Laura Overton shares the findings of the 2013-14 Towards Maturity Benchmark study. The report outlines a New Learning Agenda for business and learning leaders to deliver 21st century learning that supports the priorities of 21st century learners and organisations. Based on the data gathered from 540 L&D professionals from 44 countries and 2,000 learners, the session considers how L&D can develop rapport with business leaders, how to build skills and talent, how to effectively use technology and how to prepare the learning function for change. It outlines a nine point agenda of lessons learned from investigating effective L&D practices over the last ten years to help better prepare for the next ten years. The full research report is free to download at www.towardsmaturity.org/2013benchmark thanks to Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors who share our passion that great research should be freely available to all.

1. Where learning meets business:
New Learning Agenda
Talent:Technology:Change
Laura Overton
Laura@towardsmaturity org
Launch of the 2013-14 Towards Maturity Benchmark
Lauraoverton
7th November 2013 in conjunction with
Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
#bethebest13

2. Launch of 2013-14 Towards
Maturity Benchmark Study
• 540 participants
– 71% managerial responsibility
– Responsible for 4million
+employees
•
•
•
•
Lauraoverton #bethebest13
100,000 data points!
2,000 learners
44 countries
Private, public and not-forprofit:
www.towardsmaturity.org/2013benchmark

3. 10 years of
Benchmark Research
L&D professionals from 2,900 organisations
10,000+ learners/employees*
*throughout this presentation Learner data gathered from the Towards Maturity
Learning Landscape study will be illustrated with this icon
www.towardsmaturity.org/learners

4. Where learning meets Business
Today’s agenda
Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Apply distilled
wisdom from top
learning companies
Listen to
authentic
Learner voice
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
Turning data into insight and insight into action

5. Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
DEVELOPING A RAPPORT
WITH BUSINESS LEADERS
See Chapter 2 of New Learning Agenda - Talent:Technology:Change for
more detail

6. What is on our leaders minds?
Technology
is the biggest external
force shaping business today
Talent
70% want to increase
investment in employee development
(and save money and cost effectiveness)
Change
Three factors underpin strong business performance in any business:
IBM C Suite – Customer activated Enterprise 2013
CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Study 2013
R Beavan – 2012 Towards Maturity Benchmark
1. An engaged workforce
2. The ability to continually implement change
3. Finding and nurturing the next generation of leaders
.

7. What driving change for L&D?
Comply with new regulations
and legal requirements
Help implement new processes
or new products
Develop a better qualified
workforce
Provide a faster response to
changing business conditions
84%
36%
89%
40%
89%
59%
93%
47%
91%
Increase productivity
49%
89%
Improve customer satisfaction
52%
Improve staff
satisfaction/retention/…
94%
55%
2013 N=447
% of or participants wanting this benefit
2008 N=261
More in common than we think!

8. Technology enabled learning is addressing the
priorities of today’s business leaders
14%
17%
Cost
reduction
Improvement in productivity
19%
Improvement in staff
engagement
Based on conservative data from 1300 organisations over 3 years. Only 1/3of participants are able to answer at this level
These are just 3 out of 12 of the key performance indicators outlined in chapter 2 on Delivering business impact

9. Fact
Learning innovation, done well,
delivers bottom line results!

10. Top Learning Companies
TM Index
Those in the top quartile of TMI are delivering more results, faster!
Productivity
Agility
Efficiency
Top learning companies are defined as those in the top quartile of the @towardsmaturity index see appendixB for detail

11. Top learning companies report more
engagement:
Managers agree that e-learning delivers additional business
benefit
We have noticed positive changes in staff behaviour
Learners recommend e-learning to colleagues to improve job
performance
Learners put what they learn into practice quickly
0%
Bottom quartile
Sample average
20%
40%
60%
80%
Top learning companies
So what sets top learning companies apart?

12. On Average
36% Work with business leaders to define
metrics that need to be changed
16%
Less than
half
revisit
those
metrics at
the end of
learning!
Top learning companies are significantly more likely to work with business leaders to define
business metrics to improve and use those metrics to demonstrate value

13. Top learning companies are almost
twice as likely to agree that:
They analyse the business
problem first
Their business leaders
recognise that
learning is aligned
They are building business rapport –
71% agree that if something is important to the business it will be
resourced correctly

14. What can we learn from the last 10 years
to prepare us for the next 10 years?
Action
Learning Align learning to business
innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results and
Business to learning

15. Need for speed
More than 9 out of 10 organisations are looking to respond
faster to changing business conditions but ..
Only
50%
say their learning initiatives
are being delivered in time to meet
the needs of the business.
Rising to
77%
In top learning companies

16. Lessons learned:
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results more
Respond faster, deliver

17. Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
BUILDING SKILLS AND TALENT
See chapter 3 of New Learning Agenda - Talent:Technology:Change for
more detail

18. Formal learning is not
dead but it is changing
On average
26% of
formal learning is
e-enabled
82%
75%
74%
22%
21%
13%
5%
3%
A blend of classroom and e-learning
Online only
4%
Entirely face to face (or classroom
based)
Increase
Stay the same
Decrease

19. What do learners want?
3-in-5 learners say the course is
effective in helping them learn what
they need for the job
88% want to learn at
their own pace
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results training
Transform traditional

20. How are staff learning
what they need for their job?
88% learners learn from
collaboration with team workers
70% learn from Google!

21. Learning beyond the course
86% of L&D want to
push updated information
to staff
26%
achieving it
94% want to speed up
application of learning at
work
19%
achieving it

22. Top learning companies are twice as
likely to agree that:
Their organisation welcomes innovation
It makes time for reflection
They equip line managers to support staff
Their managers recognise the value of on the
job learning
Action
Learning innovation, done well
Support culture of
, delivers bottomaline results learning
in the workflow

23. The bigger
picture
Talent
91%
looking to
improve talent
and performance
19%
achieving it

24. Top learning companies are twice as likely
to agree that their learning technology:
Supports the way they recruit, on-board and
develop their people
Integrates with performance support
Integrates succession planning and learning
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results learning
Integrate Talent and

25. Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
UNDERPINNING STRATEGY
WITH TECHNOLOGY
See chapter 4 of New Learning Agenda - Talent:Technology:Change for
more detail

26. • 90% using e-content
• 88% using LMS
• 86% using live online learning
• 71% using mobile
15% or less using Tin Can, Open Badges, games

27. Is learning reflecting modern
day working practices?
• Only 30% using cloud technologies
• 20% are realising the potential of mobile
Action
Learning innovation, done well
Enable new ways of learning
, delivers bottom line results
to support
new ways of working

28. Fewer than 1-in-5 use their LMS
to support mobile or live online
learning
35%
of learners are struggling to
find what they need
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results Simplify!

29. Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
PREPARING FOR CHANGE
See chapter 5 of New Learning Agenda - Talent:Technology:Change for
more detail

30. Barriers to change reducing:
Learner ICT skills
40%
36%
50%
44%
Reluctance by users to learn with new technology
Lack of skills amongst employees to manage own learning
53%
Reluctance by line managers to encourage new ways of
learning
Reluctance by senior managers to use online materials
Reluctance by classroom training staff to adopt new
technology
49%
48%
37%
37%
34%
Lack of skills amongst L&D staff to implement and manage elearning
56%
47%
53%
47%
Not seen as a management priority
2013
47%
44%
L&D staff lack knowledge about the potential use and
implementation of technology
2012
63%
Percentage reporting barrier
62%

31. As options for technology enabled
learning increase
cost of set up has become
#1 barrier
Reported by 72% of sample

32. #1 barrier
reported by
learners is
Uninspiring
content!

33. Not surprising given that
69% of L&D teams are developing
programmes in house
but only
38% agree that they have the internal skills to do

34. Top learning companies are twice as likely
to agree that:
Audit L&D skills against those required
L&D staff are confident users of new media
L&D have skills to deliver via virtual classroom
Train trainers to use technology to support
and extend the classroom
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottomas agents of change
Equip L&D line results

35. How well do we respond to our
learners?
2/3 of learners want their
learning to be recognised
23% of L&D reward or
recognise online learning
75% are happy to engage
with online learning
40% say staff lack skill to
manage online learning
50% think their company
44% of L&D have a
communications plan
clearly communicates learning
opportunities

36. In the customer activated enterprise*,
it’s time for a ‘customer activated ‘
learning department!
Action
Learning innovation, done well
, delivers bottom line results
Treat learners as customers
* Term borrowed from the IBM C Suite – Customer activated Enterprise 2013

37. Developing a rapport with business leaders
Building skills and talent
Underpinning strategy with technology
Preparing for change
New Learning Agenda for 2014
NEW LEARNING AGENDA

38. 10 years ago………..
At a time when 60% of technology enabled
learning projects were failing our first study
looked at what could be learned from those
that were successful.
Behaviour of top learning companies was
similar to today.
But approaches of top learning companies
have not been embraced widely.
Many good practice measures shared today
have not shifted over the last few years.
Over the years we have more data and
insight to help learning and business work
more effectively together so what can we
learn from the last 10 years to help us
prepare for then ext 10 years?

39. Where Learning meets Business
10 years on we now know that
Learning innovation, done well, delivers
results
Learning and business leaders now share common goals around:
Talent
Technology
Change
It is now time for learning and business leaders to share a new learning
agenda in order to achieve those goals

40. •
New
Learning
Agenda
•
Integrate learning and talent
•
Talent
Support a culture of learning
Treat learners as customers
•
Simplify!
New ways of learning for new
ways of working
•
Change
•
•
Technology
Transform traditional training
Align learning to business and
business to learning
•
Respond faster, deliver more
•
Equip L&D as agents of change

41. Peter Cheese, CEO, CIPD
The CIPD welcomes
Toward Maturity’s New
Learning Agenda as a
framework for L&D, HR
and business leaders to
work together in new
ways, in the midst of a
rapidly evolving work
context, to deliver great
business results through
engaged and motivated
staff.

42. • An agenda for
change
• Shared by
business AND
learning
leaders
• Engaging staff
• Delivering
results

43. Download the
New Learning
Agenda
today
www.towardsmaturity.org/2013benchmark

44. This study is made possible thanks to
Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors:
Leading learning organisations who share our passion that independent
research should be freely available to all .
To join or find out more go to:
www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

45. About Us
Contact us via:
Lauraoverton
Towardsmaturity
New Learning Benchmarksn
Towards Maturity is a benchmarking
practice that provides authoritative
research and expert consultancy
services to help assess and improve
the effectiveness and consistency of
L&D performance within
organisations. It leverages the data
gathered from the largest learning
technology benchmark in Europe.
Download our case studies to support
your business case for change at
www.towardsmaturity.org
Find out your own Towards Maturity
Index to see if you are amongst the
top learning companies at
http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/