Why Always-On Learning is Essential to the Employee Experience

We all have that one nagging thing on our to-do list, don’t we? Continually pushed to the bottom of the pile, usurped on a weekly basis by other seemingly more pressing matters. The “I know that’s important, but I just don’t have time” item that craves attention. It’s fair to say that workplace learning has traditionally been considered in a similar vein. Yet, as employers look to engage talent and maintain competitiveness, smart leaders are starting to realize the importance of making always-on learning a core part of their company culture.

Why now? Aside from fierce competition for talent that’s leading businesses to rethink how they motivate and manage their workforce, we’re also seeing workplace learning mirror some of the trends seen in the consumer world: Engaging, on-demand, social content, created by the real, in-the-trenches experts. Employers adopting this philosophy are trying to make learning both easier to execute and more interesting for workers. By 2020, the global corporate e-learning market is projected to reach $31 billion in revenue, according to a Technavio report. To put this into context, this is roughly the same size as the entire projected market for wearable tech over the same period.

More than 58% of millennials expect their employers to provide them with learning opportunities relevant to their jobs.

Of course, workplace learning will still deliver basic learning and compliance tasks, as it should. However, the opportunity is now there for organizations to engage workers by creating a bridge to new career opportunities and to achieve personal and professional goals. In today’s disruptive business world, things change fast and the need to re-skill the workforce will continue to grow.