learning about learning….

Some interesting comments from the industry’s leading voices about the future of learning – some the most important trends on the horizon.

The One Minute Manager author Ken Blanchard provided an an outline of the three major changes he sees coming:
Changing technologies
• Engaging digital natives (younger generations) in creating the kind of learning experiences they are drawn to already
• Organizations need to pay attention to how social networking, gaming and simulations facilitate real work
• Increasing isolation and alienation because more people are working from home
• Organizations need to be deliberate in strengthening relationships at work, even virtual ones
• Productivity/relationship best practices for workers who work at home or independently

Changing demographics
• Finding different work arrangements for baby boomers other than retirement
• Organizations need to be more flexible to keep needed talent:
• Part-time arrangements
• More flexible schedules
• Project work
• Developing Gen X and Gen Y more rapidly to become leaders and managers
• Organizations need to provide career planning and intentional development and give attention to what they want or need:
• Boomers as mentors
• Work-life balance
• Larger meaning in work
• Support more “intrapreneurship” to keep people from leaving

Changing workplace
• Increasing need to provide just-in-time solutions to problems rather than just-in-case training
• Organizations need to provide shorter training and more follow-up
• Create ecosystems that support rapid on-boarding of new employees, training with supervisor involvement, coaching and access to information through technology
• Get away from one-size-fits-all: People need their own career/development journey mapped out and supported
• Custom-built life

Jay Cross, CEO of Internet Time Group
The core aspects of traditional L&D are rapidly going out of date, said Jay Cross, CEO of Internet Time Group. Things such as courses, curriculum, instruction manuals and learning events are less important than ever, and they’ll continue to move in that direction. “…Today, incessant change is baked into everything. About all we can say is that the future won’t be like the past. The focus of learning must shift from what used to work to what works now.” What works now Cross said the answer lies in the convergence of learning and workflows.

Ed Cohen, CLO at India-based Satyam Computer Services
“A perfect storm is the convergence of multiple storms that, when they collide, cause massive amounts of destruction and damage. Retirements of the baby-boomer generation in developed countries; aging populations worldwide because of declining birth rates; longer average life spans; a widening skills gap; and insufficient numbers of people entering the workforce are all factors which, when combined, are leading to this perfect storm.” According to Ed Cohen, the keys to getting through this storm will be extreme awareness of costs, knowing as much about the business as possible and taking care of employees, which in the end will better position the organization for the eventual upswing.

Rebecca Ray, senior vice president of global talent management and development at MasterCard
During the past few years, business acumen increasingly has been acknowledged as a core competency for effective chief learning officers because it’s the underpinning of alignment and effective measurement, said Rebecca Ray. Ray predicted that the learning industry will see increased use of social networks and user-generated content due to demographic and technology changes. The challenge for CLOs is to stay ahead of these technical trends and also demonstrate their value as learning solutions.

Source: Summerfield, B., and L.E. Wickman, Chief Learning Officer (Dec 2008).