L&D&AI

You can hear the footsteps of vintage future learning and development

The story of 2024 has primarily been a combination of higher interest rates, budget and staff reductions, and the deployment of AI to drive higher levels of efficiency with fewer people. Talent hasn’t been doing a lot of self-motivated job movement since it’s safer to stay with a position you don’t love but provides stability than enter into a new organization that might be somehow worse. In the face of a down cycle for employment, how can companies retain talent when they can’t afford to provide bonuses or increase salaries?

Talent retention involves various tactics. I will avoid non-monetary compensation, such as increased time off or sabbaticals. While those are great tools to leverage, they aren’t an effective strategy for professional growth. They provide a pause moment for individuals to reset and return with increased focus and/or motivation. I’m not saying they don’t work; instead, they address symptoms, not the root cause.

As individuals, we work for others to develop skills based on their input on our soft skills and feedback on our hard skills and craft. We work with others to learn how they contribute value and, in doing so, understand how many parties collaborate to drive outcomes.

Using the framing above, I will now provide examples of how Gyroscope can further learning and development efforts.

Learning

Most companies can’t afford to send staff to conferences like we used to. Even those who have earned an opportunity for the company to pay for them to learn need to make a solid case to justify the cost. Simply put, in times of tight budgets:

-Work travel requires explicit approval

-Onsite meetings conducted when seen as absolutely necessary

-Only top performers get to travel for work-related purposes

-Client-related visits will merit permission for travel

Of course, you didn’t see training or learning on the list above. Hands-on training or structured learning is most effective when it takes place onsite for several reasons:

-It is easier to ask a peer or stranger for help

-Being able to get visual confirmation that you aren’t the only person confused or who has questions is helpful

-Feeling part of a group or cohort that isn’t exclusive to the workplace is beneficial

-Side conversations and being able to relate to peers are invaluable

-Networking outside of work is healthy, enabling practitioners to be part of a broader community, and happens best in person

-A percentage of the items above are tied to being removed from a workplace or home office and placed in a new environment, which can be stimulating.

-Not all learning is focused on a level of acumen or tied to individuals. When appropriately structured, learning is beneficial to an entire team or discipline.

-Fundamentally, in person enables people to be human, and bring human spontaneity with them.

When designed with intent, learning structure is something that individuals with educational experience are best suited to deliver. We see many fly-by-night experts in Generative AI selling courses on how to utilize the technology. We have taken a few of these courses to audit them and find that having an inexperienced instructor wastes your time and money. We advocate checking references or talking to people who have taken the course and not placing trust in generic social media quotes.

Gyroscope is comprised of a team of educators and facilitators who have run workshops and off-sites of various sizes. We co-create learning plans to improve skills and give individuals agency to drive value using tools and methods.

Development

Development is applied learning. One example might be a YouTube Video on how to use software or fix something on a home or vehicle. Another more traditional method would be learning in a classroom environment that has a lab session. Development can take place in self-guided methods but requires self-motivation and practice. Similar to Learning, Development doesn’t have to occur in person, but functions better as a team sport.

Development is a function of learning by doing. Part of Development is repetition, as learning a skill without using it is theoretical. We advocate Development to avoid dogmatic application of learning. Without testing and iterating on what is learned, it’s easy to view a process or method as rigid rather than flexibly applied in context.

Gyroscope specializes in Skills-based Development for individuals and groups. We offer Development modules for using AI to achieve business and creative goals.

Applied Learning and Development in Context

The challenge with sending people off to conferences is that they aren't immediately applying what they learned unless they attend the workshops (strongly encouraged). A complication with sending staff to topic-specific training is that they tend to focus on a few subjects, some of which may not be directly related to individual goals. Focused Development, by comparison, can result in better application of subjects, as learnings are applied on an iterative basis. And yes, if the instructor for either Learning or Development is inexperienced, investment is at risk of underdelivering.

Are we saying that Learning and Development is a waste of time? Absolutely not. What we are saying is that meaningful Learning and Development comes from the following:

-Understanding of individual goals

-Ability to impact the delivery of organizational goals

-Experienced educators

-Flexibility in structure

-Case Studies to frame topics

-Examples to learn from

Learning and Development are essential for retaining talent and growing leaders. Organizations can and should expect churn regardless of the economy if individuals aren’t encouraged to expand their skills and learn beyond pre-recorded online educational modules. Whereas the costs of sending staff for education and training might be high, hiring and re-training aren’t cheap, either.

We recommend bringing Learning and Development to your teams, either in person or online. Ideally, you want a partner who will work with leadership and management to craft learning plans that augment skills, compensate for deficiencies, and accelerate outcomes. Gyroscope is here to help.