While the pursuit of knowledge can be enough to motivate learners, the experience of learning online is about more than acquiring information from content. How the learner interacts with that content, the connection they feel to the material, and how engaged they are with the concepts are all factors designers need to consider. 

Human beings learn primarily through responding to experiences they have had. The task for course designers is to think beyond training sessions and to have the experience of learning in mind as they build courses. Ultimately, designers aim to meet each learners' needs and spark their interest.

Learner Experience Design (LXD) is concerned with how to achieve these goals. Based on the principles of User Experience Design, the purpose of LXD is to consider the learner experience in the design of training content. 

LearningExperienceDesign.com summarises LXD as:

a discipline built around principles and practices that expressly ensure the learning journey is enjoyable, engaging, relevant, and informative.

focused on both content and user experience.

human-centred in approach. LX designers must understand both the audience and their needs before making a start.  

realistic about the environment in which learners are participating. 

In this article, we are looking into how LX designers go from churning out repetitive modules to creating meaningful learning experiences for participants. 

Considerations for a seamless learner experience

With a learner-centric focus, LXD is primarily concerned with the user experience. For an online course to be successful, it needs to add value to both the learner and the organization by being usable, useful, desirable, accessible, and findable. The 'User Experience Honeycomb' helps to explain this:

The additional task of the LX designer is to take the learner on a journey with the organisation. Companies want learners to feel invested in their vision, and learning is a great way to tell a company's story.

The Association for Talent Development explains that to be effective, learner experience designers also need to do the following:  

Before beginning the design process, LX designers must understand the needs of learners and their organization. Personalized design is essential where the goal is to add value. 

One way learning designers can do this is to identify learning objectives for each lesson on a course they are making. With clear learning goals in mind, designers can use elements and tools to ensure that learners can meet the objectives, and enjoy the experience along the way.

2. Go deeper to develop skills or expertise

It is also essential that LX designers understand how learners develop the skills or expertise necessary for their roles. Depending on the industry they work within, they may have the knowledge required to create course content. However, they might be designing for an organization whose needs lie outside their expertise. 

In this case, learning designers will work closely with learning and development professionals to create course content that is both relevant and useful to participants.

3. Build learning into the flow of work, without participants having to jump through hoops (multiple sites, programs, logins, passwords)

The fewer steps learners have to take to engage with content, the better. Each new window they have to open, or new platform they move to, slows the pace of a lesson, which is vital to learners remaining engaged. If designers can work with tools to make the content flow seamlessly, the learning experience will be far more authentic and enjoyable. The aim is to avoid it becoming too clunky or technical

4. Allow for interactions with real people (experts, peers, instructors) in a coherent way

Although it can be a challenge for LX designers to build in opportunities for social interaction when creating online learning courses, communication is an integral part of learning. According to the 70:20:10 theory of learning and development, 20 percent of understanding comes from participants talking to each other, asking questions, and generally engaging with each other.  

With this in mind, learning designers must consider how to include opportunities for interaction coherently. Participants can either engage with experts, their peers, or instructors - it doesn’t matter as long as they have opportunities to interact. There are several ways for online learners to communicate, including discussion boards and setting activities away from the desk for learners to complete. 

5. Include higher-order Bloom’s Taxonomy activities that involve practice, application, and reflection

 LX designers also need to have an awareness of the types of thinking skills they can ask learners to use. With knowledge of Bloom’s Taxonomy, designers can encourage participants to engage in a range of activity types. 

For example, higher-order thinking skills, such as application, reflection, and creativity, make for a far more engaging learning experience and help participants to develop a broad range of applicable skills.

More than ever, in the digital era, employees are required to use their knowledge to create, innovate, or design to add value. If they receive training on how to develop these skills, the learning will be all the more valuable.

6. Not only consume things created by others but also personalize those resources into actionable insights that become uniquely theirs

For an online learning experience to be engaging, it must go beyond merely asking participants to consume content created by others. If all learners are asked to do is watch videos and read articles, they could easily do this in their own time.

An excellent online course will set activities for learners to complete, which are unique to them and their role. They will enable the participant to be creative and take the initiative. 

For example, if designers create a course focused on better communication in the workplace, they could ask learners to test out a new communication tool they have picked up during a lesson. The aim might be to try out the new tool three times during their working week. They might then ask the learner to reflect on the process, either by writing down their thoughts or speaking with a line manager or learning and development professional. 

A one stop shop for all things training, Go1 makes it easy to compare the best training options available, and find the right resources for your professional development, compliance and business training needs. 

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What you need to know about Learner Experience Design (LXD)

Whether you work for a large organization or a small team, change is inevitable, and there is little that remains constant as a business grows and develops. In the digital age, organizations have to be agile and adaptive to keep up with the breakneck pace of technological development. 

Change is predictable but can be difficult for human beings to cope with psychologically. Some people are better able to handle the ups and downs, but in the modern workplace, this is a challenge regardless of personality type.

One way to help employees through the process of either a significant or minor change is to give them a voice. 

In this article, we will share our thoughts on the importance of employee voice in the learning process and how to harness employees’ opinions to their full potential. 

Why giving employees a voice is essential for learning

Griffith University explains that employee voice is “the ways and means through which employees attempt to have a say. [They can] potentially influence organizational affairs about issues that affect their work and the interests of managers and owners”.

In a workplace learning context, organizational leaders can use employee voice to shape the learning culture and drive learning and development strategy. If employees feel they have a say in the learning process, they are far more likely to be engaged and feel a sense of ownership.

Arguably, learners need to have a say throughout the learning process to make it their own, and for content to be accurately personalized to their needs. 

How to gather employee feedback and make it useful

1. Create an environment conducive to honest feedback

For employee voice to be a useful tool in learning and development strategy, staff members need to feel comfortable giving honest feedback. They also need to be confident that those in leadership will take their views on board.

Both leaders and employees should be able to discuss different topics in a spirit of collaboration, which leads to goal setting and strategic planning. 

2. Make it clear what kind of feedback your team would like

It is also crucial for organizational leaders to set the parameters for the kind of feedback they would like to receive. To do this, they need to think about the questions they need to ask employees and the way they would like them to respond. Are short written answers useful? Perhaps a survey might be more efficient. 

Regardless of the methods used, “feedback should be specific, objective, consistent, and timely.” The environment in which employees communicate feedback must also be supportive and should encourage an open dialog between employees and leadership teams. 

3. Use online course feedback systems and your LMS

Feedback features built into online courses, and your LMS, can also provide insight into how participants are finding the learning process. Every learning platform comes with metrics those responsible for learning and development can review and utilize to shape strategy moving forward. 

Data analysis could be as simple as reviewing how many staff members started and completed a particular online course. Analytics will show both how engaged the staff was initially, and whether or not they found the content itself useful or engaging. 

The performance management process is a great way to glean feedback from employees on the learning and development strategy in your organization. 

Asking employees for their opinions during this time can also make performance reviews feel less like an opportunity for scrutiny, and more like a two-way process. 

Surveys are a quick and straightforward way to gather employees’ opinions. They also make it easy to set the parameters for responses, as described above. 

Questions organization leaders might consider including are:

What opportunities for learning would you like to see?

How will it help you to progress personally?

Is there any other help you need with your role that is not currently supported by our learning and development offering? 

6. Assess feedback and see how it aligns with learning and development strategy

After your leadership team has gathered feedback from staff members, the next step is to assess how it aligns with the current learning and development strategy. Are there common threads to the responses? Do the reactions align with the thoughts of the learning and development team, or have they highlighted new issues the team needs to address? Review responses with these strategic questions in mind.  

7. Act upon feedback, and make it explicit

When asking employees for feedback, it is crucial to explain how that feedback will be used and applied to learning and development strategy. Staff members must feel like those in leadership will both listen to their opinions, and that they will implement their suggestions.

Think about how to make this process explicit. If your leadership team has genuinely listened to the responses and made efforts to implement them, make this clear. Show how their ideas have influenced strategy. 

With Go1 Premium, you’ll have unlimited access to a growing library containing thousands of learning resources, from top training providers around the world - all in one easy subscription.  

How employee voice can shape the workplace learning process

The online learning environment is a convenient and flexible way for employees to engage with professional development. Regardless of location or time, participants can upskill and develop expertise in their own time, at their own pace.

While there are many benefits of online learning for both employees and organizations, the learning experience can feel isolating for participants. For learning designers, the challenge is to create opportunities for social interaction for online learners in ways that will add value. 

In this article, we will explore why discussion between learners is beneficial, and consider how to incorporate more opportunities for interaction with online courses. 

Why communication between learners is beneficial 

Whether learning takes place online, face-to-face, or uses blended methods, communication between participants is a crucial part of the process. 

The 70:20:10 model for professional learning has become an increasingly popular learning tool. The theory is simple and recognizes that the majority of learning opportunities occur outside of formal lessons. 

According to the model, social learning accounts for 20% of all learning opportunities. While many interactions will occur naturally, those responsible for learning and development in organizations can also take steps to facilitate discussion. 

Research suggests that asking the right questions is a helpful place to begin. In the journal article, Designing Discussion Questions for Online Adult Learning, Berge and Muilenburg explain this concept in more detail: 

‘Online learning environments, web-based or otherwise, are often more learner-centered than traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms. Online classrooms that use computer conferencing are discussion-oriented, authentic, problem and project-based, inquiry focused, and collaborative (Berge, 1997). In this type of environment, it is usually more important for the instructor to ask the “right questions” than to give the “right answers”.’

How to make online learning more interactive

There is no doubt that it is challenging to create authentic opportunities for social interaction with online courses. However, learning and development professionals can enhance the online experience. The following suggestions might be a useful starting point:

1. Choose or design modules with the right questions

As explained above, the questions and activities set in an online course will determine both the quality of learning and interaction between participants. It is essential that those responsible for learning and development review the lessons they choose for employees to engage with, and ensure that they are asking the “right” kind of questions.  

But what does this mean? Berge and Muilenburg go on to explain that the quality of questions asked of participants can be assessed using Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

Questions that generate more interaction between participants tend to encourage higher-order thinking skills, such as creativity, reflection, and analysis. If participants are asked to recall facts as part of a learning activity or asked to consume content, they will have very little reason to engage with each other.

In a review on making classroom discussions more interactive, Amy Peterson points to discussion boards as a handy tool. She explains that in a traditional classroom, a select few learners participate in classroom discussion, while the others remain silent. 

With online discussion boards, each participant can contribute to the debate without the social pressure of answering in front of a large group. When online courses use discussion boards effectively, this means more learners can actively participate in the learning process and engage with other students. 

Another advantage with discussion boards is that the size of the group can be controlled, allowing for closer interaction between participants when the class size is smaller. The learners can form closer bonds with fewer people, and it becomes much easier for them to collaborate. Groups can also rotate to give depth to interactions and help participants to engage in a variety of different learning interactions. 

Again, asking the right questions is key to facilitating high-quality discussion. Discussion prompts that are open-ended will be particularly helpful, and those which encourage students to give real-life examples. Students can also lead the conversation, and use prompts to guide the dialogue.

3. Create opportunities for face-to-face interaction between learners

 An online course alone can offer learners many opportunities for discussion and interaction. However, learning and development professionals can build upon these discussions either physically in the workplace or via video link. 

Although not always possible, physical interactions are preferable as they enable participants to experience the full range of communication when interacting with each other. For example, they can read each other’s body language and pick up on changes in tone of voice. 

4. Build in opportunities for reflection on learning

Learning and development professionals can also build upon the discussions generated in an online course by providing more opportunities for participants to reflect on learning. 

A well-structured online course will include opportunities to reflect on the learning process. However, it might be helpful to allocate time for further reflection and discussion beyond the online course. 

For example, if a module is focused on teaching participants a particular skill, they could be encouraged to apply their learning during the following week. At the next team catch up, they could bring their reflections along to generate discussion. 

How to make an online learning classroom more interactive

Asking why learning is important or impactful is like asking why it's important that we breathe fresh air or drink clean water. Learning is an essential, lifelong pursuit. Providing professional development opportunities can significantly improve workplaces by boosting employees' confidence, knowledge, and productivity. Via learning, employees can refresh their skills or identify new skills that they need to improve. They can develop role-specific expertise, work on their soft skills (which are becoming increasingly sought after in the digital age) or even upskill and pivot to a new role.

Chances to learn and grow are vital for employees and will ultimately make them feel more engaged and invested in their work. At a certain point, everyone needs a new challenge to push themselves beyond what they are currently capable of, and workplace learning and development provides exactly that. 

Additionally, research shows that, via learning and development, employees can become more agile and responsive to change, giving them the skills to cope with the rapidly shifting modern workplace.

While these benefits alone make a compelling case for the positive impact of workplace learning and development, they are only the tip of the iceberg. Learning and development is vital for individual employees, yet, on a broader level, its business value is also significant. Unfortunately, L&D's business value is often overlooked. Too often, people acknowledge L&D's micro benefits, while neglecting its macro benefits. However, prioritising L&D can have a wide-ranging impact on several critical business metrics, thereby boosting your bottom line (more on that later). 

With this in mind, we explore the positive impact of learning and development on organisations, covering topics such as retention, engagement, skills development, workplace culture, measuring impact, and, most importantly, overall happiness. After all, what's more important than a love of learning? Let's get started. 

The positive impacts of learning and development

While learning for the pure love of learning should be sufficient, sadly, that is not the world we live in. To justify your L&D budget, teams must continually demonstrate L&D's impact on both individual employees and broader business goals. Thankfully, the positive impacts of learning and development are innumerable, meaning L&D should be easy to advocate for — as long as you know where to look. 

Unfortunately, knowing that L&D is impactful is one thing, but explaining this impact in concrete terms that executives can understand is often a totally different challenge. It's an age-old L&D struggle that you're probably all too familiar with. 

Below, we'll outline just that: everything you need to know to advocate for the positive impacts L&D has on your organisation. But first, a bonus statistic: 72% of organisations gain a competitive advantage by investing in digital learning. If that's not already enough to understand the positive impacts of L&D, there's plenty more where that came from. 

To help us assess learning and development's business impact, McKinsey's report Elevating Learning and Development: Insights and Practical Guidance from the Field offers a handy summary. The following diagram outlines five ways that learning and development can impact an organisation:

We'll analyse each of these areas in detail to understand why learning and development is so impactful on an organisational level.

In the past, learning and development focused primarily on improving productivity at both an employee and organisational level. While improving productivity remains important, learning now has a broader role by contributing to employability, among many other things. 

In today’s work landscape, employees are highly unlikely to remain with the same company for a long time. Gone are the days when you would stay in the same job for 40 years and retire with a gold watch, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds the median time that both wage and salary workers stay at their jobs is 4.1 years.

In this environment, attracting and retaining talent can be difficult. Many prospective employees list 'opportunities to learn' as one of the main reasons for accepting a job. On the other hand, a lack of career development opportunities is a common reason people give for moving to a new workplace. In other words, employees will only stay in a role as long as it is valuable to their personal and professional development, so you must continually offer this value to attract and retain the best talent. How? L&D. 

94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their professional development. Likewise, 86% of millennials would remain at their job if it offered better training and development courses, while companies that offer professional development opportunities have 34% higher retention rates.

And that’s only the beginning, as 22% of employees leave their jobs to seek better professional development opportunities elsewhere. Perhaps most significantly, ​employee retention rates increase by 30-50% on average for companies with strong learning cultures. 

For more insights, see our blog on five tips for long-term employee retention. 

In an increasingly digital world, knowledge can quickly become outdated. As such, an employee's unique strengths, skills, and insights become irrelevant faster than ever before. To combat this, employees must continuously upskill to remain abreast of current skills and workplace trends. 

What's more, studies show that the average shelf life of skills is becoming shorter and shorter, making continuous upskilling essential. According to IBM, "skills generally have a 'half-life' of about five years, with more technical skills at just two and a half years. The short shelf-life of technical skills requires a continuous re-skilling effort to stay relevant." Therefore, offering a robust upskilling program is essential to ensure your employees have the most up-to-date skills and can perform at their peak. 

Research also indicates that when organisations invest in the next generation of leaders through learning, they see an impressive return. These organisations are 2.4 times more likely to meet their performance targets. 

Learning and development can also communicate the values your company wants to prioritise, while simultaneously building a sense of community and connection between employees. For example, do you want to build a culture based on collaboration? Start offering digital learning courses about teamwork, patience, listening, and collaboration. Want to improve your team's adaptability? There's a course for that too. Whatever values you want to impress on your team, L&D is here to help.

Millennials are particularly interested in working for organisations with which they share values, as well as those that focus on social impact. To illustrate this, FastCompany found that 74% of employees believe companies should be as concerned with their social impact as they are with their bottom line, while 38% would quit their job “if an employer acted in a way that didn’t align with their values.”

To take this a step further, 73% of people wouldn’t even consider applying to a company unless its values align with their values, while 36% of people have left a job because they disagreed with a company's ethical standards.

Despite this, the 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey finds that just 14% of employees believe they work for an organisation with a strong ethical culture, meaning there is significant room for improvement. As always, investing in L&D is a great place to start.

When carefully crafted, a brand can communicate how successful your organisation is, as well as the position your organisation holds in the industry. Learning and development can improve your organisation’s reputation and help to attract new talent. As mentioned, L&D is essential to attract and retain top talent. 

A strong brand communicates a clear message to prospective employees. Similarly, building a strong culture is an essential aspect of developing your brand. To underscore this point, Glassdoor found that 56% of employees believe company culture is more important than salary, rising to 66% among Millennials. Moreover, 71% agree that if their company’s culture deteriorated, they’d look for a new job. 

For tips on building your employer brand, see our article on becoming an employer of choice. 

Research shows that opportunities for lifelong learning correlate with overall happiness. More specifically, a recent survey by TrainingMag concluded that "L&D professionals are managing to create a different trajectory based upon helping people institute positive habits, cultivate positive moments, and lean into social connection." 

Unsurprisingly, when employees are happy, they produce better, more creative work and have the energy to innovate. Who doesn't want happy, motivated, and engaged employees? 

To learn more, see our article on rediscovering lost joy at work. 

Measuring the impact of learning and development 

Clearly, organisations can reap great rewards when they invest in learning and development. More specifically, companies that provide comprehensive training programs have a 218% higher income per employee, while companies that invest in L&D have a 24% higher profit margin than those that spend less on training. Additionally, 42% of companies experience an increase in profits after investing in eLearning.

However, for leaders to feel confident in their learning strategy, they need to understand how to measure the impact of training on their employees and broader business goals. While measuring impact is incredibly beneficial, getting an accurate and insightful measure of your learning impact is often challenging.

Many organisations rely on traditional methods to measure the success of an L&D program, such as employee satisfaction and completion rates. However, these traditional L&D metrics may be holding you back. 

Organisations that perform best focus on a broader range of outcomes-based metrics, such as the impact of L&D on individual employees, engagement in learning, and the impact learning has on teams and business processes. Thankfully, Go1 has made it easy to improve L&D impact with the Improving Impact Tool, which you can download here. 

Further, McKinsey suggests reviewing the impact of learning in an organisation using the following framework: 

Strategic alignment: How effectively does the learning strategy support the organisation’s priorities?


Capabilities: How well does the learning and development function help colleagues build the mindsets, skills, and expertise they need most? L&D impact can be measured by assessing people’s capability gaps against a comprehensive competency framework.


Organisational health: To what extent does learning strengthen the overall health and DNA of the organisation? Relevant dimensions of the McKinsey Organizational Health Index can provide a baseline.


Individual peak performance: Beyond raw capabilities, how well does the learning and development function help colleagues achieve maximum impact in their role while maintaining a healthy work-life balance? 

Finally, leaders can also use data to review the impact of learning interventions. This evidence-based approach can help teams develop a rigorous learning and development strategy. Despite this, 26% of L&D teams lack the analytical skills to use learning data effectively, while just 10% say they use performance data to measure the impact of learning programs. To get started on using data to measure L&D impact, see our blogs on improving ROI metrics and accessing insights to improve your L&D content. 

For more insights, 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.

We explore the positive impact of learning and development on organisations, covering retention, skills development, workplace culture, measuring impact, and overall happiness.

The positive impact of learning and development on organisations

In the race to keep up with advancing technology and the shifting requirements of employees in the workplace, traditional learning methods are becoming increasingly obsolete.

In this environment, there is a necessity to look to alternative models of professional learning which are compatible with the changing landscape of work. Experiential learning is one methodology increasing in popularity in the corporate training arena, but has long been known to be an effective approach.  

In this article, we are going to explore experiential learning and how it can be applied to learning in the workplace to both improve learning outcomes and employee engagement.

Experiential learning is essentially learning by doing, but there are other important steps learners need to take in order for it to be useful. It involves a cyclical process of action, which learners reflect upon and then adjust their actions accordingly based on what happens. This cycle can be described in four parts: 

The learner has concrete experience with the content being taught.

The learner reflects on the experience by comparing it to prior experiences.

Based on experience and reflection, the learner develops new ideas about the content being taught.

The learner acts on her new ideas by experimenting in an experiential setting.

									              (Kolb and Frye, 1975)

As new ideas are put into action, a new cycle of experiential learning begins. 

While they are similar, experiential learning is not exactly the same as learning on the job or an apprenticeship. Thinking critically is an important part of the process, as well as reflecting on how to improve upon current practice. This isn’t necessarily a focus of practical training.

In the workplace, an example of experiential learning might involve an employee with a position of responsibility shadowing a more senior manager for one week in order to learn more about leadership. By taking part in the process, the employee would have gained new skills, but they won’t have engaged in experiential learning. 

In order for this to happen, the employee would need to take the time to reflect on the experience, and to compare what they have observed through shadowing to their own management style. After this, the employee would return to their position with a fresh perspective and understanding on how to approach their role. 

This approach can be applied to learning in a range of different topics or skill areas, and is proven to be an engaging way for learners to gain knowledge. 

How to engage employees in experiential learning

When experiential learning has such an impact on learner engagement, it makes sense for organisations to try and implement the strategy across their learning and development processes. Through experience, learners can also apply what they have learnt in a more timely manner, to real-life scenarios as they appear.

While the benefits of experiential learning are clear, it can be difficult to integrate into an online learning course, when the majority are conducted either at a desk or using a smartphone. The following points summarise the ways in which opportunities for experiential learning can be incorporated into the online learning process, using either online learning tools or blended methods: 

A key advantage of VR is that it offers participants an experiential learning opportunity, which creates stronger memories through employing multiple senses and emotional connections.

VR brings and experiential element to online learning that is difficult to create with videos and articles alone. Repetitive learning or memorisation has long been out of favour in schools, with ‘learning by doing’ being the preferred option. Experiential Learning methodology encourages critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, and this accelerates learning.

It also bridges the gap between theory and practice, and gives employees an opportunity first-hand to apply what has been taught. This improves retention of concepts and new ideas. 

Build in practical activities away from the desk

Online courses can serve as a basis for workplace learning, which learning and development professionals can then leverage to create a blended learning experience.  

To explain this, let’s return to the example above. If an employee is about to take on more responsibility in a more senior management position, they might need to take an online refresher course on management and think about which techniques work best for them. This could be accompanied by the opportunity to shadow a colleague with management experience in a more senior position. 

This combination of learning experiences can help the employee to gain a broad range of knowledge which they can immediately apply in their new position.

Practical stories help to put learning in context, and are particularly important for workplace training. One of the main goals of learning in the workplace is for the participants to be able to apply their knowledge in a practical context.  Acknowledging this during the learning process makes the transition from online to real-life scenarios much easier. 

Stories also give learners a familiar context to work with. This forms a great basis for gaining new knowledge and information, as they can make connections between new information and situations they already understand.

Incorporate a review process for learners to reflect on how they have applied their learning

While many online learning courses will have built-in activities to help learners think critically and reflectively, it can be helpful to extend this process beyond the course. 

After learners complete the online training, they could complete a reflection activity over the following month which asks them key questions about their learning experience and how they have been able to apply new skills or ways of thinking to their role. This process could be individual or collaborative, perhaps involving a short meeting to discuss how the group has been able to apply their learning. 

With Go1’s collection of different content providers, you will find training formats vary from bite-sized animated videos to short courses with multiple modules. Diversity in learning resources caters best to all learning styles. Choice promotes learning opportunities and activates user engagement in professional development training.

Experiential learning is an effective way to teach employees about new skills and concepts. It also helps them develop their own personal brand.

The benefits of experiential learning in the workplace

On a daily basis, both employees and leaders need to develop expertise or learn new skills to ensure they make meaningful contributions to society. They can do this by asking each other questions about how to complete new tasks, or by researching the best approach. Whichever methods they use, lifelong learning is a human pursuit, and those who engage with learning regularly are proven to be happier.

When you are at work and you need to complete an unfamiliar activity, what do you do? While there are steps you can take independently, if your organisation has a developed learning culture and openness to ongoing training, you are far more likely to be confident with the learning process and understand how to get started.  

Over time, the 70:20:10 model for learning and development has become increasingly popular with organisations. As leaders started to recognise that the traditional, structured approach to learning no longer supported strategic goals, they started to seek out an alternative approach. The 70:20:10 model is simple, and recognises that the majority of learning opportunities occur outside of formal lessons. 

In this article, we are going to explain the model and share some advice on how to put theory into practice in workplace learning. 

The 70:20:10 model can be described in different ways, but is essentially a framework for workplace learning. It offers guidance as to which types of learning have most impact on employee development, and the balance learning and development professionals should aim to strike. The different types of learning referred to in the framework are:

This is learning through practice and experience, followed by reflection, critical analysis and application.

This involves learning through speaking and interacting with others.

This learning takes place on formalised courses, both face-to-face and online.

The model is also known as performance-oriented learning, which mostly happens as an employee goes about their work day. While traditional, formal modes of learning are undoubtedly useful when there are specific skills employees need to develop, the theory outlines that the majority of learning takes place through practical activities. 

However, the ratios are not fixed. They are suggested as a guide to ensure learning and development strategy remains balanced. How the ratio is implemented will depend on the organisation and skill types employees need to develop. Invariably though, the weighting towards each type of learning remains constant, with experiential learning being the most important. 

The application of the 70:20:10 model gives those responsible for learning and development a clear structure for both creating and reviewing strategy. The following points summarise the ways in which the theory can be put into practice: 

1. Build in opportunities for experiential learning

Experiential Learning methodology encourages critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, and this accelerates learning. It also creates stronger memories through employing multiple senses and emotional connections.

Learning in this way bridges the gap between theory and practice, and gives employees an opportunity first-hand to apply what has been taught. This improves retention of concepts and new ideas. 

While they are similar, experiential learning is not as simple as employees learning on the job by osmosis. Thinking critically is an important part of the process, as well as reflecting on how to improve upon current practice. This isn’t necessarily a focus during the average work day. 

In order to create opportunities for experiential learning, the process needs to be made explicit, either by providing employees with resources, or by training them in how to engage in experiential learning techniques. Once employees have been shown how to learn through experience, they can take ownership of the process. The only need for guidance would be for learning and development professionals to review the process, and look at how the learning aligns with an employee’s performance review.  

According to the 70:20:10 model, social interactions account for approximately 20% of learning in the workplace. Much of this learning will in fact happen organically, but leaders can facilitate it and ensure that it is learning focused at opportune times.  

A focus on learning through discussion can be achieved by setting up a formal opportunity to discuss learning throughout the week, perhaps as part of the agenda at team meetings. Sharing resources with staff can also help to generate discussion, and help to guide learning conversations.

Leaders can also model discussion about learning at appropriate times.  Perhaps somebody in leadership recently learnt something new. They could share that experience with staff when giving a presentation, or if they have questions, they could ask a relevant team member for help using learning-appropriate language. 

When approximately 10% of time for workplace learning should be allocated to formal learning, investing large sums of money in face-to-face training might not be the most effective use of a training budget. Online courses are a more cost-effective way to offer employees opportunities for formal learning. 

Online courses can serve as a foundation for both experiential and social learning opportunities. Those responsible for learning and development might set employees an additional experiential learning task based on the knowledge they acquire in an online course, or set up a reflective discussion relating to a course next time team members come together for a meeting. The content found in online courses can feed into other types of learning. 

4. Review with staff and ask for feedback

Most importantly, employees should take ownership of their learning and feel that it is a two-way process. If leaders invite employees to give feedback on the learning and development processes in their organisation, they will feel both invested and involved in the process. 

Their feedback will be the best guide as to whether learning and development strategy is in balance, as they are personally experiencing the learning. Assessing an individual’s learning experience without asking for their opinion is challenging for obvious reasons!

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.

The 70:20:10 model recognises that most learning opportunities occur outside of formal lessons. In this article, we explain the 70:20:10 model, including how to put theory into practice.

Optimising the 70:20:10 model for learning and development

As technology progresses, organisations are under increasing pressure to upskill their teams and equip staff with the necessary skills to thrive in the modern workplace.

Accordingly, building a robust learning and development program is a key challenge with which organisations must engage. Opportunities for workplace learning are crucial to engage employees and retain them long-term. 

Higher-order thinking skills, such as innovating, creating, and critical thinking, are now in high demand. We expect this trend to continue as the need to develop new products, ways of working, and technologies increases. 

Despite this, there is a significant gap between the skills students are leaving school with and the skills necessary to succeed in today’s workplace. According to Skillsoft’s Mind the Gap report, 48% of L&D employees believe their team is underskilled to deliver what their business need. 

The current structure, composition, and delivery of learning contributes to these skill gaps, particularly the types of skills students are encouraged to develop. These days, schools allocate little to focus on the creative, divergent thinking skills many organisations need to remain competitive.

Organisations are under increasing pressure to equip staff with higher-order thinking strategies to thrive. Here's why they are essential.