Learning and Talent Development 2013

    The CIPD recently released their well respected, annual survey report on Learning and Talent Development. The report is a fantastic resource to use throughout the year and is packed with data regarding all areas of L&TD. It is certainly worth reading fully over time but below is a summary of the main findings from the study that can be read over at will. The full report is available here.

    Trends in learning and talent development

    • On-the-job training, in-house development programmes and coaching by line managers were ranked among the most effective L&D strategies for the last five years. They were almost the most common along with e-Learning methods.
    • On-the-job training has increased over the past few years as the most effective training where there has been a decline in coaching by line managers being ranked highly. Meanwhile e-Learning is slowly getting more popular.
    • The most common anticipated organisational change over the next two years is greater integration between coaching, organisational development and performance management.

    CIPD 1

    E-learning, collaborative and social learning

    • E-Learning usage has not changed significantly since 2011. It is, however, being offered to an increasing proportion of employees within those organisations.
    • E-learning currently accounts for a relatively small proportion of total training time. It has increased in manufacturing and production since 2011, but has changed little in the public and private services sector.
    • The majority of respondents believe that e-learning is more effective when combined with other types of learning, it is not a substitute for face-to-face or classroom learning however it is essential in today’s collaborative and networked learning.
    • Smaller organisations regard social learning most importantly.
    • Three-fifths of organisations of all sizes believe that social learning will is important whereas one in seven remain unsure.

    CIPD 2

    Talent management

    • Nearly three-fifths of organisations undertake talent management initiatives.
    • These initiatives cover all or most employees in two-fifths of organisations with many focussing on high-potential employees and senior managers.
    • 71% now say their talent management initiatives are at least ‘fairly effective’; although just 8% say they are ‘very effective’.
    • Coaching and in-house development are still the most effective talent management initiatives.
    • Moreover, the proportion ranking in-house development among their top three activities has increased 10% from 2011. More organisations also rank mentoring and buddying among their top methods.

    CIPD 3

    Apprenticeships

    • Nearly half of respondents report they employ apprentices.
    • Manufacturing, production, and organisations with over 250 employees are more likely to as well as the public sector.
    • Most agree apprenticeships are an investment in the future of young people and they help organisations build a talent pipeline.
    • However less agree whether apprenticeships lead to a more engaged or productive workforce.

    Union learning representatives (ULRs)

    • Over a third of public sector organisations work with ULRs – more than the private and non-profit sectors.
    • Over three-fifths of organisations with ULRs say they are good for supporting basic skills and engaging employees in their own learning as well as helpful and a good addition to their organisation’s learning and talent development.
    • ULRs are viewed as less useful at developing higher- level learning.

    Employee orientation for new starters (Onboarding)

    • The vast majority of respondents report their organisations have employee orientation for new starters, although one in five report they are not committed to onboarding.
    • Onboarding typically includes an introduction of the company and its background, a tour of the office and job-specific and health and safety training.
    • Around two-fifths provide office buddies and a quarter offer team lunches.

    Assessing the impact of learning and talent development activity

    • The majority measure their learning and talent development activity however, the frequency they do so and how varies.
    • HR metrics followed by business metrics are the most commonly used.
    • Nearly three-quarters said they have found the measurement difficult.
    • The most common problems were lack of priority given to measuring L&TD effectiveness by managers and leaders and consistent access to required data.

    CIPD 4

    Economic situation and training spend

    • Only 8% believed their economic situation had improved over 12 months.
    • Half of the public and a quarter of the private sector had seen reduction in funds and resources.
    • The public sector has been more hit by cost cutting than the other sectors – over twice as common to see redundancies and rationalisation.
    • Most organisations still have a training budget.
    • The median annual training budget per employee is £303 which is up from 2012 but still down from 2011 although this varies dramatically within and across sectors – again, the public sector recorded the lowest.
    • The median training hours per employee were 25 – similar to last year.
    • Only 1 in 9 organisations anticipate more funding and bigger budgets for L&D over the next year.

    CIPD 5