Personalised learning is vital

If personalised learning is so vital, why aren’t more organisations doing it?

According to the 2017 L&D Global Sentiment Survey, 77% of learning professionals believe the hot topic for organisational learning this year will be personalised learning and adaptive training delivery.

So why aren’t more of us doing it?

In reality, providing someone with the opportunity to make use of a variety of experiences, approaches, strategies and tools to satisfy their own distinct development needs is easier said than done.

Firstly, it takes a significant investment of time to develop this degree of accessible information.

Secondly, there’s the amount of resource required to make it happen, from a range of sources.

Thirdly, the cost: technology will play a key role in developing personalised learning opportunities; we are all used to a world of immediate access to information from sources like YouTube and as much as employees would love their learning to be personalised, it would also need to be immediately accessible via a simple-to-use platform.

As you can see, it’s easier said than done!

But if the learning you provide doesn’t appeal to your learners on an individual basis, how likely is it that they’re going to check out, or even look elsewhere for a more personalised provision?

Market research tells us that 74% of consumers get frustrated when they receive content that has nothing to do with their interests, so marketing professionals use personalisation to boost consumer engagement.

It would seem we have some answers, for the same survey identified that:

36% believe existing skills within their organisation were a barrier to personalisation adoption. Exploring and learning new skills may well be a step-change for organisations and their people – not something many of both do consistently well.
41% identified interactive video as the most effective technique in tailoring learning content – a potentially costly investment.
46% felt that establishing effective data analytics and diagnostics was the greatest challenge for making personalised learning work within their organisation.
36% found adaptive technology was a required investment for effective personalised learning – again a potentially costly investment.

How does this approach translate in terms of the workforce?

If a whopping 94% of L&D businesses say personalisation of learning is critical to their success, why aren’t more doing it? Why do so many organisations continue to churn out ‘one size fits all’ training?

In truth, personalising learning to ensure our people realise their potential is inevitable – but there is a long way to go before the world of learning and development has created a pattern for this personalisation that suits the needs – and the budget – of the market.

Until then, it seems that a lot of organisations will continue to promote ‘off the shelf’ methodologies which tick a box for their clients, but make no real, impactful or lasting change to their workforce.

If you are looking for a personalised and unique programme of learning which is proven to offer significant, lasting change to the development of your employees, give the ASK team a call on 01234 757575 or email on hello@askeurope.com and let’s discuss your unique needs, and how ASK’s bespoke programmes can be tailored to meet them.