January is a good month to set learning goals, not only because it is human nature to want to start the new year with positive resolutions. It is also the beginning of the last quarter of the business year, when Learning and Development (L&D) teams at corporations around the world must take stock of their roadmap for the next three months and ensure that the year’s budget is fully and significantly spent.
Training and development teams are intended to carefully support and personalize your learning needs. But in large organizations, it is not feasible to design individual learning paths that do justice to specific training needs analysis (TNA). As a result, NCDs include a wide range of employees in a single learning program.
The mentality of L&D teams also compounds this one-size-fits-all approach. In a recent viral post on LinkedIn, training and development expert Matt Furness identified “organizational fairy tales” that management still falls into, affecting learning adoption. In his words, these are:
People will read our carefully crafted emails.
People who request learning will appear.
People will patiently search our LMS.
People will change because they want to.
People care deeply about business success.
Furness urges L&D executives to focus their attention on “behavioral literacy” to understand the type of content their audience is interested in, the formats in which they like to learn, and other details such as their preferred mode and time of learning, attention span, etc. Data-rich learning management systems (LMS) are making it possible to leverage these insights into results.
One consequence of the learning crisis is the highly engaged learner, someone who does not believe in sticking solely to the mandates of training and development, but rather likes to be in charge of their own growth path. This trend is especially true for Gen Z workers. The Voices @ Work report, recently released by Naukri, India’s leading online job portal, states that 57% of respondents (based on a survey of over 23,000 Gen Z professionals across over 80 industries in corporate India) saw career advancement in terms of skill acquisition at work, ahead of salary increases (21%) or promotions (12%).
But given the profusion of educational technology platforms and online courses, having to decide what, how and when to learn can lead to decision paralysis. You are not alone, or even in the minority, if you have never logged into a paid online course after taking the first few modules. Although exact figures are difficult to obtain, anecdotally only 10% to 20% of students complete online courses worldwide.
So if you’re a professional interested in picking up a new skill this year, here’s a cheat sheet of five factors to evaluate before deciding to enroll in a course.
Anchor learning to real problems
Start with a work challenge. Ask yourself: “What do I need to improve at work in the next 3 to 6 months?” Learning tied to a specific application (team management, data usage, automation of repetitive tasks) helps eliminate confusion and remains relevant in the long term.
enough is enough
You don’t need to become an expert. Or at least not right away. Just as business leaders like to start with a minimum viable product, aim for a minimum viable level of competence: learn enough to see if it works for you.
less is more
Choose a primary platform and a secondary source. Following five newsletters, three apps, and ten creators may give you an initial high, but it will end in a cognitive disorder. A good rule of thumb is to choose depth over breadth of learning.
break it
Block out a fixed, realistic slot (say 30 minutes twice a week) and stick to it. Don’t set ambitious goals like “finish the course in two weeks.” Consistency is aggravated, while ambition can create undue pressure and leave you unmotivated.
Apply what you learn
Learning is sustained only when it is converted into action. Each week try applying an idea at work, explaining it to a colleague, writing a short note, or trying it out in a meeting. If you can’t turn learning into results quickly, it may be a sign that you haven’t chosen the right course or program. That’s why it’s important to test the waters (review progress, read testimonials, and talk to industry experts or alumni) before going full throttle.
Release your inner curiosity instead of getting carried away by FOMO. Happy learning!
Work vibrations is a biweekly column about ideas to help you thrive at what you do.