Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 - (Page 22)

“People learn to do their work in small chunks: a tip from a pal, an ‘ah-ha’ moment after trying something new or a factoid from Wikipedia or Google.” – Jay Cross, CEO, Internet Time Group The Convergence of Learning and Work The core aspects of traditional L&D are rapidly going out of date, said Jay Cross, CEO of Internet Time Group.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. “Corporate learning used to be based on the proposition that knowing how people did things in the past was adequate preparation for doing well in the present,” he said. “This worked when there was generally one way to do a task, and it remained the same for decades. 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.” So the question that presents itself is: What works now? Cross said the answer lies in the convergence of learning and workﬂows. “Corporate learning is a continuous process,” he said. “People learn to do their work in small chunks: a tip from a pal, an ‘ah-ha’ moment after trying something new, a factoid from Wikipedia or Google, or a story told over lunch. But training departments rely on offering workshops and courses, and CLOs ﬁxate on learning management systems. These things are necessary, but they are a small part of improving organizational learning and performance.” Showing Learning’s Value As organizational leaders consider where to make cutbacks in a tighter operating environment, their eyes will no doubt fall to the learning function, as has been the case in the past. However, reductions in employee development are not inevitable if learning executives can clearly demonstrate its value, said Patti Phillips, head of the ROI Institute. “Along these lines, the learning industry will need to place greater emphasis than in the past on achieving business alignment, particularly with major programs,” Phillips said. “This will require [an] emphasis on clariﬁcation of economic and business needs, as well as job performance needs. It will require positioning programs to achieve these needs by developing program objectives that reﬂect the needs. Emphasis on isolating the effects of programs on business outcomes will be an imperative for evaluation processes.” That might be even harder to do than usual, as Phillips said more and more learning leaders are reporting to their organizations’ chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcers. “This reporting relationship will position learning as an important player in the business game and will require an even greater emphasis on connecting programs to business outcomes and showing the return on investment in learning,” she said. “Another important trend over the next ﬁve years is the merging of workforce development and economic development. Learning and development will become an important partner of economic development efforts within the organization and the community.” Next-Gen Learners For Karie Willyerd, Sun’s chief learning ofﬁcer, one of the pre-eminent talent issues of the next decade will be the demographic shift in the workforce from the baby boomers to generations X and Y. “Foremost, we need to expand our thinking from an emphasis on leadership development to an emphasis on knowledge transfer, broader skill building, just-in-time learning and breaking content into smaller, more digestible and incremental units available online and to mobile learners,” she said. This trend, combined with the continual progression of learn22 Chief Learning Ofﬁcer • December 2008 • www.clomedia.com ing programs to more virtual, mobile platforms, will lead to more focused, accessible and engaging content, she said. “[R]ight now, the bulk of online learning consists of slides, with an audio track replacing slides delivered by a human being. In time, I expect shorter, snack-sized learning modules that learners can pick and choose from to assemble their own curriculum,” she said. “I anticipate more interactivity to replicate the in-room experience of labs and workshops. I also think learning in the future may look more like what we think of as play: games, quizzes, self-directed exploration and peer collaboration.” http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Connections Business Impact Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial The Future of Learning CLO Profile Learning Opportunities Embedded in Social Networking ManTech Leverages Knowledge Management Approaches for Social Networking Agility Training for the Learning Organization Creating an Agile Organization With Learning 2.0 2008 Learning In Practice Awards Corporate Social Responsibility: How Can Learning Contribute? Union Fenosa Corporate University: How CSR Education Impacted the Bottom Line Training in the 21st Century: Everything Old Is New Again Zions Bancorp.: Connecting the Dots Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

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