Level up your learning and content strategy

In the first of a fascinating series of seminars hosted by Go1, David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group talked with Ollie Browning, VP of sales for EMEA, about the four ways to help organisations create world-class learning and content strategies. 

Opening the hybrid event, David posed the question of how important digital learning is to the organisations of those people present. The response was overwhelmingly that digital learning is a critical part of the business agenda. This is a shift from pre-pandemic and can be largely chalked up to a more diverse and increasingly hybrid workforce, but it also follows the pattern of technology more broadly as it shifts and changes the way the world operates. This presents a great opportunity for the L&D world as leaning on digital content removes many of the pressures that might previously have stalled learning opportunities, such as the availability of facilitators or even budget. 

But beyond this, David pointed out that from recent studies it’s clear that digital learning helps foster a culture of learning that really drives significant change in the workplace. From day-to-day operational needs through to longer-term personal growth, a culture of learning puts these two ends of the spectrum on even footing for many businesses, which helps them to succeed in the here and now but also plan for the future of the organisation. And, crucially, moving fast to do it. 

With the importance of digital learning clear, David went on to lay out his four key pillars for a world-class learning strategy:

• Connect with the Why. Aligning learning goals with long-term business strategy is the foundation of an effective L&D approach and culture. Knowing how a business plans to grow and evolve ensures the L&D function can get ahead of upskilling a workforce and bringing teams on the journey in a deeper and more participative way that empowers and engages long term. Driving performance to facilitate the future.
• Connect with Who. Knowing the priorities of key stakeholders within a business and aligning the L&D function with those priorities ensures learning will always have a seat at the table and the eyes and ears of those people whose decisions impact teams. Not just from a budget perspective but also for long-term vision.
• A solution approach. Every organisation should operate a blend of off-the-shelf and bespoke content, the priority is working out the right blend to suit the needs of your team. Most organisations are prioritising UGC content because off-the-shelf is typically more evergreen so provides an ample foundation upon which to build bespoke layers to suit teams, departments and even products that are unique to the organisation in question. This bespoke content can then evolve and grow as teams and businesses do. 
• Ensuring a human connection. With a blend in place, and being mindful of the hybrid world, it would be remiss of organisations not to ensure every person’s learning pathway has the influence of their peers, managers, team and even customers to help them on the way. Helping people to reflect and understand how learning impacts their work and their teams is a sure-fire way to engage and foster a culture of learning. The best way to do this is to ensure every step has the human touch. 

Using these four points, L&D leaders can build truly world-class strategies that deliver on micro and macro goals for their teams and the business. Crucially, when delivered with energy and quality, this helps teams engage, as they see it paying off against their work objectives. But more than this, it helps them to realise their personal goals, which turns them into advocates. Advocacy is the holy grail for creating a rich culture of learning that empowers teams, retains talent and attracts new hires to keep striving for the next set of goals. 

Closing the webinar, David reflected on the opening question about the importance of digital learning. If it really is as critical as the audience said, then it is just as critical to ensure it is high quality, agile and accessible for all teams. When all these things reach the perfect balance, the unlock for organisations will be truly transformative.

Check out the full session here:

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