SPECIAL REPORT
2021
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT HRD celebrates the best providers of L&D solutions in a rapidly evolving market
CONTENTS
PAGE
Feature article .............................................. 2 Methodology ................................................ 3 5-Star L&D Providers .................................. 5 Profiles .......................................................... 6 www.hcamag.com/au
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
5-STAR AWARDS: LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY IN LEARNING THE PANDEMIC has changed the world of work immeasurably, and no facet of HR has gone untouched – including learning and development. The stressful events of the last 12 months have caused employees to question the driving forces in their lives, be it their career trajectory or the place they call home. The impact on L&D has been a far greater appetite for learning and upskilling than ever before. Coupled with the increasing sophistication of learning platforms and, for some, more time on their hands, it has created a golden opportunity in the L&D sector. Equally for employers, the pandemic has underlined the need for continuous learning
and upskilling to become truly resilient organisations in the face of change. Although lockdowns and restrictions put a hold on face-to-face learning, forward-thinking HR leaders knew it was a crucial time to double down on L&D, rather than scale back. By exploring virtual offerings in the market, organisations have been able to deliver highquality, engaging content at the time it was needed most. Rosie Cairnes, Asia-Pacific regional vice president at Skillsoft, one of this year’s 5-Star Learning and Development award winners, says the organisation saw a fourfold increase in the overall learner activity during the pandemic, highlighting the vast
COMPANIES’ ANNUAL BUDGET FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
2%
Up to $9,999
5%
$10,000–$49,999
19%
$50,000–$999,999
“We’ve witnessed this rise of organisations wanting to urgently focus on deep and seamless integration in multiple platforms” Rosie Cairnes, Skillsoft
spike in demand. Interestingly, the motivation behind the desire for learning has also shifted. “The motivation used to be around professional development, but now it’s more about acquiring skills and deeper learning – two areas that will help the employee perform better in their current role but also prepare for their next role or the way in which their role might be changing,” she explains.
Staying one step ahead
74%
Over $100,000
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This year’s award winners demonstrated an ability to react to the accelerating needs of customers in real time. As the value of learning was elevated to the top of the priority list, so too was the demand for highly sophisticated technology that could integrate into businesses’ existing systems, offer
a seamless and engaging user experience, and provide predictive data on emerging skills gaps. In another year of lockdowns and restrictions, the quality of a provider’s virtual learning became paramount. Delivering the same in-person content by video is no longer enough to engage users, especially for a workforce already struggling with Zoom fatigue. As a result, the demand is for immersive and interactive experiences that mirror the peer-to-peer learning delivered in a classroom setting. Dominique Powrie, managing consul-
Ignite Global, a 5-Star Award winner, agrees that delivering content by video alone will not spark behavioural change. However, the pandemic has provided employers with an opportunity to rethink how they deliver truly successful L&D. “Nobody wants to spend good money to train their line managers or their staff on things that are not embedded,” she says. “So, we need to recognise that learning is different now. People have a very short attention span in this digital age where information is coming at us faster than we can process it. “Users need to learn from videos or lectures
“To create a learning culture, you really need your managers to be on board with supporting learning for their people” Dominique Powrie, DDI
tant at DDI, another 5-Star Award winner, says virtual learning has guaranteed that HR can support their people leaders, despite the rolling cycle of on-andoff lockdowns. “We’ve definitely noticed a shift in acceptance of virtual learning because we’ve learned how to create virtual leadership development experiences that bring people together to work in teams to explore concepts, to facilitate shared learning and share stories, to do exercises together and practice one on one or in small groups virtually,” she says. When virtual learning is delivered well, the benefits speak for themselves. It’s more accessible to a wider cohort of employees, is more cost- and time-effective, can offer high levels of engagement and peer-to-peer learning, and facilitates the adoption of practical skills. Kim Seeling Smith, founder and CEO at
and then apply [the lessons] on the job, as well as experience mentoring and coaching. I think as much experiential learning that we can bring into it, the better the learning will be and the more it will land.” Another priority for HR leaders has been the ability to tailor content to suit specific roles and skills needs within the business. Rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions, HR leaders want bespoke, personalised teaching that equips employees with the skills they need now and in the future. The 5-Star winners ranked highly for being responsive to these evolving customer needs without sacrificing the quality of the content. From a technical perspective, HR leaders now expect more from their LMS provider in terms of capability. Cairnes says the demand for integration has been a prominent trend among customers who want the LMS they choose to fit seamlessly within the employee’s existing technology.
METHODOLOGY To select the best L&D service providers for 2021, HRD enlisted some of the industry’s leading professionals. During a 15-week process, HRD’s research team conducted one-on-one interviews with HR professionals and surveyed thousands more within its network to gain a keen understanding of these professionals’ insights into current market offerings. Participants were first asked about which features of L&D platforms and training providers they thought were most important, and then how they would rate their L&D service providers based on those attributes. Across the categories of LMS provider category, the 5-Star winners have scored highly in factors such as ease of use, ease of integration, technical support, platform features, management reporting and value for money. In the L&D training provider category, the winners were ranked on quality and breadth of content, learner engagement, user experience, value for money and learner outcomes.
51% of respondents were from large companies (over 1,000 employees)
40% of respondents were from mid-size companies (100–999 employees)
9.30% of respondents were from small companies (1–99 employees)
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
5-STAR AWARDS: LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
WHAT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN L&D PROVIDER
Easy cross-platform integration
Quality of content
The future of L&D Learner engagement
Data-driven insights Value for money
Breadth of content Security
User experience
Immersive, engaging user experience
Learning outcomes
“Users need to learn from videos or lectures and then apply [the lessons] on the job, as well as experience mentoring and coaching” Kim Seeling Smith, Ignite Global
“We’ve witnessed this rise of organisations wanting to urgently focus on deep and seamless integration with multiple platforms,” she says. “Organisations almost want the LMS to be somewhat invisible and serve learning in the flow of work when it’s needed but not necessarily be front and centre.” The user experience should also mirror the quality of other apps that employees
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use daily. More importantly, the LMS must be securely protected. Where providers have been able to deliver on these priorities, the result has been cementing a strong relationship with their customer base.
As the world of work continues to evolve, L&D providers will play a key role in enabling businesses to become more resilient. Cairnes expects to see greater investment in L&D as HR leaders strive for a holistic approach to the employee experience. “One of the roles for L&D providers will be to really help organisations drive a culture of learning,” she says. “The only way that organisations can truly be resilient and prepared for the future is to have the skills and mindset that learning brings and really support leaders of learning to be a more strategic partner to the business.” That sentiment is echoed by Powrie, who says that if an organisation does not have a learning culture already, HR leaders must begin to put steps in place to create one. “To create a learning culture, you really need your managers to be on board with supporting learning for their people,” she says. “I think the learning of the future is really going to be taking what we are learning and iterating now and creating the right environment by providing the right resources, tools and assets to the team at the time they need them and that the content is really relevant.” While technological capabilities will continue to play a vital role in the future, L&D providers must remain human-centric to really engage with users, especially in a hybrid world of work. This year’s 5-Star winners have proven that an investment in L&D is paying dividends for organisations. A more skilled, resilient and engaged workforce – wherever they might be working – enables businesses to prepare for the challenges ahead.
2021
L&D TRAINER PROVIDERS
Actrua
Ignite Global
Phone: 07 3221 4388 Website: actrua.com.au
Phone: 1300 858 631 Website: igniteglobal.com
DDI Phone: 1800 035 604 Website: ddiworld.com
Learning Ventures
PD Training
Australian Institute of Management
Realizer
Blanchard Australia
Simply eLearning
BTS
The Learning Wave
2021
LMS SOFTWARE PROVIDERS
Adobe Captivate Prime LMS
SAP Litmos
Cornerstone
Skillsoft
Pegasus
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
5-STAR AWARDS: LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DDI Phone: 1800 035 604 Website: ddiworld.com
T
he challenges of the last 18 months have brought the need for exceptional leaders to the forefront. However, Dominique Powrie, managing consultant at DDI, believes the skills leaders need during this crisis aren’t new – they’re evergreen. By putting learning and development at the heart of the issue, HR can help leaders understand their strengths and the skills required to amplify their success. Since 1976, DDI has been helping organisations transform leaders’ skills at all levels of business. Focused on tackling the big issues facing organisations today, DDI equips leaders with the toolkit they need to drive positive business outcomes across areas such as change management, virtual leadership, hybrid working and talent acquisition. These topics have only risen in importance since the pandemic began. Due to restrictions and the unpredictable nature of state lockdowns, the move to virtual classrooms has been crucial for L&D continuity, Powrie says. As a result, the appetite has skyrocketed. “The technology platforms we use have evolved in the last 18 months, which has given us opportunities as curators of content, as instructional designers and as facilitators to
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leverage some great features and functionality to make virtual classroom learning really engaging for the user,” she says. “But of course, it’s not just virtual classrooms. There is a whole plethora of excellent online tools as well that users can incorporate within a virtual classroom. We’ve learned a lot along the way and technology has enabled us to do virtual learning well. In fact, a lot of our data suggests that the veracity and efficacy of virtual classroom learning is the same and, in some cases, better than face-to-face or inperson learning.” Furthermore, the rise of blended learning has given customers the opportunity to have the best of both worlds. Utilising a wide range of options, from classroom learning to virtual micro courses to online games and simulations, solutions can be tailored to suit the way users learn. This demand for personalised learning has become prevalent in the industry and, having a wide range of tools on offer, DDI has remained attuned to the needs of its customers. After a period of rapid change, where is the L&D market headed? Powrie believes that to be prepared for future challenges, organisations need to develop and embed a culture of learning by making sure employees have the
time and space to learn, as well as the right technology and accessible resources. Whether in-person or virtual, the direction remains to be seen. What is important is that L&D is firmly cemented as a priority for building future resilience. “We’ve heard from people that they do miss classroom-based training, so I think there will be some return when those opportunities arise, mainly because we’re social beasts and we love to interact with each other, we love the networking and the storytelling,” she says. “But actually, we can still create those opportunities for peer learning, shared experiences and really practical exercise activities in a virtual, blended learning environment.” DDI AT A GLANCE
1970
Year founded
650
Number of employees globally
23
Number of offices
IGNITE GLOBAL Phone: 1300 858 631 Website: igniteglobal.com
T
he term “future of work” has resonated in the HR space in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of flexible, remote work arrangements. But for Kim Seeling Smith, founder and CEO at Ignite Global, there is so much more to the future of work than simply the desire for flexibility. As a passionate educator and expert in the world of work, Seeling Smith has identified three important disruptions that are influencing the way organisations operate. These include advancing technology, specifically the impact of automation; geopolitical influences such as climate change and supply chain pressures; and finally, the rise of empowered workers who are demanding greater autonomy over their working lives. “The future of work is really all encompassing, and it informs not only our workforce and our workplace but a lot of elements of society,” says Seeling Smith. “We’re going to have to solve some really critical challenges, make decisions based on little or conflicting information and be able to
change our course when it’s wrong. That is really requiring us to shape our organisations differently, to be more agile and more innovative.” At the heart of any disruption is the ability to deal with change, and that is where learning and development is vital. Being cognisant of these disruptions and bold enough to rethink traditional people practices will be essential for businesses to move into the future of work, Seeling Smith says. Ignite Global offers a suite of services and programs to empower business leaders and HR practitioners to thrive in the face of disruption. Seeling Smith and her team of consultants have expertise in all areas of the employee life cycle, but their solutions fall into two practical pillars: how to attract and select the right people, and how to retain and maintain engagement. Through programs such as SPOT On Hiring System™ and Mind Reading for Managers®, Ignite Global tackles the biggest challenges facing people leaders today. Seeling Smith, who had 15 years of experience as a recruitment consultant before
founding Ignite Global in 2009, knows the value of a great hire. She argues that in the quickly evolving post-pandemic landscape, business and HR leaders need to be confident enough to question their existing practices around processes such as talent acquisition and retention and ask: could it be better? “A lot of the way that we hire and retain our staff was actually developed in the industrial revolution for a very different workforce in a very different age, so we need to think differently about these things,” she says. “We must question everything to make sure that what we’re doing is actually catering to the empowered workforce because they have the control.” This year has proved to be a jobseeker’s market as both Australia and New Zealand face critical skills gaps across several industries. Seeling Smith believes border closures are not solely to blame. Instead of relying on an influx of migration in the future, HR leaders should rethink how they attract, retain and engage staff. Only then can businesses evolve into more resilient, futureready organisations.
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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY
5-STAR AWARDS: LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTRUA Phone: 07 3221 4388 Website: actrua.com.au
A
ctrua is passionate about enabling the true growth of individuals, teams and organisations. It supports building a culture of performance by providing deeply experiential and individually challenging leadership development programs, as well as ongoing support via leadership coaching. Actrua responded to COVID-19-related changes, such as restrictions on face-toface learning, by successfully delivering virtual facilitation and learning. These changes presented the company with great opportunities. For example, using the virtual format, client CEOs and senior executives can now participate in discussions that would not have been possible in person. The Actrua team can also organise virtual meetings with international experts to help clients work through a particular problem. Moving forward, Actrua will continue to develop its hybrid delivery of face-to-face and virtual facilitation of leadership development and coaching, adapting it to each client’s needs. The Brisbane-based organisation also aims to adapt its programs to support continual learning to effectively enable change. Receiving the HRD 5-Star Learning and Development Award, Actrua CEO Tim Keeffe said he is honoured by the recognition of Actrua’s work in the leadership development space. “We believe our key strength is working long-term with clients to deliver consistent leadership development and coaching that create sustained change.”
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