Only 4% of organisations use real-time, on-the-job learning as their main learning strategy, according to a survey by knowledge platform Fuse.
Four in 10 learning and development teams are following a course-led strategy and are struggling to replace these courses with real-time learning opportunities, it found.
Just one in four organisations provide employees with access to learning materials “in the flow of work”, despite the fact that 92% of respondents thought on-demand access to knowledge was important.
Furthermore, 55% of L&D or HR professionals themselves said they often had to access knowledge in real time to perform their own role.
Nine in 10 felt that the loss of company expert knowledge was a serious business issue, according to Fuse, with the current “great resignation” causing concern for a potential corporate brain drain.
Learning engagement
One in five organisations surveyed by Fuse anticipated up to 20% churn in employees in the next 12 months.
More than half (58%) said this would reduce innovation, while 43% felt it would increase costs.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents said they assigned most of their learning efforts towards upskilling employees to perform better, rather than expanding employees’ repertoire of skills to boost their careers.
More than two-thirds (68%) felt that the ability to find and share knowledge was important to increase skills, while access to the learning in the flow of work was important for 58%.
Fuse CEO Luke Oubridge said the company’s findings had shown a “significant disconnect in terms of what leaders know and want L&D to look like in the modern-day organisation”.
“The reality is that a great many are still struggling to swap course-centric strategies for real-time learning on the job.
“When we then look at these findings through the lens of hybrid work, the advent of technology, and the impending great resignation, the true urgency of this issue can be fully appreciated.
“The course, at least in isolation, is no longer a viable learning solution when the need for instant access to knowledge on demand is happening everyday – and it’s a business-critical issue that warrants immediate attention at the top table.”
