Learners have been significantly impacted by the growing complexities organizations face. Before the pandemic, developing and delivering learning to a highly dynamic and mobile workforce was already a daunting task. Now, for most organizations, an unpredictable employee work environment and an uncertain go-forward business strategy further complicate the ability to develop and deliver learning where and when it is most needed.
Organizations expend significant time and resources trying to determine the best way to help their employees continue to learn, upskill and reskill. Despite this investment, it is very challenging for organizations to identify the best approach. Personalizing learning is the key to helping employees during this tumultuous time. The more accessible and relevant content is for the employee, the greater probability the learning will be impactful. If learning can be highly contextualized and delivered in the flow of work, employees have the best chance to take advantage of the learning and put it to use.
A critical element in developing and delivering personalized learning is having an expert understanding of the learner and their environment. As learning professionals, we must take time to understand the unique characteristics of each learner and their learning environment. This is not a quick or easy process but without this knowledge, an organization could spend all their time and resources developing and delivering learning with limited or no impact on the learner.
The question boils down to this: how well do you know your learners? Learning professionals should know the answer to this question. There are many factors to consider, so we must be diligent in our quest to uncover the data and insights to create personalized learning. Then, we must devise a strategy to develop and deliver a personalized learning experience for all employees.
We are undertaking a study to identify the factors that impact developing personalized learning by probing into the characteristics of learners and their environments. Stay tuned for a review of the findings of this study and the insights generated from it!
