Consider two divergent L&D strategies. Option one: learners are assigned generic training. They have no say in when or where they complete the training and weren’t consulted on the subject matter or the training's broader objectives.

Option two: learners are a central part of the training process, consulted throughout. Their goals and needs are considered, and they are given bespoke training to help meet these goals. Which approach is more likely to lead to engaged, happy learners?

Obviously, option two is the winner. As such, a learner-centric approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. It makes intuitive sense that learners will be happier and more engaged when their needs are centred, and they are consulted throughout the training process.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. A learner-centred approach is essential for high-performing L&D teams, with wide-ranging benefits from improved retention to increased profitability.

With this in mind, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important? We’ll start by defining learner-centred approaches, before analysing how to adopt a learner-centred approach, and concluding with four benefits of learner-centred approaches.

Ready to put your learners first? Start here.

A learner-centred approach is a style of teaching that puts a student’s needs, goals, and objectives front and centre. As the name suggests, taking a learner-centred approach means centring your learners as the key pieces in your instructional puzzle. 

LearnUpon expands on this, explaining that a learner-centred approach “views learners as active agents. They bring their own knowledge, past experiences, education, and ideas – and this impacts how they take on board new information and learn.”

They elaborate, contrasting this approach with traditional behaviourist views of learning: “it differs significantly from a traditional instructor-centred approach. Traditional learning approaches were informed by behaviourism, which sees learners as ‘blank slates’ and instructors as experts who must impart all the relevant information. This approach sees learners as respondents to external stimuli.” 

For a more detailed explanation of behaviourism in L&D, see our recent blog series on Cognitive learning theory and the strategies that L&D teams should use to apply cognitive learning theory. 

Thus, rather than designing generic, one-size-fits-all training and pushing it out to your learners, a learner-centred approach means taking a more active, considered, and bespoke view of learning. Learners are not blank slates waiting patiently to be filled with knowledge, but rather active participants with ideas and preferences about their learning journey.

Finally, eLearning Industry adds that “a learner-centric design approach focuses on customising the learning experience to the learner rather than customising the learner to the Instructional Design. Furthermore, it seeks to understand all about the learners first before designing an experience for them.” 

How to adopt a learner-centred approach 

Now that we understand what a learner-centred approach is, the question becomes, how can my L&D team adopt a learner-centred approach?

The best starting point to adopt a learner-centred approach is conducting a learner needs analysis. To centre your learners and put their needs first, you need to understand what they want, including:

What do they already know? What is their learning background and history? 

What are the current gaps in their knowledge? 

What are their short-term learning goals?

What are their long-term learning goals? 

What subject matter would they like to focus on? 

Do they prefer digital learning, in-person instruction, or blended learning? 

Once you comprehensively understand your learners' needs, wants, and goals, you can implement an L&D plan that centres your learners.

Accordingly, to take a learner-centred approach, it is vital to actively consult your learners about what’s working, what isn’t, and what they’d like more of in the future. Most importantly, check in with learners throughout every step of the process.

For more in-depth details on conducting a learner needs analysis, see our article on how to carry out a training needs assessment, as well as our articles on what the modern learner needs and making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation. 

Once you have conducted a learner needs analysis and have a thorough understanding of what your learners need, there are several other strategies to take a learner-centred approach. Remember, these strategies will largely depend on what you discover in your learner needs analysis, as every learning culture is unique. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a learner-centred strategy.

One suggestion, via eLearning Industry, is to “dig deep into the data to determine what’s most relevant to learners. Use this data to custom-design individual, high-quality learning experiences. The goal is for each learner to have a custom experience that covers their specific needs.” 

Gamifying your learning to increase engagement 

Offering microlearning opportunities to allow learners to learn on the go at their own pace 

Most importantly, providing learners with enough time to learn (more on that in a second!)

4 benefits of learner-centred approaches 

When organisations prioritise L&D and centre their learners at the heart of everything they do, the results can be astounding.

For example, MindTools’ 2022 L&D Benchmark Report found that 79% of high-impact learning cultures (HILCs) support employee career development through digital learning. In contrast, just 9% of low-performing teams do the same, meaning there’s a correlation between learner-centred approaches and high-performing teams. 

And this is just the beginning. MindTools’ report also found that 79% of HILCs draw on internal data to support learning vs just 9% of low-performing teams. Moreover, a massive 90% of HILCs say their learning strategy encourages collaboration, compared to just 4% of low-performers.

Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, 86% of HILCs say they focus on achieving desired performance outcomes for employees, while 93% include activities that help employees

practise for their desired outcomes. The comparative numbers for low-impact teams? 16% and 25% respectively. 

Therefore, teams that centre their learners, support career development, encourage collaborative learning, and focus on achieving employees’ desired goals are far more likely to succeed.

Not only do organisations that put their learners first perform better, but they also retain top talent for longer. 

76% of employees say they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training. Similarly, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their professional development.

Likewise, better training and development opportunities would prevent 86% of millennials from leaving their position. Finally, companies that provide professional development opportunities have 34% higher retention rates.

Again, the message is clear: by centring your learners and taking care of their learning needs, they’re likely to stick around for significantly longer. 

Time and time again, we return to this point: people desperately want to learn. Yet, they feel like they don’t have time. So, centring your learners and giving them more time to learn can make a huge difference. 

As we recently explained in our article on How employees like to learn, nearly 4 in 5 (78%) employees are happy to learn new skills whenever they can throughout the working day. Further, 59% are willing to learn outside work hours to improve their job performance. Additional research shows that 94% of learners see the career benefits of making more time to learn. 

Despite this, 91% of L&D teams are either concerned or very concerned that managers are reluctant to make time for learning. What’s more, two-thirds of employees say they barely have enough time to do their jobs, let alone engage in professional development. Finally, 49% of people don’t have time to learn at work, according to LinkedIn. 

Here, a disconnect emerges: people are desperate to learn but rarely have enough time. A learner-centred approach can address these issues by listening to learners' concerns and giving learners more of what they want — time to learn! 

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A learner-centric approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. So, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important?

Why is a learner-centred approach important?

A learner-centred approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. So, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important?

While most employees are content to complete mandatory compliance training, there is so much more potential for workplace learning beyond the ticking of a box.

But how can workplace leaders help their employees to not only reach that extra learning potential, but to actually want to reach that potential?

The benefits of creating a culture of learning

If you’re a people manager or leader, you might be wondering if it’s worth encouraging your team members to do more than the required amount of workplace learning. After all, you’ve got team targets to reach, meetings to attend, and what seems like an endless stream of emails to catch up on. Why take time away from those things to add yet another thing to your plate? We’ll tell you why. 

Encouraging employees to dig into additional workplace learning beyond what’s required will help to cultivate a culture of learning. Within this positive environment, people are far more likely to improve existing skills, or even acquire brand new ones, making them an even more valuable asset to your team and organisation.  

Acquiring new skills and upgrading old ones is particularly important during times of transformation, helping employees adapt to changing conditions. 

A love of learning in the workplace can also greatly assist with employee retention, particularly with members of Gen Z. In fact, 60% of 16-to-24-year olds admit that they have left a job due to limited growth opportunities. When employees are provided with learning opportunities, as well as the motivation, they’re more likely to stay with the same company. 

Practical steps towards a team-wide love of learning

It’s one thing to tell your team all about how learning at work will help them expand on their workplace skills. And sure, just telling them might work, but there’s a much more effective way to do things - and that’s leading by example.  

When you, as a workplace leader, not only tell but also show your employees your love of learning, you begin to cultivate a culture of learning within your team. To put it even more simply, enthusiasm is contagious. When your team can see that you are excited about learning beyond what’s required as part of compliance, then they’re more likely to get excited as well. 

Another step that workplace leaders can take to help employees love learning is to encourage curiosity. Is there a gap in the industry you and your team have been thinking about for a while now? Have you ever wondered if your team might do well from working more closely with another team in your company? Has a member of your team read something interesting online that they think might be helpful to know more about? When you and your team begin to ask these questions, it gets the ball rolling about what you can do to help answer these questions. What is learning if not asking and answering questions? 

While deadlines of some description are an expected part of many roles across a variety of industries, that doesn’t mean we should add even more of them to workers who likely already have busy schedules. When workplace leaders take the pressure of deadlines away from learning in the workplace and allow their employees to learn at their own pace, the attitude around learning becomes much more relaxed. Employees will be able to begin a learning module on a topic they’re interested in without having to worry about getting it finished within a certain time frame. Without this, employees may be unlikely to start new learning tasks for fear that the tight deadlines might take away from more highly prioritised work. 

Similarly, the introduction of micro-learning also takes some of the pressure out of workplace learning. Knowing that a learning task may only take 10 minutes out of the day makes the tasks not only feel more manageable to complete, but also makes it easier for employees to fit them in to their busy workday without taking too much away from their other work tasks. Naturally, when something is more relaxing, it becomes much easier to actually enjoy doing it, rather than feeling like it’s a task that ‘has to be done’. 

No one knows everything and that’s okay

Make no mistake, the goal of helping employees to love learning beyond compliance is not to help them know everything. It’s more about the acknowledgment that learning is a continuous process, that there’s always more to learn and that when we enjoy what we’re learning about, we’re going to want to keep doing it.

Keen to learn more about how you can level up your compliance training and make learning fun? Check out this blog.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Helping employees to love learning beyond compliance

The late Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Helping others feel good is at the heart of effective selling and customer service. These are the headline topics for our August playlists: “Cultivate Customer Satisfaction: Introduction to Customer Service” and “Elevate Your Sales Skills: Strategies for Selling.” In this edition, we’re spotlighting three of the content providers featured on these playlists: AssembleYou, Skillshub, and Thrive. 

What content partners should you check out this month?

Specializing in short, actionable courses, AssembleYou is a great choice for business skills, strategy, project management, and personal development (among many other topics). They are based in the UK, yet create training designed for global audiences. Many of the 230 AssembleYou courses available in the Content Hub feature an audio format and open with this guidance: “Sit back, close your eyes and listen. Better still, play this in the car, while gardening, or out jogging.”  More than half their courses are 30 minutes or shorter, with the longest course lasting 180 minutes. 

Skillshub is an engaging UK-based partner that offers micro-learning courses that can be taken as stand-alone learning experiences or sequenced together into learning pathways. With 888 courses currently in the Content Hub, Skillshub covers topics ranging from sales and customer service to diversity and wellbeing. Most courses, which vary in length from 2 to 25 minutes, are accompanied by a job aid to help transfer learning into real-world action. (There are three comprehensive courses, such as the Retail Sales Academy, that are more than 2 hours.)  

Known for their visual appeal and thoughtful content, Thrive courses and documents are a favorite of many learners. They offer 316 learning experiences in the Content Hub on contemporary topics such as reducing mental health stigma, neurodiversity, empathy, and flexible thinking, along with traditional topics like teamwork and hiring. Thrive calls the UK home, but also offers many of their courses in Italian as well as English. 

If you’re looking for engaging and whimsical-yet-substantial learning experiences, take a look at these and other courses: 

What new content partners have we added to the Content Hub?

dss+ (formerly DuPont Sustainable Solutions) 

This new content provider, based in the US, offers courses on workplace safety, compliance, manufacturing, and soft skills.   

They feature 145 microlearning courses ranging from 5 to 15 minutes. Each course features a video, summary, and assessment. 

Titles include: The New Normal: Emergency Communication Plan for Employers; Safety Matters: Lockout/ Tagout; and Pause for Performance: Compassion. 

dss+ courses are currently available in English…but additional languages are coming soon! 

With 88 courses in the content hub, this new UK-based provider expands content coverage in the areas of communication, leadership, coaching, negotiation, and other critical soft skills.   

Courses by Maguire have a consistent UX, featuring an animated facilitator who guides learners through the experience. Each course is available in English and is 30 minutes in duration. 

Titles include: Mental Health Awareness; Understanding Different Personality Types; Giving Constructive Feedback; How to Mentor Effectively; and Coaching Using the GROW Model. 

The 16 new courses from US-based Get Control! are designed to “help digital workers get control, save time and get more done.” 

Each video-driven course is 30 minutes long and is available in English. 

Titles include: Get Control! of Email and Outlook; Get Control! of Google Search; Get Control! of OneDrive and SharePoint; and Get Control! of Digital Time Management. 

The 50 courses from this new content provider expand topic coverage ranging from business strategy and leadership to digital skills and teamwork. 

Soundview courses, all of which are 30 minutes or shorter, provide learners with PDF book summaries and videos featuring key insights from leading business authors. 

Titles include: 5 Ways to be an active learner; What is authentic leadership?; How to stop procrastinating; Connect with your people; and How to build a high engagement culture. 

This new content provider offers in-depth courses on human resources, business skills, leadership, and health & wellbeing. 

Designed using the ADDIE Adult Learning model, Velsoft courses are between two and four hours long and include explicit learning objectives, pre-and post-assessments, and lists for further reading. 

This content provider is based in Canada and all courses are in English. 

Titles include Human Resource Training: HR for the non-HR Manager; Public Speaking: Presentation Survival School; Managing Pressure and Maintaining Balance; and The ABC's of Supervising Others. 

What’s Shannon’s favorite course right now? 

I recently attended a session at our annual sales kick-off about identifying your strengths and weaknesses at work. The session dug into how we can find our strengths and the benefits of leaning into those areas to be happier and more fulfilled at work.  After the session, I went looking in Go1 to see what courses I could recommend providing a similar outcome and came across Identifying Your Strengths by ej4. I love ej4’s simple approach to training, offering a quick video, typically 3-7 minutes, followed by a quiz.  Most courses offer a downloadable resource as well.  This course gives easy steps to identify your strengths, how to ask for feedback from your peers, and the benefits of using a career coach to maximize your strengths.   

What content partners should you check out this month? In this July edition of The Content Insider, we’re spotlighting three of the content providers featured on these playlists: AssembleYou, Skillshub, and Thrive. 

The Go1 Content Insider - July 2022 edition

Too often, L&D teams get caught up in the rapid rush of workplace learning. You have to produce that next learning module yesterday, meaning there’s never time to reflect on the last one, let alone stop and smell the roses. While this fast-paced environment can have its benefits, when L&D teams take a second to stop, breathe, and reflect on how their learners are learning, training programs often go to the next level. 

As discussed in the first article in this series, which analysed the benefits of cognitive learning theory, this idea of learning about learning (metacognition) is a central pillar of cognitive learning theory. 

So, in the second and final article of our cognitive learning theory series, we’ll build on this foundation by asking: what strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory? We’ll examine three strategies to apply cognitive learning theory at work, including implicit and explicit learning, collaborative learning, and meaningful learning. 

But first, if you need a quick refresher on cognitive learning theory before diving into this article, here’s a brief explainer from our previous article: 

“Cognitive learning theory focuses on metacognition. That is, thinking about thinking or learning how to learn. When we engage in cognitive learning, learning becomes an ongoing and engaging lifelong pursuit, rather than a dull, automatic reaction.”  

With that in mind, the question becomes, what steps can my L&D team take to engage in cognitive learning? Here are three strategies to help you and your team apply cognitive learning theory at work.

Implicit and explicit learning are central concepts within cognitive learning theory. In simple terms, implicit learning means learning without conscious effort, whereas explicit learning requires conscious effort. 

Implicit learning, sometimes known as accidental, automatic, or subconscious learning, happens when you are not actively aware that you are learning but later notice you have retained or solidified knowledge. Therefore, implicit learning occurs on a subconscious level. 

As Science Direct puts it, implicit learning is “the non-intentional acquisition of knowledge about structural relations between objects or events.” 

Examples of implicit learning include: walking, talking, eating, riding a bike, dancing, and many more — whenever you're learning without conscious thought, that's implicit learning.

The Brain Based Learning blog elaborates on this point, offering further examples of implicit learning, including: “movements (sports, games and play), trauma (emotional learning), stimulus-response learning (hand on the hot stove),  generalised  learning  (the  nonconscious  extraction  of patterns), procedural learning (riding a bike) and imitation learning (learning by demonstration).” 

In an L&D context, implicit learning usually takes the form of skill improvements that occur while employees perform their job. In this way, learners consolidate knowledge subconsciously while their brain is actively consumed with other tasks. For example, you may learn to type without looking at your keyboard or improve your analytical skills while working on another task. 

On the other hand, explicit learning occurs consciously, often via assigned training or formal learning at school or university. Any time you actively and deliberately seek knowledge, that is a form of explicit learning.

Examples of explicit learning are manifold, from reading a book, to enrolling in an online learning course, to watching a documentary, and everything in between.

360 Learning outlines the benefits of explicit learning for L&D teams, noting, “through explicit learning tasks, you can specify the exact concepts and skills that you want a team member to understand.” 

Indeed ties explicit learning back to cognitive learning, explaining that “cognitive learning helps you to learn more explicitly by giving you exceptional insight into the subject and how it relates to your work now and later.” 

Now that we understand what implicit learning and explicit learning are, it’s worth analysing the benefits of each. There have been many studies into implicit and explicit learning, intending to understand how people learn and process information. One such study analysed 34 adults, ranging from 21-36 years old. 

During the study, the subjects learned pseudowords. That is, “words that are similar to real words but that have no meaning, such as ‘skoat’ or ‘chote.’” The subjects then learned the definition of these words through both implicit and explicit learning.

Ultimately, all subjects successfully learned the pseudowords. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) found that subjects previously identified as excellent readers showed little difference in processing explicit and implicit instruction. In contrast, ‘average’ readers had to work harder to learn through implicit instruction. For these subjects, explicit instruction was the more effective method.

Summarising implicit vs explicit learning 

Of course, this is just one of many studies and not an indication that explicit learning is always superior to implicit learning. Quite the opposite. If anything, implicit learning and explicit learning are complementary; both are necessary for a holistic and fulfilling learning experience.

As 360 Learning summarises: “a learning organisation counts on active (explicit) and continuous (implicit) learning to keep employees engaged. As team members guide their active learning strategies together, they participate in ongoing learning through shared experiences.” 

In the context of cognitive learning theory, it is vital to have a working understanding of both implicit and explicit learning. By understanding these important learning processes, we can deepen our knowledge and approach learning from a more informed and considered place. After all, cognitive learning theory focuses on learning about learning. So — particularly in the case of implicit learning — it’s crucial to understand how we regularly gain knowledge without even realising it! 

Collaborative learning is another core tenet of cognitive learning theory. As the name suggests, collaborative learning occurs when groups of two or more learners work together to learn, solve problems, or share new concepts. 

As Indeed explains: “collaborative learning is a cognitive strategy in which a resource person teaches a group how to develop their ideas on a specific skill or knowledge area. For instance, your company could train a colleague on a new production process so they can pass on the knowledge to team members.” 

Solving problems across teams, evaluating training systems, creating learning content, and even developing new products are all examples of collaborative learning at work.

According to Valamis, one of the critical advantages of collaborative learning is that it “actively engages learners to process and synthesise information and concepts, rather than using rote memorisation of facts and figures.”

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The benefits of collaborative learning for L&D teams are wide-ranging. For starters, 75% of employees rate teamwork and collaboration as very important, while, on average, employees are 17% more satisfied with their job when they collaborate frequently at work.

Another study found that top-performing workers spend 45% of their time working individually, 45% of their time collaborating, and 10% of their time learning and socialising.

Further, a study by Stanford found that employees who work collaboratively are 64% more likely to stick to their assigned tasks than their peers who work individually. 

Deloitte has even attempted to quantify the value of collaboration, finding that improvements made due to workplace collaboration are worth a massive $2,517 per employee per year.

Many studies have sought to quantify the benefits of collaborative learning compared to solo learning. One of these studies involved 71 Year 7 students learning statistics at school. During the study, students learned via both hands-on, collaborative activities and individual worksheet-based instruction.

The study found an 11.8% increase in test scores when students worked collaboratively. Moreover, 96% of students said that working collaboratively enhanced their understanding of the subject matter. Most students also thought they gained more knowledge while better understanding specific skills and processes when working collaboratively.

Further research by Josh Bersin found that when studying alone, learners typically remember just 28% of the material two days later. When you re-read the material to consolidate knowledge, this figure rises to 46%.

However, when learners answer questions about the material and collaborate with others, they remember 69% two days later, equating to a 146% increase in retention. According to Josh Bersin, this is because “actually conceptualising, recalling, and using information is what creates the ‘memory pathways’ that stick in your mind.”

Again, understanding and actively engaging in collaborative learning is central to cognitive learning theory, making us more mindful of how we learn.

Last, but certainly not least, L&D teams would be wise to focus on meaningful learning when applying cognitive learning theory. American psychologist David Ausubel popularised the concept of meaningful learning, believing that learning must be meaningful for it to be effective and engaging.

According to Ausubel: “meaningful learning occurs when the learner interprets, relates, and incorporates new information with existing knowledge and applies the new information to solve novel problems.” 

He elaborates on this, adding, “the most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.”

Accordingly, Ausubel distinguished between meaningful and rote learning (memorising isolated facts with no distinct value or relevance to the learner). Instead, Ausubel emphasised that training must demonstrate how each aspect of the material is relevant to the learner's life and goals, building on previous knowledge like bricks in a pyramid. 

Demonstrating relevance to the learner’s broader goals is the driving concept of meaningful learning. In other words, when learners already have relevant background knowledge, it’s easier for them to ‘slot in’ new information in their minds, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Whereas, with rote learning, learners are left in the dark, attempting to assemble a puzzle with no picture to guide them and no edge pieces to lay the foundation. 

Three steps to implement meaningful learning

Finally, the LearnUpon Blog offers three concrete steps to implement meaningful, cognitive learning in the workplace. These are: 

1. New information should be carefully sequenced so that it builds on what your learner already fully understands.

2. It is vital to preface new material with introductory or background information.

3. Instructors should emphasise how each aspect of the material is meaningful to the job or task for which your learner is preparing.

For more insights on making your learning meaningful, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter today to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

In the second and final article of our cognitive learning theory series, we'll ask what strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory?

What strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory?

Written by guest blogger Shannon Tipton. Chief Learning Officer of Learning Rebels LLC and co-founder of Emerging Stronger, Shannon's mission is to modernize, upgrade and reimagine workplace learning problems. She believes that by making complex training more interesting, engaging and impactful, training is transformed from being just another organizational event to becoming part of real business solutions. 

Over the past year, the Emerging Stronger team have developed a series of tools to make it simple for L&D professionals to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact. In the first of this series of Making It Simple To Do The Right Thing, Shannon Tipton introduces you to the Needs Analysis Tool.

Needs analysis: connecting what matters most 

Let’s face it - as an L&D professional, you want to make sure your courses and content add the most value to your people and make the greatest impact to address the real underlying problem. 

In reality, sometimes they don't. Just because a stakeholder asks for training, it doesn't mean that training is the best thing for the business. What the stakeholder wants and what the stakeholder needs are often two very different things. Your job is to help them see the difference.

This post, when worked in conjunction with the Emerging Stronger Needs Analysis Tool, will make it easier for you to have critical upfront business needs conversations with business leaders and/or business sponsors. Thus gaining the business impact desired.

Here we will guide you through using the Needs Analysis Tool by supplying you with helpful suggestions as to how best to use the tool. 

Here the Emerging Stronger team shares the impact of this tool:

Needs Analysis Tool

According to LinkedIn Learning’s 5th Annual Workplace Learning Report 2021, 66% of L&D professionals globally agree that they are focused on rebuilding and reshaping their organizations in 2022. 

Yet, in a survey conducted by the CEB, only 33% of business leaders think the L&D function impacts business outcomes, and fewer consider the function to be relevant or timely.

It’s an ugly cycle in which L&D finds itself time and time again.

Business leaders don’t believe L&D adds value

Business leaders cut L&D budget or human capital

L&D no longer has the time or resources to conduct a needs analysis

L&D creates learning interventions that miss the mark


Wouldn’t you rather elevate L&D’s position from being a low-value add expense to a trusted business partner? Of course you would and Emerging Stronger has your back! We are providing this easy-to-use tool to help you do the heavy lifting of a needs analysis and place you in the “trusted business partner” category. 

Ideally, this tool would be used before you start designing a solution. Your needs analysis conversation will consist of two steps:

              a.       Start the conversation

              b.       Identify business benefits

               c.       Define success

              d.       Gather data

Step 2 - Identifying the audience's needs

              a.       Identify target groups

              b.       Define actions to be taken by group

              c.       Describe group

              d.       Identify limiting factors

              e.       Determine if a learning solution will help

This tool provides guidance notes for each part of the conversation, including conversation starters/prompters.  

What makes this easy to use is that the notes are followed by a template to record output. Plus, a worked example is provided to show you what a completed template might look like. 

All to help make it simple to do the right thing, to help consult on business challenges. Because the key to your conversations is to get to the heart of the issue. Plus, if the stakeholder can’t speak to or define the knowledge, skills, or behavior gaps that are contributing to the business challenge, it’s a red flag that training might not be needed or is not the right solution. And you want to know that upfront before you put a learning intervention together that misses the mark, and the ugly cycle from above continues.

Realizing that not everyone is facing the same situations, even within the same organization, we gathered ideas to help you apply this tool to gain impact: 

All of this is to help you step out of the order-taker role and into the role of a business partner. 

It's about helping you to determine the variety of questions you need to ask and engaging the stakeholders and getting a better understanding of your audience and getting aligned on what the actual business need may be. 

It’s about understanding and working within and around the barriers within your workplace. Then taking all of that information and asking: “So what? Now what? What does this information tell me about the potential intervention - learning focused or not? Then - adding the cherry on top, what can I do to make sure that I am adding value?”

Some tools work just fine on their own, however, others work at their best when combined with other complementary tools. Fertilizer alone works just fine to nourish plants, but when coupled with good soil and mulch the results are ten-fold. 

Using this Needs Analysis Tool alone will help you see the results discussed and coupled with the other tools in this series it becomes even more simple to do the right thing and see results that increase business impact. 

Ready to connect to what matters most? Download your Needs Analysis Tool now!

Curation Decision Tool: Once your needs assessment points you in a specific direction, how can you better curate and disseminate resources and tools? 

Communication Launch Tool: Your learning intervention is on its way, how will you communicate and implement its purpose? Just because you build it, doesn’t guarantee success. 

Power Hour Tool: Sometimes the biggest barrier to training success is “INSIDE.THE.HOUSE”. The Power Hour tool can help you bring managers into the discussion sooner and enable them to be part of the learning process. 

Cultivating Learning In Workplace Communities Tool: Perhaps your analysis tells you it’s not more learning required but a connection to the community. This tool helps identify workplace communities with fertile ground and how to take action to help learning thrive.

Improving Impact Tool: Your needs analysis sets you up for success, the improving impact took keeps you on track to deliver. 

Ready to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact? Introducing the Needs Analysis tool.

Making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation

What are the most critical skills that today’s workforce is looking for? Although hard skills show off an employee's understanding of a particular ability, soft skills have become increasingly important as they indicate an ability to work with others and grow within a company. 

And in a market that is dominated by technology with many roles being replaced by AI, employers are increasingly prioritising candidates with abilities who can do things that artificial intelligence can’t. 

According to a recent study, soft skills training, including time and stress management, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork ​​can improve employee productivity and retention, and increase a company’s return on investment by as much as 256 per cent.

Hiring candidates with these character traits can offer many benefits to you and your organisation, including increased efficiency and productivity, stronger interpersonal and professional relationships, more innovative solutions and company growth. 

Not only that but offering more learning opportunities for employees to harness new abilities shows them that they’re an asset to your business. Improving employee experience this way is essential for retention.

With this in mind, Go1 has analysed thousands of job listings from Indeed.com, uk.indeed.com and au.indeed.com sector-by-sector to reveal the most in-demand soft skills and available training opportunities. 

Job descriptions attached to job ads were extracted for mentions of soft skills and training-related keywords to reveal the most in-demand skills employers are looking for, which industries value certain types of skills more than others, along with the industries offering the most training opportunities. 

The most in-demand soft skills by country

According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report, 89% of recruiters say when a hire doesn’t work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills. With this in mind, we wanted to shed a light on what credentials employers are looking for in the US, UK and Australia. 

In the US, problem-solving is the most sought-after across every sector, with 399,637 out of over 11 million job ads requiring potential candidates to be able to handle unexpected situations or difficult challenges. The second most sought-after skill is time management, with 289,143 mentions and then a further 261,574 job ads cited candidates who are confident. 

In the UK, confidence is top of the list, with 72,875 out of 756,114 job ads mentioning this in their description. The second most in-demand skill employers are seeking is creativity, with 25,578 mentions and in third place, problem-solving, with 25,373 mentions.

In Australia, we see similar results as confidence is also the most mentioned skill, appearing in 11,875 job ads out of a possible 162,663. Time management ranks second place, with 11,197 mentions and problem-solving rounds up the top 3, with 9,394 mentions. 

We've analysed millions of job ads across North America, Australia, and the UK to see which soft skills are the most in-demand across different industries.