Editor’s note: The Open University has just launched it’s annual Business Barometer research into the UK skills landscape. The report shows the – in some cases catastrophic – impact of the pandemic on skills development in organisations. The paradox here is that many organisations are looking to reduce headcount to save money whilst at the same time looking to fill skills gaps.
Editor’s note: This report is full of practical tips on the best instructional design and facilitation techniques to use when designing and delivering a virtual classroom.
Editor’s note: Let’s hope the recovery – when it comes – will be based on equality and accessibility. The principles laid out in this article apply to all employers and will focus thinking on creating inclusive workplaces.
Achievers, the progressive choice for employee voice and recognition solutions that accelerate a culture of…
Editor’s note: I liked the comments from retailer Next about the downsides of working from home. In particular, “large video calls have encouraged the proliferation of one of the business world’s most damaging practices – death by deck.” The article goes on to say that “slideshow presentations transform meetings from productive exchanges of ideas into boring, one-way lectures.”
Editor’s note: This research is focused on schools but it is important to be aware that blended learning for school children is more effective that traditional classroom-based learning.
Editor’s note: Historically, L&D teams have focused heavily on content and the creation of resources and programmes to meet a business – or learning – need. But what of context? Without understanding an employee’s context it is very hard for content to do its job. Here are some tips on understanding context.
Editor’s note: This piece from Andrew Jacobs serves to remind us how the world of L&D is changing. It uses as its reference the disruption taking place in the events industry. Andrew poses some challenging questions about what this type of disruption means for L&D.
Editor’s note: I think this is a great read and is very timely as organisations and L&D teams look to do things differently. The message of this article is that feelings cloud our judgement no matter how expert we are on a subject. What’s more ‘motivated reasoning’ can lead us to think through a topic in order that we reach a particular conclusion. We need to recognise the impact of emotions on the decisions we make and to pause for thought before responding.
Editor’s note: For more than a decade, Jane Hart, who runs the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies, has published a list of the top tools in learning based on responses from L&D professionals around the world. This year’s list has just been published and it makes for interesting reading. It is worth exploring to see which tools are the most popular and also for identifying new tools to use.
Editor’s note: Cognitive task analysis is a tool for helping extract all the information you need from a subject matter expert in order to design effective learning resources. It takes time to use this tool and as such is a reminder of what’s needed to create effective training solutions.
Editor’s note: Isn’t this one of the skills of our time? How to create and facilitate virtual meetings in which all participants have ways to interact, and feel safe enough to interact. There are some really useful tips here.
Editor’s note: There’s a lot of talk about the ‘new normal’ and (working) life after lockdown. What this will look like is still unclear but organisations will need to keep planning and setting goals for now and into the future. And L&D will need to be aligned with these plans. So what will those plans look like? This article provides some scenarios based on research of organisations’ response to the pandemic. Useful background info when talking strategy with stakeholders.
Editor’s note: To mark the passing of Sir Ken Robinson this week, we include his talk on creativity and schooling. The talk may be 14 years old but its message seems as relevant now as it did then.
Editor’s note: It’s interesting to see what Gallup says are three foundational factors needed to foster creativity at work. They are: expectations to be creative at work, time to be creative and freedom to take the risks necessary to be creative. Their research shows that most employees do not get the chance to be creative in their work.