Closing Skill Gap With Learning

8/10/2019 Closing Skill Gap With Learning

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Newbies to New LeadersClosing Critical Skill Gaps with Learning

October 2013

Mollie Lombardi, Zach Lahey


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Newbies to New Leaders: Closing Critical Skill Gaps with LearningPage 2

2013 Aberdeen Group. Telephone: 617 854 5200

www.aberdeen.com Fax: 617 723 7897

Executive Summary

Learning is critical to enabling business strategy, from onboarding new hires,

to developing future leaders, to educating channel partners and customers.This study, based on responses collected from 185 organizations betweenJuly and September 2013, looks at how organizations connect learning tobusiness priorities, create development programs that impact every stage ofthe employee lifecycle, and utilize technology to support learning initiatives.It also examines the business impact of building learning capability andrunning effective learning programs.

Best-in-Class Performance

Aberdeen used the following three key performance criteria to distinguishBest-in-Class companies:

83% of employees received performance ratings of exceedsperformance expectations

78% of key roles have one or more ready and willing successor

13% year-over-year improvement in revenue per full-timeequivalent (FTE)

Competitive Maturity Assessment

Survey results show that the firms enjoying Best-in-Class performanceshared several common characteristics, including:

Providing consistent learning and development opportunities

throughout the employee lifecycle

Ensuring that learning efforts are closely tied to business strategyand measured by business outcomes

Involving organizational leadership in both developing and executinglearning strategy

Required Actions

In addition to the specific recommendations in Chapter Three of thisreport, to achieve Best-in-Class performance, companies must:

Work with the business to establish a consistent set of

characteristics, skills, and competencies that are required to supportstrategy execution, and use them as a framework by which toassess, develop, and manage talent

Adopt learning technologies that allow the organization to beflexible on when, where, and how people learn

Focus on building internal organizational capability to bring newhires up to speed quickly, and develop the next generation ofleaders from within to maintain competitive advantage

Research Benchmark

Aberdeens ResearchBenchmarks provide anin-depth and comprehensivelook into process, procedure,methodologies, andtechnologies with best practiceidentification and actionablerecommendations.

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research andrepresent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group, Inc.


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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 2

Best-in-Class Performance ..................................................................................... 2Competitive Maturity Assessment ....................................................................... 2

Required Actions...................................................................................................... 2

Chapter One: Benchmarking the Best-in-Class .................................................... 4

Business Context ..................................................................................................... 4

The Maturity Class Framework ............................................................................ 5

The Best-in-Class PACE Model ............................................................................ 6

Best-in-Class Strategies ........................................................................................... 7

Chapter Two: Benchmarking Requirements for Success ................................. 12

Capabilities and Enablers ...................................................................................... 13

Chapter Three: Required Actions ......................................................................... 20

Laggard Steps to Success ...................................................................................... 20

Industry Average Steps to Success .................................................................... 20

Best-in-Class Steps to Success ............................................................................ 21

Appendix A: Research Methodology ..................................................................... 22

Appendix B: Related Aberdeen Research ............................................................ 24

Figures

Figure 1: Pressures Driving Learning Activities ...................................................... 4

Figure 2: Learning Strategies in Place ....................................................................... 8

Figure 3: The Impact of Best-in-Class Learning ..................................................... 9

Figure 4: Groups with Dedicated Learning Programs ........................................ 10

Figure 5: A Consistent Competency Model Pays Off ......................................... 15

Figure 6: Recent College Graduates Need a Little TLC .................................... 17

Tables

Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status.............................................. 6

Table 2: The Best-in-Class PACE Framework ....................................................... 6

Table 3: The Competitive Framework................................................................... 12

Table 4: Learning Methods and Effectiveness ....................................................... 19

Table 5: The PACE Framework Key ...................................................................... 23

Table 6: The Competitive Framework Key .......................................................... 23

Table 7: The Relationship Between PACE and the Competitive Framework......................................................................................................................................... 23


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Chapter One:Benchmarking the Best-in-Class

Business Context

Learning is fundamental. This is true not only for children and educationsystems, but for businesses as well. As organizations begin to emerge fromthe murky global economic climate of the last decade, they realized thatbeing able to build and develop talent from within is a critical capability. Infact, respondents to Aberdeens 2013 Human Capital Management Trendsstudy cited identifying, and ultimately closing, gaps between the skills andcapabilities their current workforce and the skills and capabilities requiredby future business plans as their top strategic priority (cited by 47%). And91% of respondents to this study indicate they plan to maintain or increasetheir level of investment in learning within the coming year. While

organizations understand the importance of learning and development, theirresources are not unlimited, and they must prioritize their learninginvestments on the individuals, technologies, and processes that will yieldthe best results. Aberdeens 2013 look at the state of learning anddevelopment has found that two critical groups have become top priorities

college hires and organizational leaders.

The need for more leadership talent is the number one pressure drivinglearning activities within organizations today (Figure 1). Organizationsunderstand that leadership talent is not widely available in the openmarketplace, and they must learn how to develop talent from within inorder to remain competitive.

Figure 1: Pressures Driving Learning Activities

Source: Aberdeen Group, October 2013

Fast Facts

40%of organizations saytheir college hires willrequire some additionalcoaching and training to beeffective members of theworkforce

29%say they will have tospend significant time trainingand developing their collegehires


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As in previous years, the need to realign the organization around shiftingstrategies is still important, but it is no longer the top priority when itcomes to shaping learning initiatives. The ability to identify and close skilland capability gaps, and maintain a sustainable leadership pipeline, isincredibly important. At the same time that they are focusing on developingfuture leaders, organizations also know that these future leaders start outtheir career as new college hires. This particular group, and its apparent lackof readiness for the workforce, has received much attention in the media oflate, for good reason. When asked if college hires are prepared to beeffective members of the workforce, the results were astounding.

40% of organizations say their college hires will require someadditional coaching and training to be effective members of theworkforce

29% say they will have to spend significant time training and developingtheir college hires

Only 10% indicate that their new college hires are ready tocontribute and get up to speed as quickly as any other new hire

Despite these gaps, only 36% of organizations indicate they had dedicatedleadership programs for emerging leaders, and just 19% have programs fornew college hires though as we will see later in this report, top-performing organizations are much more likely to focus on these groups.Organizations seem to understand the problem they face, but still lack thestrategies and processes to solve them.

The following sections of this report will look at how organizations thatachieve higher levels of organizational performance differentiate their

approach to learning and development overall, and particularly for thesecritical employee groups.

The Maturity Class Framework

Aberdeen used three key performance criteria to distinguish the Best-in-Class from Industry Average and Laggard organizations. These criteria weredesigned to identify organizations achieving high levels of organizational andindividual performance, in order to understand the types of learninginitiatives, processes, tools, and technologies that top performingorganizations put in place to achieve this level of success.

Employee Performance.Measured as the percentage of

employees receiving a rating of exceeds expectations or better ontheir most recent performance review. This metric is an indicator ofan individuals ability to achieve and exceed performance goals.

Leadership Bench Strength.Measured as the percentage of keypositions with at least one ready and willing successor identified.This metric is an indicator of organizational ability to both developand retain top-performing talent.

Fast Facts

Only 36%of organizationsindicate they have dedicatedleadership programs foremerging leaders, and just19% have programs for newcollege hires.


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Revenue.Measured as the percent of year-over-year improvementin revenue attainment per FTE. This metric is an indicator of overallorganizational performance and ability to execute on businessstrategy.

Table 1: Top Performers Earn Best-in-Class Status

Definition ofMaturity Class

Mean Class Performance

Best-in-Class:

Top 20%

of aggregateperformance scorers

83% of employees received performance ratings ofexceeds performance expectations

78% of key roles have one or more ready andwilling successor

13% year-over-year improvement in revenue perFTE

Industry Average:Middle 50%of aggregate

performance scorers



7% year-over-year improvement in revenue per FTE

Laggard:

Bottom 30%of aggregate

performance scorers



1% year-over-year improvement in revenue per FTE


The Best-in-Class PACE Model

Using learning to improve overall business performance, and help overcomeskill shortages in the marketplace requires a combination of strategicactions, organizational capabilities, and enabling technologies that can besummarized as follows:

Providing consistent learning and development opportunitiesthroughout the employee lifecycle

Ensuring that learning efforts are closely tied to business strategy,and measured by business outcomes

Involving organizational leadership in both developing and executinglearning strategy

Table 2: The Best-in-Class PACE Framework

Pressures Actions Capabilities Enablers

The need formore leadershiptalent

Lack of key skills

Provide moreconsistentdevelopmentexperience at all

Performance goals areagreed to by managersand employees

Visible senior leadership

Pre-hire assessments (Best-in-Classadoption)

Employee self-service portal for access tolearning

Fast Facts

91%of respondents indicatethey plan to maintain orincrease their level ofinvestment in learning withinthe coming year.


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Pressures Actions Capabilities Enablers

in the marketplacerequires

development fromwithin

Changes toproduct, process,or strategyrequiring re-education andrealignment

career stages

More closely link

learning programsto business goals

Define and build aconsistent set ofcompetencies toguide developmentactivities

support for learning anddevelopment efforts

A consistent competencymodel is used for hiring,development, andperformance management

Development plans areagreed to by managersand employees

Learning programs mapdirectly to individualemployee developmentplans

Customer feedback and /or demand information is

used to determinelearning needs andpriorities

Learning management system (LMS)

Employee performance management

systemPost-hire assessments


Best-in-Class Strategies

Overwhelmingly, the most common strategy cited by Best-in-Classorganizations is to provide a more consistent development experience at allcareer stages (Figure 2). Best-in-Class organizations are 78% more likelythan Laggard organizations to cite this as a top strategy. These top-performing organizations understand that learning is not a one-time

experience, but an ongoing process that must be facilitated throughout anindividuals career. A strategic focus on career-long learning is importantgiven the gaps that all organizations see among early career professionals,and among the leadership ranks.


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Figure 2: Learning Strategies in Place


Part of why these Best-in-Class organizations are able to focus on expandingtheir definition of learning is that they have already overcome two othercritical challenges that are the strategic focus of Industry Average andLaggard organizations linking learning programs to business results anddefining and building a consistent set of competencies to guide development.It is very difficult to create a comprehensive, career-long learning pathwithout business buy in and a strong picture of what skills and capabilities

will be required of individuals as they progress through their career. Best-in-Class organizations are 70% more likely than All Other organizations (78%vs. 46%) to have a defined competency model already in place, which mayexplain why they are so much less likely to cite it as a top strategy. And 63%of Best-in-Class organizations say they can link their learning programs toorganizational profitability with 23% indicating they also have the data toback up this assertion. By comparison, just 7% of Laggard organizations havethe data to link learning programs to organizational profitability. In order tomove up the maturity curve, these organizations must link learning to thebusiness and define competencies before they can implement a moreconsistent development experience.

Moving up the maturity curve is it important goal, because Best-in-Classorganizations experience significant impact to their business performance asa result of their focus on learning. While this report used critical businessmetrics to define top performers individual employee performance,bench strength, and revenue organizations that use learning to improveperformance in these key areas also see improved performance in employeeengagement, their ability to fill leadership positions with internal candidates,and their ability to retain talent (Figure 3).


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Figure 3: The Impact of Best-in-Class Learning


Scarcity of talent is a critical issue for all organizations. Organizations with astrong learning focus are not only able to achieve better results today, theyare better positioned to compete in the future by creating a culture inwhich employees are engaged and willing to stay with their organization,allowing the company to fill critical positions from within. Given thecompetitive nature of the talent marketplace, organizational capability indeveloping leaders internally will provide a distinct strategic advantage fororganizations going forward. In the following chapters this report willexplore how organizations execute their learning programs to generatethese impressive results.

Aberdeen Insights Strategy

Organizations that get the most out of their learning initiatives are alsothe ones putting the most into them. Top-performing organizationssimply spend more time on learning and training activities, and involvemore stakeholders in learning programs. On average, employees at Best-in-Class organizations spend about 7.1 days per year in formal training

programs, as compared to 6.7 days for All Other organizations. Ofcourse, as we will see in Chapter Two, formal training is not the onlycomponent of Best-in-Class learning, but it is important to note thepriority that top-performing organizations seem to place on learning bydevoting more time to it.

These top-performing organizations also extend learning to more groupsinside and outside the organization. Figure 4 below highlights the fact


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that Best-in-Class organizations are significantly more likely to havededicated learning programs for individuals at all stages of the employeelifecycle, as well as to recognize the importance of learning for channelpartners, customers, and even part-time or contingent labor.

Figure 4: Groups with Dedicated Learning Programs


Given the importance organizations place today on developing the nextgeneration of leaders internally, the fact that Best-in-Class organizationsare 59% more likely (51% vs. 32%) to have dedicated programs foremerging leaders, and 73% more likely (69% vs. 40%) to have programs

for front-line leaders means that they will have a real advantage in thefuture when it comes to sourcing leaders internally. These organizationsmust also ensure that they take advantage of learning and developmentactivities to engage these leaders so that they stay with the companylong-term. Best-in-Class organizations also gain competitive advantage byfocusing on college hires and getting them up to speed quickly. They aremore than twice as likely (34% vs. 15%) to provide dedicated programsfor new college hires. Given the critical skill gaps that


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many organizations are challenged by when it comes to these earlycareer professionals, Best-in-Class organizations seem to understand thatlearning is the secret to overcoming critical skill gaps.

In the next chapter, we will see what the top performers do to achievethese gains.


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Chapter Two:Benchmarking Requirements for Success

The right mix of learning strategies, practices, and technologies enablesorganizations to achieve business results.

Competitive Assessment

Aberdeen Group analyzed the aggregated metrics of surveyed companies todetermine whether their performance ranked as Best-in-Class, IndustryAverage, or Laggard. In addition to having common performance levels, eachclass also shared characteristics in five key categories: (1) process(theapproaches they take to execute daily operations); (2) organization(corporate focus and collaboration among stakeholders); (3) knowledgemanagement(contextualizing data and exposing it to key stakeholders);

(4) technology(the selection of the appropriate tools and the effectivedeployment of those tools); and (5) performance management(theability of the organization to measure its results to improve its business).These characteristics (identified in Table 3) serve as a guideline for bestpractices, and correlate directly with Best-in-Class performance across thekey metrics.

Table 3: The Competitive Framework

Best-in-Class Average Laggards

Process

Performance goals are agreed to by managers andemployees

86% 78% 69%

Development plans are agreed to by managers andemployees

78% 70% 62%

Organization

Visible senior leadership support for learning anddevelopment efforts

79% 65% 46%

Knowledge

A consistent competency model is used for hiring,development, and performance management

78% 48% 43%

Learning programs map directly to individual employeedevelopment plans

75% 39% 39%

Technology HCM technology currently in use:

Fast Facts

Best-in-Class organizations are:

76%more likely to utilizeuser-generated videocontent

74%more likely to use two-way video collaborationtools

54%more likely to usemobile learning; and

51%more likely to usesocial learning tools

in support of their learningstrategies.


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Best-in-Class Average Laggards

76% Pre-hireassessments

69% Employeeself-serviceportal foraccess tolearning

65% LMS

64% Employeeperformancemanagementsystem

60% Post-hireassessments



47% LMS





28% LMS



PerformanceManagers are held accountable for developmentprogress of their team members

62% 50% 50%


Capabilities and Enablers

Aberdeens analysis of the Best-in-Class shows that organizations mustsupport both employees and managers with tools and processes to ensureeffective learning. At all levels of the organization, individuals and theirmanagers must have a clear understanding of learning goals, and have accessto tools that will enable them to link learning to business priorities.

Process

Companies understand that while HCM and learning technology leads to amore productive workforce, the active dialogue between employees andtheir managers is what truly separates Best-in-Class companies from therest of the pack. When a manager can clearly communicate the needs of theorganization and how an employees individual actions relate to the progressand growth of the company, there is a greater chance of success.

It comes as no surprise that Best-in-Class companies are 15% more likely(86% vs. 75%) to have managers and employees agree to performance goals,as well as 15% more likely (78% vs. 68%) to have managers and employees

agree to development plans than All Others. There is a greater chanceemployees will be able to execute on their performance goals when theyalso understand the development support they will have to reach thosegoals. It is also much easier to hold employees and managers accountablefor performance and development progress when they are on the samepage. Similarly, there is a higher likelihood that managers will stay on top ofcommunication about internal growth when they are held accountable bysenior leadership to track, report, and share employee performance anddevelopment with them and above.


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These organizations also understand that agreeing upon performance anddevelopment goals is just the first step. Employees pursue continualfeedback to ensure that they achieve these goals. Fifty-two percent (52%) ofBest-in-Class companies conduct formal reviews at least annually, and morethan a quarter (28%) of Best-in-Class organizations have informal reviews onat least a monthly basis. This continual flow of information through formaland informal channels ensures that employees have a better grasp on theirprogress and how their performance is perceived, and managers also cansee where their team members stand.

Organization

In order to maintain effective learning programs, companies dont just needbuy-in from the employees; they also need full support from seniorleadership. Best-in-Class companies are 34% more likely (79% vs. 59%) tohave visible senior leadership support for learning and development efforts

than All Others. This support is important in multiple ways. First of all,leaders must model the importance of learning through participation inlearning programs themselves and encouraging their direct reports to dothe same. Senior leaders must also work with learning leaders to ensurethat learning programs and content are closely aligned to business priorities.Learning cannot be siloed, but in order to break down these barriers seniorleaders must ensure that organizational strategy and priorities are clearlycommunicated, so they can serve as the core of all learning initiatives.

As noted in Figure 2, many organizations, particularly Laggards, struggle tolink learning to business priorities. Executive leadership support is critical toovercoming this barrier. One of the reasons top-performing organizationsmay find attaining this level of executive support easier is the fact that, asmentioned earlier, 63% of Best-in-Class organizations indicated theypossessed the ability to link changes in their profitability to their learninginitiatives. Whats more, 23% of Best-in-Class companies noted the linkcould be validated through data. This is an important lesson fororganizations struggling to get leadership buy-in. The more learning can betied to metrics that are important to the business, such as profitability, themore likely they will receive leadership attention. And the more closelylinked learning programs are with business priorities, the easier it will be tomeasure this impact.

Knowledge Management

As discussed in Chapter 1, Best-in-Class organizations offer more consistentlearning programs throughout the employee lifecycle, because thesecompanies have determined that learning is vital to their success and engageindividuals and present learning from their first day on the job all the waythrough to leadership development. Best-in-Class companies employ twokey differentiators a consistent competency model used for hiring,development, and performance management and the ability to map learningprograms directly to employee development plans which allows for themost effective growth of all levels of employees. Having a consistent


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competency model ensures that the business and HR have a commonlanguage by which to discuss and evaluate talent. It also helps individuals seeexactly what is required of them to move to the next level. With aconsistent competency model in place, companies are better equipped toprovide useful performance reviews, develop leaders internally to fill keypositions, and help individuals exceed performance expectations by settingclear goals than companies without a consistent competency model in place(Figure 5).

Figure 5: A Consistent Competency Model Pays Off


A consistent competency model lays the foundation for organizational abilityto create consistent learning programs throughout the employee lifecycle the top strategy identified by Best-in-Class organizations. It is also at thecore of enabling productive conversations between employees andmanagers on performance and development goals. And it creates aconsistent model against which to evaluate talent during the hiring,onboarding, and development process. Once this model is in place, itbecomes far easier to map individual development plans to the right skillsand capabilities to ensure continued individual and organizationalperformance.

Technology

Organizations use a wide variety of technologies to support their learningefforts, but some of the most valuable are focused on understanding thegaps between individuals capabilities and what is required by the business. Inparticular, organizations use pre-hire assessments, notably for college hires,and post-hire assessments, particularly for senior leadership. Pre-hireassessments, used by more than three-quarters (76%) of Best-in-Class


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companies, can provide employers with a great deal of insight into thepersonal skills, general knowledge, and business acumen of prospectiveemployees. And of course, having a consistent competency model in placeto guide development gives organizations a basis from which to assess. Thisinformation gives employers a distinct understanding for how much time,energy, and resources it could take for them to get a candidate up to speedand ready to contribute. And given the gaps noted previously in collegehires, understanding this investment is critical. Organizations need tounderstand which skills and characteristics they will be able to train for, andwhich ones they must select for, to ensure that they have candidates whowill be productive quickly. Its also incredibly important to use pre-hireassessment output to guide learning during the onboarding phase and tailorthis process to focus on what each employee needs to get up to speed.

As valuable as assessment tools can be in helping individuals and managersunderstand what development is required, organizations also use technology

to help learners access the appropriate information. Best-in-Classorganizations are 86% more likely (69% vs. 37%) to provide employee self-service access to learning resources. Allowing individuals to take action toclose their learning gaps is the ultimate goal of many learning programs.There has been an increasing shift towards just in time and informallearning. Much as individuals have come to expect the ability to Google theanswer to any question they have in their personal life, from how to fix thedishwasher to how to roast a turkey, they expect to be able to accesslearning information they need in the moment. In fact, the scales have tippedslightly in favor of this sort of unstructured, on-demand content.Respondents estimated that 51% of their current learning content isunstructured defined as content learners can access at will outside of

prescribed learning courses, including video, chat with subject matterexperts, social learning, etc. as opposed to structured defined astraditional coursework of prescribed content. Using technology to allow foruser creation and access of content is a growing trend. The technologyinsight section at the end of this chapter explores in more detail some ofthe tools organizations use to enable access to learning content.

Fast Facts

51%of current learningcontent is estimated to beunstructured defined ascontent learners can access atwill outside of prescribedlearning courses, includingvideo, chat with subject matter

experts, social learning, etc.


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Aberdeen Insights Preparing College Hires

Given that 63% of organizations report at least some additional coachingand training in order to get their new college hires up to speed, it begsthe question, what are these young professionals lacking as they enter theworkforce? The most commonly cited skill or capability gaps, cited by53% of All Respondents, was that their college hires lack critical thinkingskills, which can be a significant challenge that corporate learningprograms must learn to overcome (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Recent College Graduates Need a Little TLC


Other areas college hires need assistance with include writing,presentation skills, general business acumen, time management, personalleadership ability, and industry / domain expertise. The use of aconsistent competency model that helps organizations understand andquantify the gaps between current capability and organizationalrequirements to help guide development is an important tool at all stages.Organizations should also consider the use of assessment tools to ensurethat they provide a steady stream of employees ready to meet thechanging needs of the business.

Performance Management

Measuring learning has been an age-old challenge. As every part of theorganization today is under increased scrutiny when it comes to spending,learning programs and learning organizations must ensure that they areclosely linking their processes and tools to business priorities. Its incrediblyimportant to have business buy-in when defining the metrics by whichlearning programs will be measured. Learning leaders know that

Fast Facts

Best-in-Class organizations are63%more likely than All Otherorganizations to have an LMS inplace to track and administerlearning (classroom, eLearning,and/or virtual) programs, aswell as planning and trackinglearner progress or activities.


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measurements of learning programs must evolve far beyond how manyhours of training are completed and whether or not employees weresatisfied with the formal training course. Learning organizations mustdynamically adapt, and correlate their activities to ongoing improvement inbusiness results. Working with the business to get buy-in for learningprograms and agreement on key metrics is critically important. One way toensure this linkage is to hold managers accountable for the development oftheir direct reports. Currently, 62% of Best-in-Class organizations have thiscapability in place. When managers are measured on the growth,development, and even promotion of their direct reports, they will makelearning a priority and start to build a true learning culture throughout theorganization.

Aberdeen Insights Technology

While the LMS (learning management system) has traditionally been the

technology many people associate with learning, many other technologiesare in wide usage today. Best-in-Class organizations are still 63% morelikely than All Other organizations to have an LMS in place (65% vs. 40%)to track and administer learning (classroom, eLearning, and/or virtual)programs, as well as planning and tracking learner progress or activities.But the LMS is only part of the story.

The number one challenge identified by Best-in-Class organizations whenit comes to delivering on their learning strategies was the ability todeliver learning in ways that appeal to multiple generations and learnertypes, with 50% of Best-in-Class organizations citing this as a topchallenge, as compared to just 23% of All Others. Just as Best-in-Class

organizations understand that they need to provide a consistent learningprocess at all stages of the career cycle, they also realize they need toprovide learning in multiple formats and modalities. Learning technologyhas evolved dramatically in recent years to support the diverse goals ofthese organizations. As the consumerization of technology, driven by theevolution of smart phones, tablets, and the Internet, has changed everyemployees expectations, organizations are looking to a multifacetedapproach to learning, with technology playing a starring role.

In this study, Aberdeen asked respondents not only which learning toolsand modalities they used, but which they perceive to be most effective.As illustrated in Table 4 below, formal and informal coaching and on-the-

job training, along with classroom-based, instructor-led training are still

considered among the most effective methods of learning and knowledgetransfer. But the use of e-learning and blended learning strategies thatcombine traditional and technology enabled learning are also not onlywidely used by Best-in-Class organizations, but also considered to bequite effective as well.


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Aberdeen Insights Technology

Table 4: Learning Methods and Effectiveness

Best-in-Class

Effectiveness

Best-in-

ClassUsing

All

OthersUsing

Formal mentoring / coaching 4.4 99% 91%

Formal on-the-job training 4.14 100% 94%

Informal on-the-job training(learn by doing) 3.92 100% 97%

Instructor-led, classroom-based training 3.57 90% 96%

Blended-learning approach(combining instructor-ledand eLearning) 3.4 89% 76%

Asynchronous, self-pacedeLearning (e.g., on-demandonline content portal) 3.28 93% 79%

Rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = least effective and 5 = very effective


It is interesting to note that Best-in-Class organizations are more likely touse almost every learning modality surveyed, with the exception ofinstructor led, classroom-based training. While 90% of Best-in-Class

organizations still use this method, 96% of all other organizations do,indicating their reliance on traditional methodologies and the fact thatthey are far less likely to take blended approaches, or use technologysuch as e-learning, video learning, or other technology enabled formats.

In addition to the technologies listed above, Best-in-Class organizationsare 76% more likely to utilize user generated video content (74% vs.42%), 74% more likely to use two-way video collaboration tools (75% vs.43%), 54% more likely to use mobile learning (77% vs. 50%), and 51%more likely to use social learning tools (86% vs. 57%) in support of theirlearning strategies. The growth of video, mobile, and social learning, aswell as a focus on collaborating to facilitate learning, has been the

growing trend in learning programs over the past several years. Best-in-Class organizations are clearly accelerating their adoption of these criticalstrategies.


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Chapter Three:Required Actions

Whether a company is trying to move its performance in learning fromLaggard to Industry Average, or Industry Average to Best-in-Class, thefollowing actions will help spur the necessary performance improvements:

Laggard Steps to Success

Link learning to business priorities.There are many reasonswhy learning and business priorities must be connected. It is howorganizations build executive and managerial buy-in, how learningorganizations can help secure funding for initiatives and technology,and it is how to ensure that the organization continues to build thetalent it will require to remain competitive in the future. Today just

7% of Laggard organizations have data linking their learninginitiatives to organizational profitability, as compared to 23% of theBest-in-Class. While clearly this linkage can be difficult to measureeven for top performers, working towards this goal is important forall organizations.

Consider tools to help track and manage learning. Whetheror not you believe that the rumors of the death of the LMS arewildly exaggerated or not, it is clear that organizations do needtools to help them track and administer learning (classroom,eLearning, and/or virtual) programs, as well as planning and trackinglearner progress or activities. Currently just 20% of Laggardorganizations use an LMS, as compared to 65% of Best-in-Class

companies.

Industry Average Steps to Success

Define a consistent competency model.The wordcompetencies can sound daunting to some, but at the end of the dayit simply means having a language by which to talk about the skills,knowledge, and capabilities required of various career stages and invarious job roles. Having this definition to guide assessment, hiring,development, and performance management is critical to success.But today just under half (48%) of Industry Average organizationshave a consistent competency model in place, as compared to 78%

of the Best-in-Class. As noted previously, overcoming this hurdle isa critical step to move up the maturity curve and allow theorganization to focus on building a continuous learning environmentthat supports business performance.

Look to blended learning approaches.Organizations todaymust balance structured and unstructured, formal and informal, inperson and virtual, mobile and social aspects to all their learningprograms. Finding ways to blend traditional and technology enabledlearning can help organizations meet the needs of their many

Fast Facts

80%of Best-in-Classorganizations take a blendedlearning approach.

78%of Best-in-Classorganizations have a definedcompetency model in placeto guide developmentactivities.


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stakeholders inside and outside the organization. Currently, 77% ofIndustry Average organizations take a blended learning approach,versus 88% of the Best-in-Class. But Best-in-Class organizations arealso finding it be much more effective, breaking it out as one of thetop five most effective learning modalities with a score of 3.4 on ascale of 1 to 5, where 1= least effective and 5= most effective, ascompared to score of 2.6 among Industry Average organizations. Afocused approach to blended learning would help increase adoptionas well as effectiveness.

Best-in-Class Steps to Success

Continue and enhance mobile and social learningstrategies.Given the rise of unstructured content, and demands ofa multigenerational and often geographically dispersed workforce,mobile and social learning strategies are critical. While Best-in-Class

organizations are 54% more likely to use mobile learning (77% vs.50%) and 51% more likely to use social learning tools (86% vs. 57%)in support of their learning strategies, there is still room to grow.And the tools that drive mobile access and social interaction arecontinuing to evolve. Tablets and smartphones are just the currentiteration of how we access information and collaborate on the go.To stay ahead of the curve, organizations must continue to focus onthis critical capability as part of their overall learning program.

Focus on leadership development to build sustainablecompetitive advantage.Despite looming leadership gaps, and thefact that the need for more leaders is the number one driver of

learning initiatives today, just 69% of Best-in-Class organizationshave programs in place that are dedicated to front-line leadershipdevelopment, and only 51% have dedicated programs for emergingleaders. Organizational capability to develop great leaders will notonly make an organization a magnet for top talent, it will put theorganization in control of its future by creating an internal talentpool that will insulate the organization from external leadershipshortages.

Aberdeen Insights Summary

Learning has never been more important to organizational success. Withthe failure of colleges and universities to adequately ready the next

generation of our workforce, looming leadership shortages, and the ever-expanding network of individuals inside and outside the organization thatcan benefit from corporate learning, learning leaders have a lot on theirplate. But adopting the right set of tools and initiatives, guided bybusiness priority, will enable learning leaders to not only buildorganizational capability and improve performance today, but also createsustainable competitive advantages into the future.


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Appendix A:Research Methodology

Between July and September 2013, Aberdeen examined the use, theexperiences, and the intentions of more than 180 enterprises learning toenhance business performance.

Aberdeen supplemented this online survey effort with telephone interviewswith select survey respondents, gathering additional information on learningstrategies, experiences, and results.

Responding enterprises included the following:

Job title:The research sample included respondents with thefollowing job titles: Manager (26%), Director (23%), Executive(19%), Consultant (10%), Staff (7%), General Manager / Managing

Director (4%), Partner / Principal (3%), EVP / SVP (2%), VicePresident (2%), Other (2%), CFO (1%), and CIO (1%).

Department / function:The research sample included respondentsfrom the following departments or functions: Human Resource /Talent Management (27%), Business Development / Sales (11%),Corporate Management (9%), Customer Service / Support (9%),Information Technology (5%), and Marketing (5%).

Industry:The research sample included respondents from variousindustries. Industrial equipment manufacturing and software weretied as the largest industries (11%) of the sample.

Geography:The majority of respondents (58%) were from North

America. Remaining respondents were from Europe (22%), theAsia-Pacific region (12%), Latin America (Central and SouthAmerica, not including Mexico) (3%), Middle East (3%), and Africa(2%).

Company size:Nineteen percent (19%) of respondents were fromlarge enterprises (annual revenues above US $1 billion); 30% werefrom midsize enterprises (annual revenues between $50 million and$1 billion); and 50% of respondents were from small businesses(annual revenues of $50 million or less).

Headcount:Thirty-four percent (34%) of respondents were fromlarge enterprises (headcount greater than 1,001 employees); 32%

were from midsize enterprises (headcount between 101 and 1,000employees); and 36% of respondents were from small businesses(headcount between 1 and 100 employees).

Study Focus

Responding executivescompleted an online surveythat included questionsdesigned to determine thefollowing:

The degree to whichlearning programs were inplace throughout theorganization

The structure and

effectiveness of existinglearning programs

Current and planned use oftechnology to supportlearning initiatives andbusiness performance

The benefits, if any, that havebeen derived from learninginitiatives

The study aimed to identifyemerging best practices for

learning and learningtechnology, and to provide aframework by which readerscould assess their ownmanagement capabilities.


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Table 5: The PACE Framework Key

Overview

Aberdeen applies a methodology to benchmark research that evaluates the business pressures, actions, capabilities,and enablers (PACE) that indicate corporate behavior in specific business processes. These terms are defined asfollows:

Pressures external forces that impact an organizations market position, competitiveness, or businessoperations (e.g., economic, political and regulatory, technology, changing customer preferences, competitive)

Actions the strategic approaches that an organization takes in response to industry pressures (e.g., align thecorporate business model to leverage industry opportunities, such as product / service strategy, target markets,financial strategy, go-to-market, and sales strategy)

Capabilities the business process competencies required to execute corporate strategy (e.g., skilled people,brand, market positioning, viable products / services, ecosystem partners, financing)

Enablers the key functionality of technology solutions required to support the organizations enabling business

practices (e.g., development platform, applications, network connectivity, user interface, training and support,partner interfaces, data cleansing, and management)


Table 6: The Competitive Framework Key

Overview

The Aberdeen Competitive Framework defines enterprisesas falling into one of the following three levels of practicesand performance:

Best-in-Class (20%) Practices that are the best

currently being employed and are significantly superior tothe Industry Average, and result in the top industryperformance.

Industry Average (50%) Practices that represent theaverage or norm, and result in average industryperformance.

Laggards (30%) Practices that are significantly behindthe average of the industry, and result in below averageperformance.

In the following categories:

Process What is the scope of processstandardization? What is the efficiency andeffectiveness of this process?

Organization How is your company currentlyorganized to manage and optimize this particularprocess?

Knowledge What visibility do you have into keydata and intelligence required to manage this process?

Technology What level of automation have youused to support this process? How is this automationintegrated and aligned?

Performance What do you measure? Howfrequently? Whats your actual performance?


Table 7: The Relationship Between PACE and the Competitive Framework

PACE and the Competitive Framework How They Interact

Aberdeen research indicates that companies that identify the most influential pressures and take the mosttransformational and effective actions are most likely to achieve superior performance. The level of competitiveperformance that a company achieves is strongly determined by the PACE choices that they make and how well theyexecute those decisions.



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2013 Ab d G p T l ph 617 854 5200

Appendix B:Related Aberdeen Research

Related Aberdeen research that forms a companion or reference to thisreport includes:

Talent Acquisition 2013: Adapt Your Strategy or Fail;September 2013

Take Me to Your Leader: Developing the Leadership Pipeline;June 2013

Three Strategies for Linking Onboarding and Learning Initiatives;May2013

Assessments 2013: Finding the Perfect Match;April 2013

Strategic Onboarding 2013: A New Look at New Hires; April 2013

Zoom in on Video Learning;February 2013

Human Capital Management Trends 2013: Its a Brave New World;January 2013

Learning and Performance: Developing for Business Results; October2012

Information on these and any other Aberdeen publications can be found atwww.aberdeen.com.

Authors: Mollie Lombardi, Vice President and Principal Analyst, HumanCapital Management, ([email protected]); Zach Lahey, SeniorResearch Associate, Human Capital Management, ([email protected])

For more than two decades, Aberdeens research has been helping corporations worldwide become Best-in-Class.Having benchmarked the performance of more than 644,000 companies, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to provideorganizations with the facts that matter the facts that enable companies to get ahead and drive results. Thats whyour research is relied on by more than 2.5 million readers in over 40 countries, 90% of the Fortune 1,000, and 93% ofthe Technology 500.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeens research provides insight and analysis to the Harte-Hanks community oflocal, regional, national and international marketing executives. Combined, we help our customers leverage the powerof insight to deliver innovative multichannel marketing programs that drive business-changing results. For additionalinformation, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call(800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Groups methodologiesprovide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unlessotherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not bereproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by

Aberdeen Group, Inc. (2013a)
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