I am leaving the ATD 2022 Conference in Orlando with many thoughts swirling through my
head. It was great to see clients, friends, and colleagues again live and in person. There really is nothing like it. There was a wonderful moment at the #transperfect party where you could feel the energy and sense of human happiness. The ability to socialize and network was great, and you could really feel the pent-up demand after three years away.
But, the universe has changed since the last ATD in 2019. The digital transformation is ongoing, fueled by the pandemic as a catalyst and it is clear that the training delivery model has changed forever. Advantexe’s prediction is that there will be much more training and it will be 15% live, 25% blended (live + virtual), and 60% virtual.
Another significant change is the continued diminishment of the time dedicated to training. I llost track of the number of conversations I’ve had during the past two days at ATD that went like this, “Oh, those digital virtual business simulations look cool. What can you do in an hour? Our people are so busy, they just don’t have a lot of time for training.”
Let’s be clear, in this new world if your people are too busy for training, your organization is going to be in big trouble. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but sooner rather than later.
Too Busy for Training?
We get it, in this post-pandemic business setting, there are so many demands on our time that the current work environment has become busier than ever. It’s not unusual to hear people complaining that they get hundreds of emails a day. If you do that math, 200 emails at 1 minute per email is almost 3 hours a day. Then when you incorporate interruptions, phone calls, meetings, and the administrative stuff, it’s more than half the day. Throw into the mix the migration to the matrix structure in many organizations and you are adding in another level of complexity which means that more people are involved in decision-making, all with different priorities and timeframes, while others are disempowered, slowing down progress. All of this has a direct impact on efficiency at work and it’s truly no wonder people feel that they have no time to do anything else.
Unfortunately, these constraints on employees’ time mean that taking the time to get training falls further and further down the list of priorities which results in people saying they are “too busy for training.” Companies will then argue that there is no point in investing in training when people don’t attend. Or worse yet, they will ask if you can teach the equivalent of a two-year MBA program in 60 minutes.
Another factor driving people to say they are too busy for training is the intense focus on objectives and key results (OKRs). With more access to data and more focus on performance management, employees think that 10 hours invested in let’s say a business acumen program or a business leadership program will take away critical time dedicated toward achieving their results. Which of course is the great irony. If they developed their skills and competencies and keep practicing them to get better, they would achieve more and become more valuable to the business.
Solving the Problem
As learning organizations try to figure this out, they must think of different ways to motivate their employees to want to see training and the opportunities to practice and reinforce new skills. At the same time, learning organizations must recognize that building skills is a commitment and they need to communicate the positive outcomes you get when you invest in the right training.
One of my big observations at the ATD conference is the heavy investment being made in Learning Management Systems and Learning Experience Platforms. We are talking big money! As I see it, learning without a context or purpose is not motivating. Imagine you lived in the central part of a major metropolitan city like New York, Washington, or Philadelphia and don’t drive. Then one day your manager says to you that the new LXP that your company just invested in has this amazing new elearning program that teaches you to drive. Maybe someday you will move out of the city and buy a car, but for now, you have no interest. Then, a week later your manager shares that you’ve been promoted to an incredible new job at headquarters in California where everyone drives, and you can’t really function without a car. Suddenly, learning to drive becomes a critical skill to acquire so you sit through the course where a voice-over talks at you about how to drive.
The problem of course is learners are being talked at and not learning by doing. Learning without practice can be a big waste of time and prompts another reason for people not wanting to participate in it. Simulations and other experiential learning tools provide the opportunity to learn by doing and can be extremely motivating if the learners know that they will achieve their goals and objectives as a result of the training.
One of the most astounding things that I have seen since the pandemic is there is an expectation from many senior leaders that people will somehow know how to think strategically, make the decisions that drive financial performance, and increase shareholder value all without training. The disconnect between executives and their board of directors regarding the skills of their organization has never been larger. It is a chasm that is getting larger and larger every day. The solution to this problem is a commitment to people's development.
Today’s leaders and individual contributors are being starved of the appropriate training in areas like Business Acumen and Business leadership skills. Doing it right takes focus, time, and investments. Like anything else in business, investments should have an ROI. By giving learners the opportunity to control their schedules through smaller, bite-sized chunks of experiential learning and supporting them from a time perspective is the only way to ensure the future of your business.
