How L&D and employees can both learn from an elibrary

Towards Maturity’s 2018 benchmark report, The Transformation Curve, makes compelling reading. The research identifies the top 10% of companies that are achieving the best results from modernisation of their learning strategy.

So what sets these organisations in this ‘Top Deck’ apart?

The answer is that their business and L&D leaders have implemented a “shift from delivering courses to delivering strategic value” and the L&D departments have transitioned from “being fulfilment houses of formal training to catalysts supporting an effective organisation”.

Those leading the way have embraced a learning culture of continual engagement – “self-directed, connected, accumulating collective understanding”.

Top Deck businesses have also adapted to how the modern worker learns: “L&D are tuning into the voice of their staff at this stage and their understanding is coming into line with how staff actually learn for themselves.”

Significantly, 96% of organisations taking part in the Towards Maturity research want to increase self-directed learning, one of the key characteristics of those achieving the best results.

Time to start a new chapter?

Self-directed learning is multi-faceted – and L&D has a big role to play in enabling high quality self-directed learning.

A professional development elibrary of short, concise books is a simple but effective way that L&D can help employees to access learning resources that staff themselves feel they will benefit from, on a voluntary basis.

Having an online library of the best resources should be part of an organisation’s continuing learning culture. It’s an opportunity for L&D teams to ensure up-to-date learning by topic experts is available to all employees at all times.

There are other benefits, too. Because L&D teams are able to track which areas of learning staff are choosing to read, an elibrary provides an invaluable insight into employees’ self-determined learning needs and highlights potential skills gaps within the workforce.

In the UK, a leading charity identified the need for more focus on mindfulness and stress management in its training and support for employees and volunteers, after a large number of them downloaded books on those subjects, when given free access to an elibrary.

"A professional development elibrary of short, concise books is a simple but effective way that L&D can help employees to access learning resources that staff themselves feel they will benefit from, on a voluntary basis."

Many of the best-known brands in the world (such as Deloitte and PwC) use the elibrary as part of their continual learning culture – 75 million of the ebooks were distributed last year, in 10 languages, with employee usage running at over 40%.

The books are typically 25-60 pages and are designed to be read within one to two hours. Although optimised for mobile learning, they can be integrated into mobile apps and read offline. An important tool allows readers to rate and recommend books to other employees.

The ebooks have learning designed for all levels in the organisation, from CEO to entry-level employees who are motivated to advance their skills and careers.

Of course, ebooks can also be used in a structured learning programme, too.

Either way, it just makes sense to enable your workforce to access quality learning that will help them and your organisation to develop and grow.

James Foster is a Sales Executive at Sponge.