STUDY 2020 PUTTING LEARNING HEALTH UNDER THE SCANNER A research on the learning health of organizations in India by EdCast + + + + + In association with Skilling is at the heart of transforming nations. It is indeed the biggest opportunity and challenge of the decade. The speed and scale at which Preface organizations are able to upskill and reskill their workforce may well become their only competitive sustainable advantage. In this race, agility is a key transformation lever and organizations must invest time and money to reskill their workforce such that they can quickly adapt and adjust to this new order of work. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, corporate mortality rates are expected to soar. Is this only a symptom of a deeper problem that afflicts organizations causing some to perish and many to fail to live up to their potential? With the frequent shifts in the market conditions and uncertain futures, continuous learning is integral to the ‘Future of Work’. This requires a shift in mindset at both, the organizational and individual level. The new order of work requires talent that is networked Karl Mehta Nishchae Suri and fluid with an ever-growing set of skills that is fast changing. To Founder & CEO President, Asia Pacific, survive, sustain and grow, the best strategy is to create healthy, multi- Middle East & Africa EdCast faceted and flexible learning ecosystems, educate the learner on being EdCast a smart consumer, set and maintain context and get out of the learner’s way. It is interesting that the words ‘whole’ and ‘health’ come from the same root (the Old English hal, as in ‘hale and hearty’). So it should come as no surprise that the unhealthiness of our learning today is + + + + + + 1 Preface in direct proportion to our inability to see it as a ‘whole’. A holistic These are truly unprecedented and challenging times and with the approach to learning requires for an organization to have an enabling right level of executive sponsorship, this paves the way for the rise and psychologically safe learning environment, a set of concrete of the Transformer Chief Learning Officer! L&D professionals must learning processes and practices that allow unobstructed, free flow of rise to the occasion and meet the growing demands being placed on knowledge and a leadership team that champions the need for learning organizations to bridge the skill gap, create a future-ready workforce and role models the right learning habits and behaviors. and deploy learner engagement tactics to engage the modern day learner. The introduction of new learning technologies such as a Each organization must become a learning organization. A learning Learning Experience Platform (LXP) provides them an opportunity to organization has a compelling vision of employees skilled at ‘Creating’, lead, enable, manage and support their learning agenda and cater to ‘Acquiring’, ‘Transferring’ and ‘Applying’ knowledge. Such learning the preferences and needs of their employees. organizations are more agile and have the ability to respond faster to changing environments and are able to adapt to the unpredictable EdCast launched the Learning Health Index Study with the more quickly than their competitors can. They are quick to modify their objective of creating a deeper understanding of learning health behavior to respond to new knowledge and insights based on changing in organizations using a validated research approach. Our tool is business conditions. Learning organizations are always looking for more structured around the dimensions of learning health and allows efficient and effective ways to improve the capacity and capabilities of organizations to measure their learning proficiencies in great their employees through active experimentation, tracking of current and detail. The study provides actionable insights on key bottlenecks emerging business trends, a rigorous approach to analyze, interpret and opportunities to power the L&D community in their endeavour and solve business problems using new knowledge and insights. As a of building smart and healthy learning organizations. result, they continuously deliver higher performance. Learning fitness or learning health is your collective ‘abilities’ to perform. Organizations outperforming their competitors are seen to have a healthier learning ecosystem. + + + + + + 2 Preface Table of Contents Wellness in Eight 18 53 Preface 1 Technology, Our Ally 59 Table of Contents 3 Transformer CLO 61 Foreword 4 New Code of Learning for the ‘New Normal’ Introduction 9 • Early Warning Signs: Looking in the mirror 62 • Learning Health Framework 10 • Healing Remedies: Action the findings 63 • Learning Health Index 13 Research Methodology 66 • 5 Stages of Learning 14 Participants & Acknowledgments 67 Executive Summary 15 About EdCast 71 + + + + + + 3 Table of Contents “I congratulate EdCast on its endeavour to capture the new opportunities and challenges for Learning & Development in 2020. Apart from being Fore word the first report of its kind, what is striking is the comprehensiveness of the study covering a range of organizations in India and several significant aspects of learning and development as a critical enabler of business strategy and growth. As we move to being a knowledge society where ideas, innovation and capability drive both success and fulfilment of human needs, one sees a greater desire in the workforce to seek impactful ways to renew themselves. Technology as an enabler has vastly enhanced the access and reach of new skills and capabilities. Careers are now not being measured in terms of decades or years, but in terms of how well one has renewed oneself to remain relevant and employable through new skills Dr. Santrupt B. Misra as old roles, professions and job categories fade under the onslaught CEO - Birla Carbon Director - Chemicals, Fertilizers, & Insulators of automation, digitisation, AI, machine learning, blockchain and such Director Group Human Resources - Aditya Birla Group other new technologies. Similarly, organizations are being judged on their purpose and reason for being. So, in the world of new work ethic, learning and development plays a great role in giving people meaning at work and enriching their lives. This report of EdCast is likely to serve as a lighthouse for those who want to approach the learning and development agenda with a sharper focus. May it be the trailblazer!” + + + + + + 4 Foreword “Corporate learning has become one of the most strategic topics in business. As companies deal with rapid change, automation, and ever- Fore word more dynamic models for work and careers, we have to give people a continuous opportunity to learn. The challenge, however, is that corporate learning is amazingly complex. Not only are there dozens of different formats and approaches to teach, inform, and support people, but the technologies for learning are changing at light speed. And the best L&D teams are not only excellent designers and teachers, they are also innovators, business consultants, and operators. They have to move at speed, design solutions which are modern and compelling, and run an L&D organization that delivers. All these elements are covered in the Learning Health Index. I want to Josh Bersin applaud EdCast and its partners for developing this tool, and I encourage Global Industry Analyst and Dean Josh Bersin Academy all organizations to read this report and think about where you fit. Everything you do to improve your corporate learning function will pay off tremendously in your performance, agility and company growth.” + + + + + + 5 Foreword “In today’s VUCA world, continuous capability-building is a priority for most business leaders and the role of L&D is changing from fulfilling Fore word learning needs to facilitating learning as the key to problem-solving and creating sustained business performance. To stay relevant, organizations have to build learning agility into their culture and processes, to support cross-functional and multi-disciplinary teams that are created for specific projects, disbanded and recreated. The workplace and work practices of tomorrow will require collaborating, teaming and digital reality technologies. This will become even more pronounced as we manage and leverage the continuum of talent which will exist in any organization, covering the entire spectrum from full-time, to managed services, to freelancers, gig workers and crowds in the context of increasing robotics, AI and cognitive technologies. Rajeev Dubey Principal Advisor Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. This implies a mindset of learning, unlearning and relearning using multiple modes of learning from technology-enabled and theater-based learning experiences to immersion workshops, speed - learning sessions, etc. Learning will have to be both bite-sized and deep, customized and personalized, left-brain and right-brain, and available everywhere and anywhere. The Learning Health Index Study will give you access to, and help you leverage, the power of deep insights from across geographies and industries.” + + + + + + 6 Foreword “In the VUCA work environment, having employees with the right skills is critical for organizations, more so with rapidly changing business and Fore word technology models. In order to proactively meet dynamic business requirements, to stay competitive and to retain the best talent, organizations must provide a platform for their employees to continuously upskill themselves. Further, due to the reducing shelf life of skills, employees will need continuous opportunities to