Learning Ecosystems In Modern Learning Organisations

What Is A Learning Ecosystem?

You may have seen the word “ecosystem” be used more frequently in the L&D world recently. Is this another buzzword to add to the stockpile—or is this the meaningful solution we’ve all been looking for? We think it is.

What’s Happening Right Now In L&D?

Through extensive conversations with our customers, we have seen that traditional approaches to L&D solutions aren’t giving teams the right and relevant results. Whether that’s through an organisation’s approach to technology, learning culture or general learning integration—there needs to be a change. Technology and creativity in L&D have come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, and, therefore, our solutions to organisations’ problems need to evolve to reflect this.

By shifting to an ecosystem “approach” as such, you can drastically change and enhance your organisation’s learning capabilities and outcomes. And better measure your results!

National Geographic says, “An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.”

Whilst the “geographic area” we are discussing here is more of a metaphorical L&D culture, it’s clear to see how this attitude could create an effective solution. An ecosystem is about more than just training materials and fancy dashboards; it’s about a fully integrated and unified solution to L&D.

So, What Exactly Is A Learning Ecosystem?

This all sounds very cool and impressive, but what does this mean in reality for you and your colleagues?

By creating a learning ecosystem alongside us, you’ll create a system that embeds your employees, content, technology, strategy and culture. This impacts the learning that happens day to day in your organisation and the learnings that in turn impact your customers.

By focusing on a central hub, the bigger picture and “one learning entity,” you’ll be able to better achieve your objectives, improve for the future, and compare and contrast data.

A Central Hub Of L&D Excellence

We believe in having a central hub that brings learning, engagement, and performance together across the business. This central hub makes delivering exceptional and effective learning experiences simple, insightful and results-focused.

The Limitations To Traditional Learning Technology

Arguably, there could be an “if it ain’t broke” conversation here. If organisations are already ticking all their training boxes and achieving good learning outcomes, then why should they consider an ecosystem approach?

We believe you can do better and achieve more. An ecosystem approach gives you the opportunity to transform your organisation in a more productive and sustainable way.

5 Limitations To Traditional Learning Technology

• The lack of flexibility means you’re stuck in a one-dimensional off-the-shelf approach to training.
• The focus just on “outcomes” means you’re not able to consider more nuanced factors like learning culture.
• By not considering the bigger picture, you may inadvertently neglect certain parts of your strategy.
• The future of eLearning is personalisation and meeting the learner where they are—whether that’s in terms of their learning style or their preferred environment. This needs to be at the forefront of any learning experience strategy.
• Traditional learning content focuses on formal assessments and scoring. Whereas, we know now that it’s useful to utilise techniques like microlearning and gamification for more effective results and better learner engagement.

Where Do You Begin?

This is essentially all about improving your overarching approach to L&D and creating a system that is resilient and robust enough to handle change and inevitable challenges.

By understanding your learning maturity level you’ll be able to understand where your organisation is at and where you can start to improve. And you’ll be able to start carefully thinking about building your own thriving learning ecosystem.

An ecosystem is based on a web of relationships rather than one authority. With this in mind, you’ll need to consider which stakeholders and internal influencers are integral to your bigger picture. It’s also fundamental that you listen to your learners and what they need—the best ecosystem is peer-driven and pioneered by the staff that will benefit from it. Some might even refer to it as a type of internal “learning community.” Further to this, the approach to the ecosystem needs to remain agile and flexible, and the system needs to be built with continuous innovation in mind.

This shift won’t just happen organically, though. You will need a robust plan!

Do You Want To Start Now? We Encourage You To Think Through The Following 7 Key Factors

• What areas in your L&D approach could benefit from being integrated (or merged)?
• How could/should you be improving your employee experience?
• Can you support staff anytime, anywhere, and on any device?
• Are you prioritising your business objectives before technology?
• Are you listening to what the learners need and want?
• Have you considered the requirements for different learning styles in a hybrid world?
• Are you effectively using your data to improve and adapt your training?

The concept of a “learning ecosystem” is a big one, and this article is simply an introduction to this approach. We believe learning ecosystems are the way forward for innovative and ambitious L&D teams.

Kineo

Kineo helps the world’s leading businesses improve performance through learning and technology. We combine quality in learning with award-winning customer service and innovation. We’re here to take on your learning and performance challenges – and deliver results.

Originally published at kineo.com.