RESEARCH
ENC Y T E P M E A COROSS THE C A F N ATIOUTIONS AC? S I N A G OR NING SOL ATFORMS 68% R U O Y L S G I E P S DO AP IN DE LOWING 64% 67% G FOL 2%
81%
D I G I TA L L E A R N I N G 78%
80%
Table 4
62%
the normal distribution highlighted by the survey skewed only slightly toward the negative side (see: Table 3). A much bigger issue is the measurement of outcomes, and translating that into an expected return on investment (ROI) that holds well against traditional learning methods. The research asked respondents about their level of satisfaction – in terms of learning outcomes – from their learning programmes that incorporated at least some digital element, and found the population either did not know, or did not have stronglyheld views. Aveling says this result is understandable. “Organisations traditionally do not measure ROI from Learning and Development at the business impact level,” he said. “In the world of measurement, this refers to ‘Level Four’ in the Kirkpatrick training evaluation model.” Compounding this issue is the lack of hard data to provide evidence of ROI. In a fastchanging and uncertain environment, that has meant senior leadership teams across Singapore organisations have been unable to support significant increases in digital learning budgets: “This level of precision does not exist at present,” Aveling notes.
learning and development teams reticent to fully embrace digital learning options, there are also similar problems with the end-users of many interventions. The Thriving in a World of Digital Learning research found that learner motivation for digital training was much lower than many might have expected. Over 60% of the survey respondents said the engagement of employees with existing digital learning methods was either “low” or “medium”; just 14% found a “high” level of motivation across their workforce. Aveling says this will be a key metric to watch in future research, and may be the result of a power shift toward the learner –
MOOCs
Artificial intelligence
Analytics
Augmented reality
Video simulations
Video learning
Social learning
Micro learning
e-learning
Design thinking
Learning experience design
40%
Gamification
53%
60%
Adaptive learning
63%
57%
Virtual reality
6
47%
they can now pick and choose the content and platforms that most appeal, with many rejecting opportunities that don’t meet their expectations. The relatively low skills in technology application and learning experience design among HR teams (as discussed above) is likely exacerbating this issue, he said. Likewise, the ongoing conflict between learning programmes and the need for staff to pay attention to their own work and KPIs may also be playing a part.
Full report available online The Thriving in a World of Digital Learning research has also been conducted in Malaysia. The full, combined report, with additional insights and benchmarking metrics, will be available on www.hrmasia. com from September 25.
Acknowledgements THE THRIVING IN a World of Digital Learning was conceived and developed by Malaysiabased business consultancy Elementrix, with support and input from HRM Asia and Smart Up. Research Coaching Australia provided statistical expertise in both the survey generation and analysis stages. George Aveling, “Chief Reimagineer” of Elementrix thanked each of the survey participants in Singapore.
“We believe there are major learning points for corporate learning departments to take action on in order to be effective players in this new world of learning,” he said. “The knowledge gained from this research can help the learning and development industry in Singapore to accelerate in the new world of learning made possible by digital technology.” “We hope that you are of this opinion as well.”
Low learner motivation While there are some at the top end of SEPTEMBER 2018
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