Organisations are changing the way they provide learning and development, with more coaching, more in-house training, shorter courses and greater use of digital video, according to a survey by Video Arts, which reveals the new priorities for learning.
Video Arts asked 565 learning professionals about the training they provide and how it is delivered. The results show that 81% of organisations provide in-house training; 84% provide full-day training courses; 69% provide coaching; 58% use digital video clips – either through online video streaming or from DVDs – and 50% provide e-learning and interactive self study courses.
In the future, 54% of organisations intend to provide more training in-house; 62% intend to provide more coaching; 38% plan to increase the amount of online video streaming they use; 56% plan to offer more e-learning and interactive self study courses; 16% plan to cut the number of full-day courses they run and 56% plan to provide more ‘short’ courses of two hours or less.
“Coaching is definitely the way forward for organisations,” said Martin Addison. “Technology is also opening up new avenues for learning. Digital video and e-learning are growth areas because they are seen as engaging and they make learning available anytime and anywhere. E-learning in particular is enjoying a resurgence of interest. Some organisations may have had a disappointing experience with it in the past but today’s courses mean that e-learning is, at last, starting to realise its potential.”
The survey reveals the top ten priorities for learning and development professionals. These are leadership and managing people, communication, customer service and quality, performance management, attitude and motivation, teamwork, change management, project management, diversity and health & safety.
“When we undertook a similar survey with line managers last June, we found that ‘attitude and motivation’ was their top priority for learning, as organisations were trying to improve performance and reduce the levels of stress, anxiety and uncertainty in the workplace,” said Martin Addison. “It’s interesting that line managers believe that performance can be enhanced by improving the attitude of their staff, whereas learning professionals believe the answer lies in more effective leadership.”
The survey implies that the training industry is experiencing a fundamental change in the way that learning and development is delivered.
“The implication is that organisations will deliver more learning in-house by cutting full-day training courses into shorter courses and they will try to make these courses more engaging by blending e-learning and digital video with their own internal expertise,” said Martin Addison. “The growing use of digital video and e-learning creates the possibility that the role of the learning department will change. It will no longer be to provide learning at specific times. Instead, it will be to help individuals to make the best of the learning that’s available to them and to access it on-demand.”
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