All work is learning; what matters is for learning to drive the organization’s performance by equipping our workforce with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to perform in their jobs: • How do we transform learning to become a strategic enabler of our business strategies? • How do we evolve L&D from a learning factory delivering cost-efficient mandatory programs to become an incubator of new talents, best prepared to perform in a new globalized economy? This is what the next 20 “Must Complete” initiatives are about: alignment, focus on performance and critical jobs, listening to and engaging today’s workforce in a brand new “learning culture”. Pick & Choose the most appropriate ones for your organization. At the end of the year, if you can check off most of them as completed, you will have a great 2016!

1. 20 “Must Complete” Initiatives to Transform
Learning into A Strategic Enabler
Call it pervasive or continuous learning; informal or social learning; virtual, experience-based learning or
simulation, game-based leaning. No matter where we look in the learning industry, we find webinars,
white papers, conferences and case studies describing the transformation of the learning function in the
new Knowledge Economy.
Ultimately, all work is learning; what matters is for learning to drive the organization’s performance by
equipping our workforce with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to perform in their jobs:
 How do we transform learning to become a strategic enabler of our business strategies?
 How do we evolve L&D from a learning factory delivering cost-efficient mandatory programs to
become an incubator of new talents, best prepared to perform in a new globalized economy?
This is what the next 20 “Must Complete” initiatives are about: alignment, focus on performance and
critical jobs, listening to and engaging today’s workforce in a brand new “learning culture”. Pick &
Choose the most appropriate ones for your organization. At the end of the year, if you can check off
most of them as completed, you will have a great 2016!

2. Align Learning with Your Business & Market Strategies
#1 Articulate How Learning
Contributes To Your Business
According to PwC latest survey, 73% of CEO
reported “the availability of key skills” as a
growing concern, up from 58% in 2013.
#2 Benchmark
Your Competitors
How do best-in-class organizations address
similar challenges? Join conferences, discover
best practices, and learn from cases studies.
#3 Involve Your
Learning Stakeholders
Bersin reported in 2015 that less than 25% of line
managers think that their L&D department is
critical to achieving business goals. It is high time
to get them involved!
#4 Apply For Industry Awards
Check out HCM CLO Magazine, Brandon-Hall, or
ATD award applications. Study the 17 Learning
Elite categories; they will help you shape your
learning strategy and transformation.
Analyze Performance & Define Targeted Interventions
#5 Profile Low Versus
High Performers
Focus 70% of your energy on analyzing how your
workforce performs (business KPI’s), 20% on
evaluating the impact of HR variables (tenure,
education, pay & benefits,) and 10% of your time
looking at learning data from the LMS.
#6 Explore The Root-causes
For Low Performance
52% of L&D managers find it difficult to isolate
learning impact on business results (ATD, 2010).
Overcoming this barrier starts with analyzing root
causes and factors driving performance at the
front end of the learning process.
#7 Explore Social
& Informal Learning
87% of adult internet users say the internet has
improved their ability to learn (pew, 2014), 70%
google what they need to learn (Degreed, 2015).
How do we incorporate and measure these
learning modalities?
#8 Tailor Learning
To Segments & Individuals
Unleash the power of analytics to segment your
workforce and define targeted interventions.
Analytics vanguard organizations are 23% more
likely to better equip their employees with the
skills and knowledge they need to support the
business (RPS/Human Capital Media).

3. Focus On Critical Job Functions Who Drive Your Business
#9 Define Your Knowledge,
Skill & Competency Frameworks
In the knowledge Economy, intangible assets (patent, IP,
brand and people) generate 80% of the company value,
up from 38% in 1982 (Kaplan & Norton). Which critical
knowledge and skills does your workforce need to propel
your organization ahead of competition?
#10 Architect Your Learning Solution To
Support Multiple Functions
Break down your content into small, reusable learning
modules, check for duplication and gaps; Ensure
traceability to the performance objectives and metrics;
Select the most efficient and effective delivery modality.
Visit www.rps.com.
#11 Maintain & Curate
Your Offerings
It is not about the quantity of courses offered in the
LMS, it about carefully selecting and deploying the right
strategic initiatives. Deloitte reported in 2015 that only
40% of respondents rated their L&D organizations as
“ready” or “very ready” (down from 75% in 2014).
#12 Validate Performance
With Real-World Exercises
The analysis of athlete performance (talent management,
2015) revealed that best performers practice highly
difficult routines 68% of the time, versus 48% for all
other athletes. In the end, learners must demonstrate
real-world performance. This is how learning delivers on
its promise.
Shape Your New Learning Culture
#13 Involve Supervisors
According to a 2014 Gallup study, line managers
who address their employees’ weaknesses and
development needs, roughly cut their
disengagement by 50%.
#14 Introduce Innovative Technology
By 2025, about 50% of the global workforce will
be millennials (PwC, 2011): socially engaged,
masters of google and 2.5 more likely to adopt
new technology
#15 Embed Learning @Work
It takes 20 to 250 days of regular practice to
anchor a new behavior (ATD, 2012). Learning
triggers the change, retention initiatives make it
stick.
#16 Communicate Your
Learners’ Success Stories
As video-vignette, animated video or through
social media, tell your success stories in short,
fun, and engaging ways. In the end, it is about
creating a culture of learning and performance.

4. Listen To Your Players. Adjust Accordingly.
#17 Talk To Your Customers,
Experts, Instructors & Training Team
They interface with your learners every day;
Engage them to share their feedback during focus
groups or collaborative work sessions; invite
everybody to submit anonymous feedback, for
instance through a 360▫ team assessment.
#18 Define & Track
(New) Indicators Of Success
Challenge old practice; explore new approaches
like leaner engagement metrics or Net Promoter
Score (J. Mattox, KnowledgeAdvisors, 2013).
Averages hide facts and insights, look instead for
statistical distribution and watch for trends.
#19 Understand Your Learners’
Intrinsic Motivation
60% of employees rate their job as "not very
meaningful" (Authentic-Happiness.com, 2015).
How do you find out what makes them tick?
What is their passion? What are their individual
strengths?
#20 Measure Learning
Transfer & Retention
CEB reported in 2015 rates of “scrap learning” as
high as 37% to 53% (see also studies from Dr.
Brinkerhoff). Run your training like a business:
conduct follow-up survey, analyze, adjust,
reevaluate…
Contribute to the discussion!
Let us know how you like this post and share your comments…
Sources & References:
#1 www.pwc.com/ceosurvey
#3 http://www.slideshare.net/GavinBakalich/bersin-by-deloitteimprove-business-performance-through-
continuous-learningexec-briefing, page 2
#4 www.clomedia.com/awards, http://go.brandonhall.com/excellence_in_learning
#6 https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/Learning-Circuits/Learning-Circuits-
Archives/2010/09/Overcoming-Barriers-and-Valuing-Evaluation
#7 www.pewinternet.org/2014/12/08/better-informed
http://blog.degreed.com/why-learning-isnt-limited-to-ld-anymore
#8 http://www.slideshare.net/humancapitalmedia/unleashing-the-power-of-analytics-driving-performance-at-the-
intersection-of-learning-and-business , slide 27
#9 www.ddiworld.com/DDIWorld/media/white-papers/ninebestpracticetalentmanagement_wp_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf ,
page 3
#10 http://www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/rtnwcm/groups/gallery/documents/content/rtn_205811.pdf

5. #11 http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/human-capital/hc-trends-2015.pdf, page 4
#12 http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/7637-the-limits-of-deliberate-practice
#13 businessjournal.gallup.com/content/167462/employees-strengths-company-stronger.aspx#2
#14 https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf page 3
#15 www.astd.org/Publications/Blogs/Learning-Executive-Blog/2012/08/Clueless-Part-2
#18 http://www.cedma-
europe.org/newsletter%20articles/Inside%20Learning%20Technologies%20and%20Skills/Why%20L&D%20Needs%
20Net%20Promoter%20Score%20(Oct%2013).pdf
#19 www.Authentic-Happiness.com
#20 https://cdns3.trainingindustry.com/media/18519172/Joh-Mattox.pdf, page 8
Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and not necessarily those of my employer.