October is National Learning & Development Month and in honor of all of those who dedicate their lives to teaching, sparking curiosity and developing others, let’s dive into what research says about the value of learning in the workplace and the challenging realities our industry faces head-on.
Consider using one or more of these data points the next time someone inquires about the value of learning departments and initiatives; how learning impacts an organization’s talent strategy, including engagement and retention; and the risks of forgoing learning or accepting bare-bone or outdated programs.
Two points before we begin:
The learning and development space, on its face, can often appear touchy feely; however, data, above and beyond course star ratings and attendance metrics, is available. Check out the Kirkpatrick Model to learn more.
The following data was published in a series of studies by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Gallup, Middlesex University for Work Based Learning, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, Dale Carnegie, Shift eLearning, etc., which are cited below.
Let’s Crunch the Numbers
Importance of Learning for New Employees
Onboarding training is critical. Indeed, 22% of staff turnover happens within the first six weeks of employment. Educate and engage new hires quickly or risk losing them along with the cost of talent acquisition, which is 50-200% of an employee’s salary.
40% of employees who do not receive the necessary job training to become effective will leave their positions within the first year.
Talent Retention
94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn.
74% of employees felt that they were not achieving their full potential at work due to a lack of development opportunities. Employees are hungry for and motivated by development!
Motivating GenZ & Millennials
Roughly 25% of GenZ and Millennial employees say learning is the #1 thing that makes them happy at work. As these generations become an ever-larger percentage of the workforce, focus will be “trained” on HR and learning professionals to meet this need.
27% say the #1 reason they would leave their job is because they did not have the opportunity to learn and grow. While learning is only one piece of the puzzle, it must be integrated into a robust talent strategy that focuses on developing and promoting the best talent.
Learning Support & Marketing
75% of employees say they would take a course their manager assigned. Support from business leaders is critical; their advocation of learning resources makes a measurable difference.
Talent developers only spend 15% of their time marketing learning programs to increase engagement. Our time is limited; we need the business’ support.
Profitability & Productivity
Companies that offer comprehensive training programs have up to 218% higher income per employee than companies without formalized training.
These organizations also enjoy up to a 24% higher profit margin than those who spend less on training. Quite simply, effective and strategic training is a competitive advantage! Invest in it.
Employee Engagement
80% of employees surveyed agree that learning new skills at work would make them more interested and engaged in their jobs.
Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%.
Strengthening engagement is essential. Gallup found, “Worldwide, 13% of employees are engaged at work.” The US and Canada lead the world in employee engagement rates. In this region, 29% of employees are engaged, 54% are not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged…again, this is the leading region! Find the statistics on other regions here.
Barriers to Learning Effectiveness
12% of learners apply the skills from the training to their job. This means that 88% of learning is not achieving its objective. Learning professionals should ask themselves, ‘Is the learning not timely or relevant? Am I clearly connecting the lessons to their direct job applications? Could I do better? Are managers supportive of their employees applying what they learn? Do they provide the time to experiment and practice, while offering ongoing coaching? Are managers equipped to do this? Is our learning out of date with workplace procedures and practices? Would any other department continue to be funded with a 12% return on investment? How do I increase that number ASAP?’
33% of employees say that uninspiring content is a barrier to their learning. Content should be visually appearing; let’s rid the world of the “death by PowerPoint” method! Facilitation should be engaging, and application exercises must be included.
Cost of Ineffective Training
Only 38% of learning professionals surveyed by ATD believe that their programs meet their learners’ needs, meaning 62% believe their programs are not doing a good job meeting the learners’ needs.
The total loss to a business from ineffective training per year per 1,000 employees is $13.5 million. Why is this? We must continue to innovate and raise the bar. Employees and organizations deserve better!
To the Point
Benjamin Franklin said it best: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Download and share the Why Learning Infographic here.
Interested in learning more?
Crabtree, S. (2013). Worldwide, 13% of employees are engaged at work: Low workplace engagement offers opportunities to improve business outcomes. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx
Gutierrez, K. (2017). Mind-blowing statistics that prove the value of employee training and development. Shift eLearning. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/statistics-value-of-employee-training-and-development
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated. (2020). National Learning and Development Month. https://nldmonth.com/home#:~:text=National%20Learning%20and%20Development%20Month%20is%20celebrated%20every%20October%20and,their%20personal%20and%20professional%20skills
LinkedIn Learning. (2019). 3rd annual - 2019 workplace learning report: Why 2019 is the breakout year for the talent developer. https://learning.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/amp/learning-solutions/images/workplace-learning-report-2019/pdf/workplace-learning-report-2019.pdf
Shift eLearning. (2020). 10 statistics on corporate training and what they mean for your company’s future. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/statistics-on-corporate-training-and-what-they-mean-for-your-companys-future#:~:text=A%20long%2Dterm%20research%20project,to%20lack%20of%20development%20opportunities
Spiro, K. (2015). Shocking outcomes from ATD research on instructional design. Kasper Spiro Blog. https://kasperspiro.com/2015/03/20/shocking-outcomes-from-atd-research-on-instructional-design/
Udemy. (2020). Udemy in depth: 2016 workplace boredom report.
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