Ongoing volatility across global labor markets and technology macrotrends have disrupted the marketplace and enhanced the requisite skills needed by employees at all levels. One thing is certain, the Great Resignation is far from over – and your employees are telling you exactly why they’re leaving. And leaving they are – today’s labor market is expected to face an estimated 12 million shifts by 2030.
According to McKinsey, “as people leave shrinking occupations, the economy could reweight toward higher-wage jobs. Workers in lower-wage jobs are up to fourteen times more likely to change occupations than those in highest-wage positions, and most will need additional skills to do so successfully. Women are 1.5 times more likely to need to move into new occupations than men.”
These shifts are most pronounced in rapidly growing fields like big data and cybersecurity, as well as in declining roles such as data entry. The World Economic Forum predicts a 44% change in required skills over the next five years, driven largely by technological advancements. But it’s not all doom and gloom! These workplace shifts present a unique opportunity for companies to develop flexible learning paths for employee development that future-proof their workforce while fostering engaged, capable, and motivated teams. By proactively fostering continuous learning, organizations can build resilience, drive retention, and equip leaders with the skills needed to navigate change and maintain a competitive edge.
Adapt, Engage, Retain: Why Learning Flexibility Matters
Today’s employees demand greater flexibility in how they perform their work as well as how they access development offerings that fulfill them in new ways. A call-to-action exists for L&D professionals to meet people where they are, providing development strategies that produce impact where it matters most. Companies offering flexible, tailored learning experiences will be more successful in attracting and retaining key employees. In fact, research shows that 76% of employees want to work for an organization that supports continuous, flexible learning.
Individuals are unique in their strengths, work preferences, learning styles, and growth areas. Data from LinkedIn’s recent Workplace Learning Report highlights that offering personalized learning paths not only boosts employee satisfaction but also enhances long-term commitment to the organization. When development opportunities are tailored to meet employees’ specific needs, this empowers them to learn at their own pace with methods, structure, and timing that work best for them.
“Flexible learning paths is one of the most valuable ways to retain key employees.”
What is a Flexible Learning Path?
A flexible learning path is defined as a customized development experience that allows individuals to choose the learning format, pace and content that best suits their needs and learning style. It typically incorporates a blended approach, including a variety of online courses, in-person experiences, micro-learning modules, and self-directed learning activities. Flexible learning paths, when most impactful, are integrated with development strategies, including:
- Alignment with Organizational Goals. Initiatives that support strategic priorities (e.g., workforce planning based on market demands, talent management) and position the organization to address talent shortages, productivity gaps, recruitment challenges and retention issues.
- Identification of a Skills Taxonomy. Learning paths should be aligned to a role’s needed skillsets, providing clarity around skill expectations. This includes role skill profiles that define what “good” looks like, along with corresponding proficiency levels (e.g., foundational, experienced, advanced). This taxonomy provides a roadmap for employee development. Some broad-based skills taxonomy examples include the World Economic Forum Global Skills Taxonomy (GST) and Occupational Information Network (O*NET).
- Assessment of Employee Skillsets. Conducting a gap analysis to determine the degree of overlap that exists in relation to a role’s skill profile is an effective way to determine the degree of development needed.
- Design and Development of Learning Path Initiatives. Personalized learning paths help to bridge development gaps across a Leading Self, Leading Others and Leading the Enterprise framework learning journey. Corporate reskilling and upskilling examples providing flexible learning path options include: AT&T’s Future Ready program, Google’s Career Certificate, and Adobe’s Career Discovery tool.
Why Flexible Learning Is a Competitive Advantage
As emphasized in The CARA Group’s new e-book, today’s labor force changes represent a long-term challenge driven by technology innovations and the factors stated above. Leaders and L&D have a burning platform to innovate employee reskilling and upskilling approaches. Organizations must provide robust strategies to help individuals adapt and remain relevant in their roles (and wherever their careers may take them), including:
- Developing personalized learning paths that cater to individual learning preferences.
- Leveraging AI and emerging technologies to enhance learning experiences.
- Implementing continuous learning experiences that evolve with workforce demands.
Indeed, organizations must revitalize their approach to employee development to deliver on employees’ evolving growth needs. Companies that prioritize professional development, anticipating and responding to employee needs, will become employers of choice, attracting, and retaining highly skilled talent.
“Sticking to a one-size-fits-all development program is the fastest way to lose your best employees.”
Our Approach: Transform Employee Development with Flexible Learning
At CARA, we collaborate with clients to create customized, flexible learning paths that transform organizations: shifting roles from transactional to strategic, tactical to holistic, and siloed to cross-functional. One recent example from a global design, engineering and manufacturing company included:
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Laying the Foundation: Creating a foundational skills taxonomy based on roles, including proficiency levels and operational definitions (providing a common language across the organization).
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Personalizing Development: Identifying learner personas and customized development initiatives (across multiple modalities) that best match these personas.
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Diagnosing Skill Gaps: Building an approach for employee assessment and identification of skill gaps.
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Designing the Learning Journey: Developing a customized learning journey, including a menu of learning path activities to close skill gaps.
Build a More Resilient Workforce
L&D professionals play a vital role in leading the cultural and operational transformation of their workforce. Companies taking a creative and holistic approach toward employee development will be better positioned to respond to marketplace conditions, execute needed talent management changes, and achieve organizational priorities. They will also be focused on developing critical skills most “at-risk” with employee turnover, including those most difficult to replace. Developing flexible learning paths is a key strategy to help ensure that the essential skills are being delivered when needed and with desired impact.
If you’d like to discuss how flexible learning paths or other employee development strategies will help your organization retain top talent, get in touch. We have the expertise and custom solutions needed to help transform your workforce.
