In an increasingly tech driven workplace, Simon Kent reports on the delivery methods behind today’s L&D initiatives.
At a time when technology is surging ahead throughout the HR space, the choices facing L&D professionals in terms of how to get new skills and knowledge to their workforce have never been greater or more complex. Never mind trying to understand the hows and whys of AI, the task of upskilling – or perhaps right skilling – an agile and frequently hybrid workforce in a way that will keep the organisation at the forefront of its market is no mean accomplishment. In the face of so many choices, where can an organisation begin if employees are to be engaged in getting the skills they need when they need them?
“Different delivery methods all have their place,” asserts Brad Batesole, Founding Partner at Madecraft. “Face to face works well for collaboration and relationship building. But for getting skills and knowledge to a workforce at scale, video-led learning that happens in the flow of work is the answer.”
Batesole cites the Department of Education’s Employer Skills Survey, which found employees are currently completing just 3.6 learning days per year. “That’s not an engagement problem, it’s a delivery problem,” he says. “We’ve spent 20 years making learning easy for us to deliver when we should have been making it easy for people to complete it.”
this means supporting colleagues not only to adapt, but to remain confident, capable and future ready as the nature of work continues to change.”
Naturally AI is having a huge impact on the learning space, and seems to have the potential to supercharge an organisation’s ability to upgrade workforces in record time: “The developments we’re seeing in L&D right now are only possible because of AI,” says Batesole. “Not AI creating content, but AI handling discovery, personalisation, and analytics. It can adapt learning pathways to someone’s current role and future prospects without L&D teams manually redesigning training for each person. That’s what gives organisations agility. Instead of rigid programmes that are outdated before they launch, you’ve got systems that adapt as roles and business needs shift.”
AI, it would seem can power an almost infinitely personalised training resource, ready to adapt to any employee’s circumstances – both their position and their training needs.
As Sally Lane, Head of People Development at E.ON UK points out, this can be very important in a workplace that rarely stands still: “The workplace is evolving faster than ever,” she says. “Hybrid working is now a reality for many roles, reshaping how organisations think about communication, collaboration and learning.” E.ON UK employees have an addition challenge in aiding the transition to a low carbon economy requiring new green skills, particularly in technical and engineering roles. “For us, this means supporting colleagues not only to adapt, but to remain confident, capable and future ready as the nature of work continues to change,” she says.
At E.ON UK learning is no longer a choice between classroom or online delivery but the creation of the right blend of delivery in each case. “Face-to-face group training can be enhanced through technology to create more engaging, realistic learning experiences, while digital learning can be strengthened through group participation and gamification,” Lane explains. “What matters most is the experience of our colleagues and ensuring they can access the learning and upskilling they need.
“Our inclusive development networks are central to this, providing opportunities for colleagues to access learning resources in a way that works for them,” she adds.
An example of this approach is embodied in the company’s Net Zero Training Academy, a national programme designed to equip colleagues with the technical, digital and customer focused skills needed for the transition to cleaner, smarter energy. In this context, technical training combines specialist trainers, real-world equipment and digital tools to support colleagues across field engineering and customer facing roles.
An Employer Research Study from training provider BPP, based on responses from 500 senior HR leaders, has highlighted three main priorities for learning among businesses. First, organisations are doubling down on workplace success skills that technology cannot replicate – adaptability, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and resilience are now regarded as hugely important.
Second, and perhaps unsurprisingly, digital fluency and AI literacy are rapidly rising. Finally sector and role-specific training remains critical, particularly in regulated industries. “As automation and regulation evolve, technical and compliance knowledge needs more frequent refresh, while learners expect flexibility and shorter, more accessible formats,” says Emma O’Dell, Skills and Capability Director, BPP.
“In today’s hybrid environment, employers are less focused on choosing one mode over another and more on using each where it adds the most value,” O’Dell continues. “Online learning works well for knowledge-based content. It offers flexibility, speed and cost-effective scale, making it ideal for technical updates, regulatory changes and digital skills that need regular refresh.
“However,” she adds, “it is less effective for behavioural change and leadership development. Skills such as communication, collaboration, judgement and ethical decision making benefit from discussion, practice and feedback.”
Workshops, coaching and peer learning create the conditions required for challenge, reflection and confidence building, says O’Dell, while acknowledging these types of education initiatives are harder to scale and more resource demanding than tech-based formats.
if you can’t be bothered, why should they? It’s the quickest way to signal you don’t care about them.”
Paul Buller, Head of Learning Content and Coaching Adviser, Mindtools Kineo says that even when taking a blended learning approach, employers cannot take employee engagement for granted. Technology led learning, he argues can be a double-edged sword and employers must demonstrate it is being offered as a positive choice rather than an easy option: “Used wisely, technology can be an enormous aid to empower employees. Almost all of them will regularly use technology in one form or another so it won’t be a shock to them. Use it lazily, though, and you risk breaking the psychological contract – so if you can’t be bothered, why should they? It’s the quickest way to signal you don’t care about them.”
In addition to this, Buller argues, any provision of learning needs to acknowledge the individuality of the learners involved. They must not be treated as an homogenous mass and part of that means ensuring there is still a human touch present even when technology is being used to deliver learning: “We have to be so much more attuned to people’s individuality,” he says, “they will feel that even more acutely now that AI is so prevalent. It means we have to make human contact much more engaging, personalised and meaningful. That’s where true person-person learning comes from.”
Taking the right steps forward, argues Buller, means caring – caring about how others want to learn and caring about the differences that can exist between diverse parts of the business. “Don’t assume one size fits all,” he says. “Listen to people, and care about what they tell you. You can’t do everything for everyone but you can use technology to help understand so much more than we ever could about how people learn.”
the job is not to completely eradicate in-person training for online training, or vice versa.”
Buller’s final note signals the use of AI and data within L&D in order to inform and improve delivery from everyone’s perspective. This, too, he places on the continuum of L&D activities throughout the years: “Learning how to blend human interaction with technology is something we’ve been doing for centuries and this is just the next step,” he says. “Starting small – for instance, using your organisation’s GPT to analyse a spreadsheet of course feedback, building on the outcomes with more of your own questions and asking for suggestions on how to improve the learning based on the feedback, is a great way to become comfortable with what AI can do for you, and how it can partner you rather than be a threat.”
The future may seem complex, but at the end of the day the principle objective is still the same – to create a knowledgeable and skilled workforce in the most efficient and effective way. To that end, as Jon Neale, Growth Director UK & Ireland at Kahoot! notes, the outcome isn’t really to do with the delivery method at all: “For L&D and HR managers, the job is not to completely eradicate in-person training for online training, or vice versa,” he states. “It’s about understanding what a particular learning objective requires, and what format serves it best. Sometimes an in-person workshop can be effective, while an online refresher session might be more worthwhile another time. Finding the right balance between in-person and online training is integral to the functioning of a healthy, engaged workforce.”
