the analyst’s corner
Reflecting, not asserting
Do we really need predictions? 00 Standfirst David Perring I
never fail to be amazed by the flurry of predictions made at this time of year. And once again I haven’t been let down. The soothsayers are examining the entrails of corporate learning and making bold assertions about how our world will never be the same again, starting this year. Do these predictions actually have any value? To be fair the underlying trends are often actually worth reflecting about, even if the apocalyptic messaging of the death of the learning department is greatly exaggerated. Putting the rhetoric and dogma to one side, what emerging trends should you be thinking about and perhaps planning your innovation around? We should at least be taking a position on the important trends, even if we aren’t acting on them. Here are some key questions to ponder. Not because they are predictions, but because you really should have a grasp of innovations in your industry. Let’s start with mobile. Do you understand where m-learning and digital convergence is important to you? The trend to enable learning on any device, not just the desktop, is going to keep coming. The big issue is that Flash isn’t an option for some mobile devices. But that’s where lots of legacy content is. So, here are a few questions you should be answering: l Where could mobile learning be useful to my organisation – why, what and when?
l What capabilities do my current solutions have to support mobile and what are they missing?
l Who do I need to engage to start to build a vision and roadmap for the future?
l And what is the transitioning plan that makes legacy Flash content usable on all devices?
Thinking about building answers to these questions will help you appreciate how much energy mobile should be absorbing of your time – if at all. The next big question is: what role should you
have in building the long-term capability of your company? This is really about raising your focus to building the skills your organisation needs to thrive in the years to come. It’s a strategic perspective and prompts questions about your role as a strategic facilitator. l What am I doing to build the capabilities critical to the competitiveness of my company in the long- term future? Do I know what they are?
l Is long-term, strategic success about resolving a loss of expertise because of retirement, or is it about preparing for new markets?
l Do I understand the when, where, who and why of the strategic goals of my organisation and my role in delivering them?
If you haven’t already had a discussion about long- term, strategic directions with your stakeholders and the capabilities of your people to achieve them, then it’s time you did.
The next question to ask yourself is: do I
have great data, which can show my value to my stakeholders and which also helps me prioritise? This is not only about having the ammunition to prove your worth. It’s also about using that data to focus your resources. If you can’t articulate hard numbers for your impact – then you are likely to be undervalued by your stakeholders. l What data do I have that shows how much value I’m adding?
Concentrating on the cheap and easy at the cost of inspirational learning can be a dangerous game to play. It can alienate your learners and make employees feel they are part of a cheap organisation
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l What measureable difference do my programmes have on key performance indicators?
l And if I don’t have data – what do I need, where can I get it and who can help me?
These are all pretty big questions – but there are more you should be able to answer. Being a learning technologist isn’t just about e-learning courseware but using technology to facilitate learning in all its forms. So what’s your role in facilitating that? Again, these questions might help you recalibrate your focus: l How am I supporting ‘organisational learning’ not just course delivery?
l What should I be doing to make learning in the workplace more effective?
l Does my business have the coaching skills to bring organisational learning alive?
l Where should I be harnessing performance support?
Having an answer you believe in – even if that answer is “it’s not relevant now” – is ok, as long as you have thought it through. Finally, does the learning you produce consistently drive positive reactions and raise employee engagement? Learning technology is all too often seen as a low-cost alternative, leading to dull, page- turning e-learning that is occasionally bearable but can also be a big risk. Concentrating on the cheap and easy at the cost
of inspirational learning can be a dangerous game to play. Cheap learning can alienate your learners and make your employees feel they are part of a cheap organisation. And that can undermine more than your learning programmes. It can undermine your employer brand and employee engagement. So next time you deliver a project ask yourself: are my learning solutions as good as it gets? If your answer is on balance “no”, it may be time to make some changes.
David Perring is director of research at Elearnity @DavidPerring
e.learning age february 2014
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