Dive Brief:
- Foremost in defining an exceptional work environment are opportunities to learn and grow, according to a recent LinkedIn report. Ranked ninth in 2019, this jump to first place shows a significant boost in employees prioritizing workplace learning.
- Almost 25% of employees doubt their skills are put to good use in current roles — “a strong risk for turnover,” according to the report. In fact, employees are “10x more likely to be looking for a new job” when they feel their skills are underutilized, the report said.
- For 91% percent of respondents, it's "important for managers to inspire learning and experimentation.” According to the report, managers have "an outsize ability to help their teams embrace new knowledge, new skills, and career advancement.”
Dive Insight:
Companies can insulate against attrition and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace by keeping pace with digital transformation, rethinking metrics around skills and impact assessment, creating accessible learning experiences, prioritizing skills as a path to DEI and cultivating harmony among leadership in centering learning, according to LinkedIn’s 2022 Skills Advantage Report.
Most of the work performed today — about 90% — is happening within the service industry, but not in a traditional understanding of the term, according to Josh Bersin, CEO of the workplace analysis and advisory firm The Josh Bersin Company. These are roles that demand human intervention, ingenuity or empathy, where listening, communicating, helping, organizing, managing are essential to the work, he said. Bersin said companies have been moving away from silos and hierarchies toward more agile and collaborative cross-functional teams, and this horizontal mobility calls for upskilling, he said in a recent interview with HR Dive.
In the LinkedIn report, Bersin suggested that by first determining present and future business-critical capabilities, employers can map to necessary skills, and then create related learning opportunities. L&D pros can then shift from a reactive to proactive approach in solving the skills gap. According to the report, “Insight222’s study of 50 global companies found 90% want to use skills-based workforce planning, [but] only 26% are already doing so.”
Content intended to train or impart new information should be “accessible to different learning styles, abilities, and preferences,” the report said, and managers "play a unique role in creating a work culture where all employees feel empowered to learn and develop business-critical skills.”
In a recent interview with HR Dive, Terrence Maltbia, associate professor of organization and leadership at Columbia University, emphasized the importance of organizational support and broader application of a learning styles framework that invites learners to flourish.
The report encourages companies to rethink metrics around skills and impact assessment, prioritizing skills as a path to DEI, and also highlights the value of community-based learning in outcomes and personal well-being. According to sources, companies could see better success when learning in generationally and functionally mixed environments, with modern experimentation relevant on a systemic level.
Harmonious messaging from business leaders and L&D pros supports a culture of learning that can lead to a capable and flexible employee base, according to the report.
Findings of the report were adapted from analyses and insights from more than 3 million employee engagement surveys and other LinkedIn survey information.
