn’s survey has clearly outlined that the voice of L&D is growing. The C-suite wants to hear it out. Show them what corporate learning can really do, and make your impact felt at the right level. That means:
investing in the measurement of outcomes, repetitively
collecting data along the right metrics, don’t fall into the trap of vanity metrics like completion rates
creating advocacy for learning from the participants themselves
developing your analytical and human skills to present these cases strongly
considering the value of risks you prevented (turnover, man-hours saved, etc.)
Qualitative ROI
Beyond that, the corporate learning strategy should also cater to the employee’s context. You need to ask questions like this before establishing an overarching corporate learning strategy:
Do they have the two hours to invest in a workshop? Or would giving them microlearning modules for a month be better?
Is the area being taught more compatible with PowerPoint presentations or one-on-one coaching?
How am I going to assess the impact of this? (Only about 5% of learning initiatives reach the measurement stage)
How does this particular training impact our business objectives?
A positive ROI here looks like employee advocacy for learning initiatives, higher engagement rates, training satisfaction scores, and cultural changes.
Corporate learning strategies in 2025 are living documents that evolve with your organization. Make them alive and attuned to the present.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, accepting the changing trends in corporate learning is key to keeping up in today’s quick world. We see more AI-focused personalized learning and ways that include emotional health. The scene is changing fast. Using short learning sessions, mobile tools, data tracking, and game-like elements can make learning more lively and effective. By adjusting to these trends, businesses can build a culture of continuous learning that supports growth and new ideas. Stay updated, stay flexible, and see your corporate learning strategy succeed in this digital age.
Revamp your L&D strategy with a helping hand from Risely.
Download your free copy of Risely’s L&D strategy framework today and get started.
In this blog, we explore the top eight learning and development software tools you should know to further your L&D strategy into driving real results.
Top 8 Learning and Development Software You Need
As an L&D leader, you know keeping your team learning and developing is crucial to success. Now that the shift to online learning has finally taken place, you have the means to do it more easily and effectively than ever before. The right learning and development software will go beyond providing training; instead, it offers meaningful engagement that finally connects with your team. The tools allow collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the ability to design tailored content focused on unique organizational needs.
In this blog, we explore the top eight learning and development software tools you should know to further your L&D strategy into driving real results.
Essential Learning and Development Software for Leadership Training
We fully understand that stepping into the fast-moving realm of L&D technology may be overwhelming. That’s why we have put together an in-depth look at eight of the leading learning and development software options that outlines strengths, features, and pricing so you can find the perfect fit for your team.
Growth of your people is at the core of your organization’s success, and learning and development is no longer constrained to physical classrooms. In other words, you can start to break through traditional constraints as an L&D leader and use innovative learning and development technology that supports the growth of essential leadership skills in a more flexible and engaging manner. These types of learning and development software tools are adaptable to how different people learn best, foster growth from within, enhance employee engagement, and embrace professional development that truly matters.
1. Risely
Risely is an AI copilot for leadership development that offers personalized learning journeys that cater to each manager’s unique needs and challenges while seamlessly integrating into daily workflows. The platform stands out by aligning development plans with company values and focusing on team dynamics, ensuring that growth is both relevant and impactful. Combined with powerful self-assessment tools and actionable insights, Risely delivers a holistic approach to leadership development, making it a top choice for organizations looking to foster effective leaders.
Key Features:
AI Coaching with Merlin: Personalized, AI-driven guidance that adapts to user actions and needs.
Tailored Learning Journeys: Daily learning nudges designed to support individual growth.
Comprehensive Self-Assessments: Evaluate 30 key skills with detailed analysis reports.
Team Feedback & Admin Dashboards: Gain insights into leadership strengths and opportunities for improvement through team feedback.
Focus on Team Dynamics: Aligns leadership development with organizational values and team needs.
Pros:
Personalized Learning: Tailored learning paths meet individual needs and goals.
AI Coaching: Merlin- AI leadership coach- provides real-time, role-specific guidance.
Seamless Integration: Learning fits directly into daily workflows, no platform switching needed.
Flexible Plans: Cancel anytime, with a 14-day free trial.
Pricing:
Ascend Plan: $59/month for individual users.
Accelerate Plan: $299/month for five users.
Catapult Plan: Custom pricing for large organizations, start exploring how to purchase Risely.
Best for: Managers and L&D professionals looking for hyper-personalized AI-driven coaching to improve leadership skills.
2. iSpring Solutions
iSpring is known for its powerful eLearning authoring tools and LMS solutions that helps individuals, teams, and businesses succeed through employee training and development. It enables businesses to create interactive content and courses quickly, making it ideal for online training.
Key Features:
eLearning authoring with SCORM, quizzes, and interactive elements.
Integration with PowerPoint for seamless course creation.
24/7 technical support and a content library.
Mobile-friendly learning options.
Pros:
Powerful authoring tools: Extensive capabilities for creating detailed courses.
Integration: Works well with PowerPoint, making it accessible to users already familiar with Microsoft products.
Support: 24/7 technical assistance.
Cons:
High pricing: Especially for larger teams or businesses.
Limited LMS features: The LMS could be more comprehensive compared to other platforms.
Pricing:
iSpring Suite: $770/year per author.
iSpring Suite Max: $970/year per author.
iSpring Suite Premium: $1,970/year per author.
Best for: Organizations looking for robust authoring tools and integration with PowerPoint for content creation.
3. Docebo
Docebo is a feature-rich learning platform with a focus on AI-powered tools to enhance the learning experience. It is highly customizable and scalable, designed to support businesses as they expand. It is known for creating learning programs that drive engagement, productivity, advocacy, and connection with their customers, partners, and employees.
Key Features:
AI-driven features for automation in enrolment, translations, and content categorization.
Personalized learning experiences for employees, customers, and partners.
Mobile app and integration with Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and other software.
Pros:
AI Capabilities: Advanced automation and generative AI for content creation.
Scalability: Easily grows with businesses expanding into new regions and audiences.
Customizability: Tailor the platform to suit different audiences.
Cons:
Limited custom pricing transparency: Pricing depends on the organization size and needs.
Complexity: The system can be overwhelming for smaller businesses or those with limited L&D resources.
Pricing:
Custom Pricing: Based on the number of users and organizational needs.
Best for: Medium to large businesses seeking a scalable, AI-driven platform for a personalized learning experience.
4. CYPHER Learning
CYPHER Learning offers an all-in-one platform for L&D, HR, and education professionals. It features AI-driven tools to create personalized learning experiences and manage learning outcomes effectively so teams can create courses faster, train teams better, and help everyone learn even quicker.
Key Features:
AI-powered platform for personalized learning and analytics.
Integration with over 50 languages.
Intuitive user interface and advanced course creation tools.
Learning analytics and performance tracking.
Pros:
Personalization: AI tools make learning experiences more engaging and effective.
User-friendly interface: Intuitive design helps create and manage courses easily.
Comprehensive platform: Supports multiple use cases in corporate, education, and training sectors.
Cons:
Limited pricing flexibility: Not ideal for smaller organizations with tighter budgets.
Complex features: Could be overwhelming for users seeking only basic LMS functionality.
Pricing:
Custom Pricing: Based on the organization’s needs.
Best for: Organizations looking for a comprehensive, AI-powered platform with advanced course creation and personalization tools.
5. Absorb LMS
Absorb LMS is a highly scalable, AI-powered learning management system designed to foster business productivity and effective training experiences. Suitable for organizations with diverse learning needs, Absorb LMS supports internal employee training, customer education, and partner development.
Key Features:
Generative AI: Accelerates course creation by automating research and design, ensuring high-quality content.
Engaging Learner Platform: Delivers intuitive, multimedia-rich experiences to boost engagement and retention.
Robust Security: Meets top data security standards (SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR) for safe learning.
Pros:
Course Creation: Absorb LMS offers efficient tools for building courses, including AI-powered content creation that saves time.
Helpful Features: The platform has comprehensive features, which cater to diverse training needs, including mobile learning and reporting tools.
Intuitive Design: Its user interface is praised for its ease of use, making it accessible to users with varying technical skills.
Cons:
Limited Features: Certain advanced functionalities or integrations are lacking, affecting the flexibility of the system.
Limited Customization: While the platform is easy to use, its customization options are limited, making it challenging for organizations with specific needs.
Inadequate Reporting: Users express dissatisfaction with reporting features, finding them insufficient for more complex data analysis.
Pricing:
Custom Pricing: Based on the organization’s needs.
Best For: Medium to large enterprises looking for a comprehensive LMS that supports compliance training, onboarding, and scalable employee development programs.
6. TalentLMS
TalentLMS is an easy-to-use Learning Management System (LMS) designed to provide a seamless training experience. It’s highly customizable, mobile-friendly, and integrates with numerous platforms like Gmail and Salesforce. It’s trusted by companies such as Google, Amazon, and Meta, making it a popular choice for organizations of all sizes.
Key Features:
Course creation with assessments, quizzes, and live sessions.
Ready-made courses available in the TalentLibrary.
Scalability for small and large businesses.
Gamification to increase engagement.
Integration with existing tools.
Pros:
Ease of use: Simple interface and quick setup.
Customization: Extensive options to personalize learning portals.
Mobile Accessibility: Available on various devices.
Integration: Works with numerous third-party applications.
Cons:
Limited advanced features: Lower-tier plans lack access to more advanced tools.
Customization challenges: Does not fully meet the needs of organizations with highly specific requirements.
Pricing:
Core Plan: $69/month (1-20 users).
Grow Plan: $109/month (1-20 users).
Pro Plan: $139/month (1-20 users).
Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for larger teams.
Best for: Small to medium businesses seeking an LMS with flexibility and a user-friendly interface for employee training.
7. Valamis
Valamis offers both LMS and LXP capabilities, providing a personalized and data-driven learning experience. It includes tools like content authoring, a learning record store (LRS), and eCommerce integration. Valamis positions itself as a strategic partner in digital learning, with extensive consultancy services.
Key Features:
Advanced personalization for learners.
LXP functionality with data insights.
Integration with over 250 tools, including Microsoft Teams.
Learning Record Store (LRS) for tracking.
Pros:
Customer Support: High-quality support and partnership with clients.
Advanced Personalization: Tailored learning paths and insights.
Extensive Integration: Works with many platforms and content providers.
Cons:
Cumbersome Interface: Some users find the interface less intuitive.
High Cost: More expensive than other platforms, especially for smaller companies.
Pricing:
Starts at €17,000/year for large enterprises.
Best for: Large enterprises looking for a comprehensive LXP with advanced tracking, personalization, and analytics features.
8. BetterUp
Unlike traditional LMS or LXP platforms, BetterUp is a coaching platform that focuses on personal and leadership development. It offers one-on-one coaching, focusing on areas such as resilience, stress management, and emotional intelligence. BetterUp is popular for improving employee well-being and leadership skills.
Key Features:
Personalized coaching for employees.
Analytics and insights into employee well-being.
Flexible “on-demand” coaching sessions.
Pros:
Engagement: Improves employee motivation and well-being.
Personalized Coaching: Tailored to individual needs.
Well-being Focus: Emphasizes personal development and mental health.
Cons:
High Cost: Expensive compared to in-person coaching.
Limited traditional LMS functionality: More focused on coaching than structured learning.
Pricing:
Intro Plan: $89 per 30-minute session.
Plus Plan: $149 for two 30-minute sessions.
Premium Plan: $279 for four sessions.
Best for: Organizations that want to focus on leadership coaching and employee well-being, rather than structured learning programs.
How do the Best Learning and Development Software Compare?
Software Tool
Key Features
Pros
Cons
Pricing
Best For
Risely
AI coaching, personalized learning journeys, self-assessments, team feedback, admin dashboards
Personalized learning, AI coaching, seamless integration, on-demand support
Lack of AI readiness might impede implementation in some teams
Comparative Analysis of Learning and Development Software: What You Need to Know
If you’re on the hunt for a learning and development platform, here’s a quick breakdown of how some of the top options stack up:
1. Personalization and AI Coaching
Risely stands out with its AI coach, Merlin, that personalizes learning to fit each manager’s specific needs. It’s all about real-time, role-specific advice that aligns with your organization’s values, making leadership development more relevant and impactful.
Docebo also uses AI but focuses more on automating processes like content categorization and enrollment. It’s great if you’re scaling fast and need a lot of flexibility, but maybe a bit overkill for smaller teams.
BetterUp is more about personalized, one-on-one coaching with a big focus on mental well-being. It’s perfect if you want to prioritize emotional intelligence and resilience but lacks traditional LMS features.
2. Content Creation and Learning Management
iSpring Solutions is your go-to if you’re focused on creating engaging content. Its PowerPoint integration makes course creation a breeze, but the LMS side is a bit limited.
Absorb LMS is another solid choice if you’re after quick, AI-driven course creation. It’s great for engaging learners, though it could use more robust reporting features for tracking progress.
3.Customizability and Scalability
Docebo and CYPHER Learning are highly customizable and perfect for businesses with growing teams across different regions. They offer advanced features and analytics that can keep up with your company as it expands.
Valamis is another heavy hitter when it comes to personalization, but the high cost and somewhat complex interface might be a bit much for smaller organizations.
4.Ease of Use and Integration
TalentLMS is probably the easiest to use. It’s simple, quick to set up, and integrates well with tools you’re probably already using, like Gmail and Salesforce. Perfect for small to medium businesses that don’t want a complicated setup.
Risely shines here, too, with learning that blends seamlessly into your daily workflow—no need to jump between platforms to get your coaching.
5. Pricing Flexibility
TalentLMS and Risely are pretty flexible when it comes to pricing. You can start small, and they both offer cancel-anytime plans with free trials.
On the pricier side, Valamis and BetterUp cater to bigger enterprises with larger budgets, so smaller teams might find them too expensive.
6.Mobile Accessibility
If learning on the go is important, you’re in luck. Most platforms, like Risely, Docebo, TalentLMS, and Absorb LMS, have mobile-friendly options that let your team learn from anywhere, at any time.
If you’re after personalized, AI-powered leadership development, Risely and Docebo have you covered. iSpring Solutions and Absorb LMS are the winners for content creation, while TalentLMS is your best bet for a no-fuss, affordable setup. For larger organizations that need advanced features and scalability, CYPHER Learning and Valamis are solid choices. BetterUp is ideal for companies focusing on coaching and well-being, though it’s a bit more niche.
Whether you’re a small business looking for something simple or a large company needing scalability, there’s something for everyone here.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the right learning and development software is very important for your organization’s success. To make a good choice, you should look at key points like features, pricing, and compatibility. Think about your learning goals and how well the software works with what you already have. It should also be able to grow with your needs and be flexible.
Whether you need help with content creation, training materials, or employee onboarding, the software should match what you require. Pick software that improves knowledge sharing, encourages engagement, and supports ongoing learning. Look for tools that give you a competitive edge and help your growth plans. By investing in the right learning and development software, you set the stage for organizational success and employee happiness. Choose carefully and start your journey of continuous improvement and professional development.
Avantika holds an undergrad degree in Political Science and Psychology, bringing a unique blend of analytical and psychological insight to her writing. With extensive experience in content creation and research, she crafts engaging and well-informed content that resonates with readers and drives meaningful conversations.
Avantika Anand
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In this blog, we will explore 12 practical learning and development activities that will help equip your employees with necessary skills and power their growth on both personal and professional levels.
12 Learning and Development Activities to Drive Employee Growth
As an HR or L&D leader, you realize that helping your people grow is more than just a question of skill building; it’s also about creating an environment where they can feel engaged, valued, and motivated to make their own mark on the bigger picture. This is all about the right learning opportunities opening doors for your team, not just in learning itself, but in developing confidence, being innovative, and driving real results for your organization.
In this blog, we will explore 12 practical learning and development activities that will help equip your employees with necessary skills and power their growth on both personal and professional levels.
What are the Key Learning and Development Programs for Modern Workforces?
Modern workplaces need learning and development programs that go beyond just technical skills. While job-specific training is important, L&D programs should also focus on building soft skills that drive collaboration, communication, and innovation.
Some of the most impactful L&D programs include:
Leadership development: Preparing your future leaders to confidently take on bigger roles and lead with purpose.
Compliance training: Ensuring your team stays up-to-date with industry regulations and standards.
Soft skills development: Strengthening essential abilities like teamwork, communication, and problem-solving that are crucial for navigating today’s workplace challenges.
By offering a mix of these programs, you’re not just developing employees—you’re building a workforce ready to adapt and excel in any situation.
Onboarding and Continuous Training Programs
A strong onboarding program is key to helping new hires feel welcome and prepared. Beyond introducing them to your company’s culture, policies, and procedures, it should also offer role-specific training that gives employees a clear understanding of their responsibilities. When new team members feel supported from the start, they’re more likely to hit the ground running and contribute quickly.
But it doesn’t stop there. Continuous training is just as important for keeping your team’s skills sharp and aligned with evolving business needs. Whether through workshops, seminars, or casual lunch-and-learn sessions, ongoing development ensures that employees stay engaged and are always learning.
Regular training isn’t just about professional growth—it’s about keeping your team up to date with the latest industry trends, best practices, and tools to excel in their roles. By investing in both onboarding and continuous learning, you’re not only boosting performance but also showing your commitment to long-term employee growth.
Leadership Development Initiatives
Developing future leaders is very important for the long-term success of any organization. Leadership development initiatives can come in different forms. These include mentoring programs, leadership workshops, or coaching sessions for executives.
These programs should focus on developing key leadership skills. Important skills include communication, delegation, decision-making, and team management. Whenever organizations invest in leadership development, they end up creating a group of future leaders. These leaders will be ready to help their teams and face challenges ahead.
Furthermore, these initiatives help with succession planning. They let organizations find and grow their internal talent for leadership roles without issues.
12 Innovative Learning and Development Activities
Training for employees is no longer characterized by yawns and lengthy lecture-based sessions. The modern workplace uses the most effective interactive, real-world learning solutions that keep the learner active and retain knowledge better. As an HR or L&D leader, you’re likely always on the lookout for creative ways to make training more effective and enjoyable for your team.
From hands-on workshops to gamified learning experiences and from peer-to-peer collaborative learning, training is designed to be engaging, participatory and practical. Role-playing in training for instance can be an effective way for the workforce to learn to deal with challenging situations, while interactive games make learning new concepts fun and memorable.
Let’s dive into some of these innovative training activities and explore how they can energize your workplace while equipping your employees with the skills they need to succeed.
1. Interactive Workshops and Seminars
As an HR or L&D professional, you can transform traditional training by introducing interactive workshops and seminars that engage employees and promote hands-on learning. These sessions go beyond passive listening, encouraging active participation and collaboration.
To make the experience more dynamic, consider including:
Adding these activities enables personalization of workshop topics to suit the needs of your team, be it improvement of technical skills, development of skills in communication and teamwork, or updated knowledge on industry trends. The outcome of learning would thereby become interesting, more appealing to every individual’s own style of learning, and this will make the employee easily remember and apply the acquired knowledge better.
2. Team-building Exercises and Group Projects
Team-building exercises and group projects are powerful tools you can use to help employees improve their communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills—all while keeping the learning fun and engaging. These activities bring teams together to work toward a shared goal, fostering trust and camaraderie.
You can introduce activities such as:
Escape rooms
Problem-solving challenges
Outdoor adventures
Creative group projects
By facilitating these exercises, you’re encouraging employees to leverage each other’s strengths, enhancing collaboration and communication. Additionally, assigning leadership roles within group projects allows your team to practice guiding and motivating others, helping to nurture leadership skills and create a more cohesive, empowered workforce.se each other’s strengths. This helps them communicate better and tackle problems as a team. Giving leadership roles in group projects also helps employees build their leadership skills. They get to practice guiding and motivating others.
3. Role-playing Scenarios for Real-world Problem Solving
Incorporating role-playing scenarios into your training programs can offer your team valuable, hands-on experience in a safe environment. These simulations allow employees to step into specific roles and tackle real-world challenges, such as resolving customer complaints, handling tough conversations, or collaborating on complex projects. In this digital era, options are also available online to practice role-playing, if one is shy.
This interactive approach helps employees develop essential soft skills, including:
Problem-solving
Communication
Negotiation
Conflict resolution
By practicing these skills in a controlled setting, employees gain confidence and become better equipped to handle similar situations in their daily work. This practical experience not only enhances their abilities but also prepares them to apply these skills effectively in real-world scenarios.
4. Debates to Fuel Critical Thinking
Organizing debates at work can be a dynamic way to foster critical thinking and deepen understanding of complex issues. By assigning employees a topic and dividing them into teams to argue different sides, you create an engaging platform for them to:
Research and analyze information
Build and present strong arguments
Think critically and challenge ideas
Enhance their communication and presentation skills
Incorporating debates into your training program allows employees to engage in lively discussions, broaden their perspectives, and sharpen their critical thinking abilities. This approach not only makes learning more interactive but also develops skills that are crucial for navigating today’s fast-paced work environment.
5. Simulation and Gamification for Immersive Learning
Integrating gamification and simulations into your training programs can make learning both exciting and effective. Here’s how these techniques can enhance your training:
Gamification: Incorporating game-like elements such as points, badges, leaderboards, and rewards can boost motivation and engagement. Employees are more likely to participate actively and strive for improvement when they’re rewarded for their efforts.
Simulations: These create a risk-free environment where employees can practice their skills without real-world consequences. This is particularly valuable for roles that demand quick thinking and decision-making in challenging situations.
By blending gamification with simulations, you create a dynamic and enjoyable learning experience. Employees not only gain practical skills but also retain knowledge more effectively, all while having fun and staying engaged in their development journey.
6. Versatility Through Cross-Training
Engage your team with cross-training, allowing employees to develop skills beyond their primary roles. This fosters a culture of continuous learning and helps them adapt to changing job demands.
Benefits of cross-training include:
Enhanced Flexibility: Employees can smoothly transition into different roles.
Increased Engagement: Varied learning experiences boost motivation and satisfaction.
Boosted Innovation: Exposure to different functions sparks new ideas.
Investing in cross-training aligns employee growth with organizational success, driving performance and innovation.
7. Solving Case Studies
Incorporating case studies into your training can offer your team valuable hands-on experience with real business scenarios. By analyzing data, identifying problems, and crafting solutions, employees enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities while gaining a deeper understanding of business strategy.
When your employees tackle case studies, they can:
Apply their knowledge to solve real-world challenges
Develop stronger analytical and problem-solving skills
Explore different business areas and industries
Improve their decision-making abilities
Customizing case studies to fit your department’s or industry’s specific needs ensures that the learning is both relevant and engaging, making it a powerful tool for driving growth and expertise within your team.
8. Brain Wrecking Quizzes and Polls
Engage your team by incorporating challenging quizzes and polls into your learning and development programs. These interactive tools make learning more dynamic and memorable for your employees.
Quizzes and polls in your learning and development program facilitate the following for your team:
Participate actively and remember key concepts
Engage in deeper thinking and problem-solving
Receive immediate feedback on their performance
Tailor learning experiences to different styles
Enjoy friendly competition, boosting motivation
You enhance your training with all these fun and interactive ingredients, thereby making it even more effective and enjoyable for everyone.
9. Three-Step Interviews for Deep Reflection
Implementing three-step interviews can offer your team a structured way to engage in deep reflection. This approach helps employees explore their experiences, recognize their learnings, and identify areas for improvement.
This approach supports your employees by:
Gain insights into personal strengths and areas for improvement
Share and understand diverse perspectives
Support professional development and enhance self-discovery
Boost motivation and engagement through regular reflection
Using these interviews can foster a culture of continuous learning and drive success for both individuals and the organization.
10. Confidence Building Through Peer Teaching
Incorporating peer teaching into your mentorship programs can be highly beneficial for your team. It allows employees to share their knowledge and skills while also growing personally and professionally.
When your team members engage in peer teaching, they:
Deepen their own understanding of the material
Enhance their communication and presentation abilities
Gain valuable experience in mentoring and leadership
This approach creates a collaborative learning environment where employees learn from each other’s experiences and viewpoints, fostering a stronger, more connected team.
11. Brain Storming to Stimulate Creativity and Idea Generation
Engaging your team in this learning and development activity ignites creativity and innovation. This technique not only gets people to work in unison but also utilize a compounded intelligence of the group.
List of how brainstorming is beneficial to your team:
Brings out fresh ideas in innovative solutions
Enhances teamwork and diversified ideas
Gives out-of-the-box thinking
Offers a way to share ideas in a comfortable spot.
By incorporating brainstorming into your learning and development program, you boost employee engagement and develop creative solutions that can help your business grow.
12. Learning Circles to Foster Collaboration
Creating learning circles can be a fantastic way to enhance your team’s growth and collaboration. These small, informal groups allow employees to connect, share knowledge, and discuss topics that matter to them.
Below is how learning circles can benefit your team:
Share insights and expertise related to their roles
Explore common interests and tackle specific projects
Collaborate on solving challenges and exchanging best practices
By establishing learning circles, you foster a supportive community that encourages continuous learning and drives innovation within your organization.
Why Is Learning and Development Crucial for Employee Growth?
Investing in your employees’ learning and development isn’t just another expense—it’s one of the smartest moves you can make for both your people and your organization. In fact, when you provide opportunities for professional growth, employees are more valued, motivated, and connected to their work.
Be it workshops, cross-training, or group projects, a transparent learning and development program guarantees to employees the resources and skills they need to perform well and take up new responsibilities. While L&D sharpens technical skills, it also contributes to developing essential soft skills in the areas of communication, leadership, and problem-solving – always with greater impact in the long term.
By fostering a culture of continuous learning, you’re showing your team that their growth matters. The result? Greater job satisfaction, stronger retention rates, and a more engaged, high-performing workforce that’s ready to meet whatever comes next.
Learn more in this episode of RiseUp Radio featuring Janis Cooper, who heads Leadership and Staff Development at Best Friends Animal Society:
Conclusion
In Learning and Development, helping employees grow is very important. Interactive workshops and brainstorming sessions are effective learning and development activities. Each one helps create a workforce that is knowledgeable and motivated. These L&D activities improve skills and encourage teamwork and critical thinking. Organizations should look at how these programs work by setting clear goals and getting feedback for ongoing improvement. By investing in L&D, businesses can see real benefits and better returns. They should adapt to new technologies and customize programs for remote workers to stay relevant and effective in today’s changing work environment.
Avantika holds an undergrad degree in Political Science and Psychology, bringing a unique blend of analytical and psychological insight to her writing. With extensive experience in content creation and research, she crafts engaging and well-informed content that resonates with readers and drives meaningful conversations.
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