is learning journey

The Importance of a Learning Journey

The pursuit of knowledge has the power to transform us. A learning journey nurtures this curiosity of transformation in the learners. It offers continued learning and ensures continued growth. It uses tools that can also help learners navigate the terrain to keep learners going. One can use a it to discover what to learn, how to learn, and what they are good at. Once they understand this, they can easily use the tools and techniques provided by a learning journey to improve their knowledge.

Table of Contents

What is a learning journey, why is a learning journey important, how do you create a learning journey, how to implement it, benefits of the learning journey, infographic, knowledge check , frequently asked questions (faqs), what is the learning journey, what is an employee learning journey.

The term learning journey refers to a planned learning experience that takes place over time and includes various learning aspects and experiences using multiple techniques and platforms. Instructional designers create a learning journey to identify the appropriate format and methodology of learning. A well-structured learning journey can help the learners to achieve the objectives effectively, ensure learning implementation, and initiate actual behavioral change .

It caters to the leadership style, culture, specific needs of any organization , and the preferences of the learner’s leadership level. It also shows a more straightforward path to the learners’ learning goals, demonstrating a starting point and structured progress to help them achieve the objectives effectively. Organizations take the help of a learning journey to navigate their employees into a well-structured training process.

Organizations that employ a mixed learning journey are 2.5 times more likely to be financially successful than those that use more conventional learning approaches. (Source: DDI, Global Leadership Forecast).

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Learners find the structure provided by the learning journey very helpful. It clarifies what people should do next and how much time they should set aside. It offers a high level of flexibility around where and when they should study, together with the multiple modes and channels for learning, which help embed essential skills rapidly and effectively.

The knowledge, study, and research abilities that learners bring to the learning process make up their learning journey. Since instructors are involved in designing and evaluating their education, it also offers a structural method to the learners and the instructors who are shaping the module. Instructional designers create a well-aligned learning module using a it.

In order to create a successful learning journey that is well-aligned with the organization, instructional designers try to:

• Bring attention to the prospects for learning:  The goal can only be achievable when the learners understand why this learning is essential. Only then can the organizations promote a healthy learning environment .
• Describe the benefits for the employees: Adult learners are encouraged intrinsically with self-esteem, desire for a better quality of life, self-development, and recognition. Therefore, instructors must plan a well-aligned learning journey according to that.
• Use gamification , virtual and augmented reality, scenario-based learning, and branching scenarios like immersive formal learning. The effectiveness of immersive learning has been demonstrated, with assignments finished on schedule. As a result, compared to other conventional learning approaches , this style of education has a higher likelihood of producing successful results. Immersive learners always develop more extraordinary cognitive abilities than traditional learners. They exhibit better problem-solving skills, better memory, and higher attention control.
• Provide employees with access to information during work so, they know what they need when needed.
• Support formal events with performance support tools.
• Reinforce learning by providing opportunities for practice, follow-up tools, and constructive criticism.
• Offer social learning so learners can interact with those who are also learning and advancing while exchanging information and experiences. As adult learners, they are instrumental in their learning process. They are more proactive in doing the work needed to facilitate learning and drive the learning process based on what they think they have to succeed on the job . Learners bring a greater volume, quality of experience, and rich resources to one another.

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Instructional designers can implement it like this:

• First, they should assess the employees’ current skill levels based on the organization’s competency model. Finding and concentrating on the essential leadership skill gaps is the first step in a precise diagnosis.
• Then, learning should be applied and tested through computer-based business simulations customized to the organization’s specific needs. Simulation exercises ensure that concepts learned during the learning event apply to the organization’s real-world issues.
• Next, they can use follow-up tools to support continuing learning with additional content, case studies , and community leader boards to encourage the new learners. It utilizes several measurement techniques to quantify the effectiveness of the talent development program.

It has the following advantages:

• It helps the learners to navigate appropriately. It helps them to gain knowledge independently.
• A well-aligned learning journey brings additional structure to a learning system. It provides a structured environment that helps to maintain discipline in the learning process.
• It enables self-paced learning for the learners. It generates an individualized experience. It helps learners undertake the courses at their own pace, according to their needs. It gives the learners freedom in their choices.
• It makes it easier to define and pursue goals. It generates an achievable goal for the learners and motivates them to achieve it.
• It helps accelerate the learning and development goals of the employees as well as of the organizations.
• It saves admin time.
• It promotes a continuous feedback method that reevaluates the purpose of the journey.
• It makes learning a continuous process, a journey indeed.
• It offers to learn in small chunks. Small amounts are better for retention. It allows learners to remember and relearn the materials at their convenience.

Learning Journey

• To allow learners a competitive edge.
• To provide structured learning experience.
• To offer creativity.
• To make feedback more immediate.
• Finding and concentrating on the essential skill gaps in the organization.
• Communicating with the employees/stakeholders.
• Imposing a general training and development journey.

With the help of a learning journey, one can evaluate a learner’s progress, clarifying what they should accomplish next and how much time they should allot for it. Learners’ ability to self-evaluate their learning progress makes the learning process independent. Employee learning journeys consist of a number of distinct learning experiences that are spread out over time, utilizing various methods and delivery modalities and leading to the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or behavioral changes at the end of the journey.

The term learning journey refers to a planned learning experience that takes place over time and includes various learning aspects and experiences using multiple techniques and platforms.

In order to create a successful learning journey that is well-aligned with the organization, instructional designers always keep the end goal in mind, recognize the gaps, extend learning over development-related activities, involve the learners to direct management, calculate the effects, and plan for flawless execution.

With the help of learning journeys, one can evaluate a learner’s progress, clarifying what they should accomplish next and how much time they should allot for it.

Employee learning journeys consist of a number of distinct learning experiences that are spread out over time, utilizing various methods and delivery modalities and leading to the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or behavioral changes at the end of the journey.

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The essential components of a successful L&D strategy

Over the past decade, the global workforce has been continually evolving because of a number of factors. An increasingly competitive business landscape, rising complexity, and the digital revolution are reshaping the mix of employees. Meanwhile, persistent uncertainty, a multigenerational workforce, and a shorter shelf life for knowledge have placed a premium on reskilling and upskilling. The shift to a digital, knowledge-based economy means that a vibrant workforce is more important than ever: research suggests that a very significant percentage of market capitalization in public companies is based on intangible assets—skilled employees, exceptional leaders, and knowledge. 1 Intangible Asset Market Value Study, Ocean Tomo.

Learning and development—From evolution to revolution

We began in 2014 by surveying 1,500 executives about capability building. In 2016, we added 120 L&D leaders at 91 organizations to our database, gathering information on their traditional training strategies and aspirations for future programs. We also interviewed 15 chief learning officers or L&D heads at major companies.

Historically, the L&D function has been relatively successful in helping employees build skills and perform well in their existing roles. The main focus of L&D has been on upskilling. However, the pace of change continues to accelerate; McKinsey research estimates that as many as 800 million jobs could be displaced by automation by 2030.

Employee roles are expected to continue evolving, and a large number of people will need to learn new skills to remain employable. Unsurprisingly, our research confirmed our initial hypothesis: corporate learning must undergo revolutionary changes over the next few years to keep pace with constant technological advances. In addition to updating training content, companies must increase their focus on blended-learning solutions, which combine digital learning, fieldwork, and highly immersive classroom sessions. With the growth of user-friendly digital-learning platforms, employees will take more ownership of their professional development, logging in to take courses when the need arises rather than waiting for a scheduled classroom session.

Such innovations will require companies to devote more resources to training: our survey revealed that 60 percent of respondents plan to increase L&D spending over the next few years, and 66 percent want to boost the number of employee-training hours. As they commit more time and money, companies must ensure that the transformation of the L&D function proceeds smoothly.

All of these trends have elevated the importance of the learning-and-development (L&D) function. We undertook several phases of research to understand trends and current priorities in L&D (see sidebar, “Learning and development—From evolution to revolution”). Our efforts highlighted how the L&D function is adapting to meet the changing needs of organizations, as well as the growing levels of investment in professional development.

To get the most out of investments in training programs and curriculum development, L&D leaders must embrace a broader role within the organization and formulate an ambitious vision for the function. An essential component of this effort is a comprehensive, coordinated strategy that engages the organization and encourages collaboration. The ACADEMIES© framework, which consists of nine dimensions of L&D, can help to strengthen the function and position it to serve the organization more effectively.

The strategic role of L&D

One of L&D’s primary responsibilities is to manage the development of people—and to do so in a way that supports other key business priorities. L&D’s strategic role spans five areas (Exhibit 1). 2 Nick van Dam, 25 Best Practices in Learning & Talent Development , second edition, Raleigh, NC: Lulu Publishing, 2008.

• Attract and retain talent. Traditionally, learning focused solely on improving productivity. Today, learning also contributes to employability. Over the past several decades, employment has shifted from staying with the same company for a lifetime to a model where workers are being retained only as long as they can add value to an enterprise. Workers are now in charge of their personal and professional growth and development—one reason that people list “opportunities for learning and development” among the top criteria for joining an organization. Conversely, a lack of L&D is one of the key reasons people cite for leaving a company.
• Develop people capabilities. Human capital requires ongoing investments in L&D to retain its value. When knowledge becomes outdated or forgotten—a more rapid occurrence today—the value of human capital declines and needs to be supplemented by new learning and relevant work experiences. 3 Gary S. Becker, “Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis,” Journal of Political Economy , 1962, Volume 70, Number 5, Part 2, pp. 9–49, jstor.org. Companies that make investments in the next generation of leaders are seeing an impressive return. Research indicates that companies in the top quartile of leadership outperform other organizations by nearly two times on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). Moreover, companies that invest in developing leaders during significant transformations are 2.4 times more likely to hit their performance targets . 4 “ Economic Conditions Snapshot, June 2009: McKinsey Global Survey results ,” June 2009.
• Create a values-based culture. As the workforce in many companies becomes increasingly virtual and globally dispersed, L&D can help to build a values-based culture and a sense of community. In particular, millennials are particularly interested in working for values-based, sustainable enterprises that contribute to the welfare of society.
• Build an employer brand. An organization’s brand is one of its most important assets and conveys a great deal about the company’s success in the market, financial strengths, position in the industry, and products and services. Investments in L&D can help to enhance company’s brand and boost its reputation as an “employer of choice.” As large segments of the workforce prepare to retire, employers must work harder to compete for a shrinking talent pool. To do so, they must communicate their brand strength explicitly through an employer value proposition.
• Motivate and engage employees. The most important way to engage employees is to provide them with opportunities to learn and develop new competencies. Research suggests that lifelong learning contributes to happiness. 5 John Coleman, “Lifelong learning is good for your health, your wallet, and your social life,” Harvard Business Review , February 7, 2017, hbr.org. When highly engaged employees are challenged and given the skills to grow and develop within their chosen career path, they are more likely to be energized by new opportunities at work and satisfied with their current organization.

The L&D function in transition

Over the years, we have identified and field-tested nine dimensions that contribute to a strong L&D function. We combined these dimensions to create the ACADEMIES framework, which covers all aspects of L&D functions, from setting aspirations to measuring impact (Exhibit 2). Although many companies regularly execute on several dimensions of this framework, our recent research found that only a few companies are fully mature in all dimensions.

1. Alignment with business strategy

One of an L&D executive’s primary tasks is to develop and shape a learning strategy based on the company’s business and talent strategies. The learning strategy seeks to support professional development and build capabilities across the company, on time, and in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the learning strategy can enhance the company culture and encourage employees to live the company’s values.

For many organizations, the L&D function supports the implementation of the business strategy. For example, if one of the business strategies is a digital transformation, L&D will focus on building the necessary people capabilities to make that possible.

Every business leader would agree that L&D must align with a company’s overall priorities. Yet research has found that many L&D functions fall short on this dimension. Only 40 percent of companies say that their learning strategy is aligned with business goals. 6 Human Capital Management Excellence Conference 2018, Brandon Hall Group. For 60 percent, then, learning has no explicit connection to the company’s strategic objectives. L&D functions may be out of sync with the business because of outdated approaches or because budgets have been based on priorities from previous years rather than today’s imperatives, such as a digital transformation.

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To be effective, L&D must take a hard look at employee capabilities and determine which are most essential to support the execution of the company’s business strategy. L&D leaders should reevaluate this alignment on a yearly basis to ensure they are creating a people-capability agenda that truly reflects business priorities and strategic objectives.

2. Co-ownership between business units and HR

With new tools and technologies constantly emerging, companies must become more agile, ready to adapt their business processes and practices. L&D functions must likewise be prepared to rapidly launch capability-building programs—for example, if new business needs suddenly arise or staff members require immediate training on new technologies such as cloud-based collaboration tools.

L&D functions can enhance their partnership with business leaders by establishing a governance structure in which leadership from both groups share responsibility for defining, prioritizing, designing, and securing funds for capability-building programs. Under this governance model, a company’s chief experience officer (CXO), senior executives, and business-unit heads will develop the people-capability agenda for segments of the enterprise and ensure that it aligns with the company’s overall strategic goals. Top business executives will also help firmly embed the learning function and all L&D initiatives in the organizational culture. The involvement of senior leadership enables full commitment to the L&D function’s longer-term vision.

3. Assessment of capability gaps and estimated value

After companies identify their business priorities, they must verify that their employees can deliver on them—a task that may be more difficult than it sounds. Some companies make no effort to assess employee capabilities, while others do so only at a high level. Conversations with L&D, HR, and senior executives suggest that many companies are ineffective or indifferent at assessing capability gaps, especially when it comes to senior leaders and midlevel managers.

The most effective companies take a deliberate, systematic approach to capability assessment. At the heart of this process is a comprehensive competency or capability model based on the organization’s strategic direction. For example, a key competency for a segment of an e-commerce company’s workforce could be “deep expertise in big data and predictive analytics.”

After identifying the most essential capabilities for various functions or job descriptions, companies should then assess how employees rate in each of these areas. L&D interventions should seek to close these capability gaps.

4. Design of learning journeys

Most corporate learning is delivered through a combination of digital-learning formats and in-person sessions. While our research indicates that immersive L&D experiences in the classroom still have immense value, leaders have told us that they are incredibly busy “from eight to late,” which does not give them a lot of time to sit in a classroom. Furthermore, many said that they prefer to develop and practice new skills and behaviors in a “safe environment,” where they don’t have to worry about public failures that might affect their career paths.

Traditional L&D programs consisted of several days of classroom learning with no follow-up sessions, even though people tend to forget what they have learned without regular reinforcement. As a result, many L&D functions are moving away from stand-alone programs by designing learning journeys—continuous learning opportunities that take place over a period of time and include L&D interventions such as fieldwork, pre- and post-classroom digital learning, social learning, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, and short workshops. The main objectives of a learning journey are to help people develop the required new competencies in the most effective and efficient way and to support the transfer of learning to the job.

5. Execution and scale-up

An established L&D agenda consists of a number of strategic initiatives that support capability building and are aligned with business goals, such as helping leaders develop high-performing teams or roll out safety training. The successful execution of L&D initiatives on time and on budget is critical to build and sustain support from business leaders.

L&D functions often face an overload of initiatives and insufficient funding. L&D leadership needs to maintain an ongoing discussion with business leaders about initiatives and priorities to ensure the requisite resources and support.

Many new L&D initiatives are initially targeted to a limited audience. A successful execution of a small pilot, such as an online orientation program for a specific audience, can lead to an even bigger impact once the program is rolled out to the entire enterprise. The program’s cost per person declines as companies benefit from economies of scale.

6. Measurement of impact on business performance

A learning strategy’s execution and impact should be measured using key performance indicators (KPIs). The first indicator looks at business excellence: how closely aligned all L&D initiatives and investments are with business priorities. The second KPI looks at learning excellence: whether learning interventions change people’s behavior and performance. Last, an operational-excellence KPI measures how well investments and resources in the corporate academy are used.

Accurate measurement is not simple, and many organizations still rely on traditional impact metrics such as learning-program satisfaction and completion scores. But high-performing organizations focus on outcomes-based metrics such as impact on individual performance, employee engagement, team effectiveness, and business-process improvement.

We have identified several lenses for articulating and measuring learning impact:

• Strategic alignment: How effectively does the learning strategy support the organization’s priorities?
• Capabilities: How well does the L&D function help colleagues build the mind-sets, skills, and expertise they need most? This impact can be measured by assessing people’s capability gaps against a comprehensive competency framework.
• Organizational health: To what extent does learning strengthen the overall health and DNA of the organization? Relevant dimensions of the McKinsey Organizational Health Index can provide a baseline.
• Individual peak performance: Beyond raw capabilities, how well does the L&D function help colleagues achieve maximum impact in their role while maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

Access to big data provides L&D functions with more opportunities to assess and predict the business impact of their interventions.

7. Integration of L&D interventions into HR processes

Just as L&D corporate-learning activities need to be aligned with the business, they should also be an integral part of the HR agenda. L&D has an important role to play in recruitment, onboarding, performance management, promotion, workforce, and succession planning. Our research shows that at best, many L&D functions have only loose connections to annual performance reviews and lack a structured approach and follow-up to performance-management practices.

L&D leadership must understand major HR management practices and processes and collaborate closely with HR leaders. The best L&D functions use consolidated development feedback from performance reviews as input for their capability-building agenda. A growing number of companies are replacing annual performance appraisals with frequent, in-the-moment feedback. 7 HCM outlook 2018 , Brandon Hall Group. This is another area in which the L&D function can help managers build skills to provide development feedback effectively.

Elevating Learning & Development: Insights and Practical Guidance from the Field

Another example is onboarding. Companies that have developed high-impact onboarding processes score better on employee engagement and satisfaction and lose fewer new hires. 8 HCM outlook 2018 , Brandon Hall Group. The L&D function can play a critical role in onboarding—for example, by helping people build the skills to be successful in their role, providing new hires with access to digital-learning technologies, and connecting them with other new hires and mentors.

8. Enabling of the 70:20:10 learning framework

Many L&D functions embrace a framework known as “70:20:10,” in which 70 percent of learning takes place on the job, 20 percent through interaction and collaboration, and 10 percent through formal-learning interventions such as classroom training and digital curricula. These percentages are general guidelines and vary by industry and organization. L&D functions have traditionally focused on the formal-learning component.

Today, L&D leaders must design and implement interventions that support informal learning, including coaching and mentoring, on-the-job instruction, apprenticeships, leadership shadowing, action-based learning, on-demand access to digital learning, and lunch-and-learn sessions. Social technologies play a growing role in connecting experts and creating and sharing knowledge.

9. Systems and learning technology applications

The most significant enablers for just-in-time learning are technology platforms and applications. Examples include next-generation learning-management systems, virtual classrooms, mobile-learning apps, embedded performance-support systems, polling software, learning-video platforms, learning-assessment and -measurement platforms, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and small private online courses (SPOCs), to name just a few.

The learning-technology industry has moved entirely to cloud-based platforms, which provide L&D functions with unlimited opportunities to plug and unplug systems and access the latest functionality without having to go through lengthy and expensive implementations of an on-premises system. L&D leaders must make sure that learning technologies fit into an overall system architecture that includes functionality to support the entire talent cycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, L&D, real-time feedback tools, career management, succession planning, and rewards and recognition.

L&D leaders are increasingly aware of the challenges created by the fourth industrial revolution (technologies that are connecting the physical and digital worlds), but few have implemented large-scale transformation programs. Instead, most are slowly adapting their strategy and curricula as needed. However, with technology advancing at an ever-accelerating pace, L&D leaders can delay no longer: human capital is more important than ever and will be the primary factor in sustaining competitive advantage over the next few years.

The leaders of L&D functions need to revolutionize their approach by creating a learning strategy that aligns with business strategy and by identifying and enabling the capabilities needed to achieve success. This approach will result in robust curricula that employ every relevant and available learning method and technology. The most effective companies will invest in innovative L&D programs, remain flexible and agile, and build the human talent needed to master the digital age.

These changes entail some risk, and perhaps some trial and error, but the rewards are great.

A version of this chapter was published in TvOO Magazine in September 2016. It is also included in Elevating Learning & Development: Insights and Practical Guidance from the Field , August 2018.

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Jacqueline Brassey is director of Enduring Priorities Learning in McKinsey’s Amsterdam office, where Nick van Dam is an alumnus and senior adviser to the firm as well as professor and chief of the IE University (Madrid) Center for Learning Innovation; Lisa Christensen is a senior learning expert in the San Francisco office.

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True learning and implied behavior change requires a learning journey to boost professional development and achieve improved performance. In this article, we look at the link between learning journeys and how it can improve employee performance.

True learning and implied behavior change requires a learning journey to boost professional development and achieve improved performance. In this article, I look at the link between learning journeys and how it can improve employee performance.

What Is a Learning Journey?

Traditional training has often been viewed as a one-time event:  a  training class,  a  webinar,  a  learning module.

However, if the goal of training is a change in behavior, which leads to improved employee performance, training should, instead, be viewed as a learning journey – a series of learning events made up of a blend of formal and informal interventions, nudges, and follow-ups that ingrain new knowledge and behavior in employees.

• Formal training is one of the key elements of a learning ecosystem that typically facilitates the learning acquisition.
• As you add informal training (some initiated by L&D teams, some initiated by individuals and coached by leaders), you create a learning journey.

Why Should You Invest in Learning Journeys?

Learning is the key to thriving business.

In the animal kingdom of North America, the coyote has perhaps proven to be the most apt at learning and has therefore thrived. When Meriwether Lewis in the early 19 th  century first encountered a coyote on his famous exploration, he was perhaps the first of European descent to see one. He attempted to kill and collect it as a new specimen. He and his men were unsuccessful though – an experience that thousands of American hunters have shared since. The coyote has learned to adapt and thrive to constant changes in their ecosystem and are now a common sighting in large cities like San Francisco (California) and Salt Lake City (Utah).

In business, those who can learn are the coyotes – they can adapt and thrive to changing circumstances. Companies should find and develop coyotes in their organizations – employees who actively participate in their own learning journeys and contribute to the journey of their coworkers.

From a business perspective , learning journeys provide highly customized programs that are structured around key enterprise goals and objectives. Leaders should provide this insight to help prepare their organization for future challenges.

Not only does this help futureproof their business by driving incremental and disruptive innovation but it also improves employee engagement. Employees are looking for organizations that value learning and encourage professional development.

Organizations benefit from employees who continuously strive for improvement.

From the employee’s perspective , the learning journey acts as a GPS that guides learners in their efforts, through formal and informal learning, to perfect their art by acquiring new skills and proficiencies in business domains and technological mastery. These GPSs guide learners through motivation, awareness, learning consumption, and knowledge application.

Learning journeys comprise formal and informal learning – opportunities to acquire skills for a specific role or technological domain. They are highly relevant to the individual, assisting him/her with his/her career aspirations.

What Do You Need to Consider While Creating an Effective Learning Journey?

The following are vital issues to consider when building learning journeys:

• Look at the  big picture  and consider that, while foggy, the future is ever present. Learning occurs over prolonged time and should never been something that employees stop doing, nor should organizations ever rest on their previous laurels.
• Awareness : Before employees can begin a learning journey, they need to be aware of what is available, how the organization will support them, and what lies ahead.
• Motivation : While some employees are motivated for the pure sake of learning, some are looking for additional extrinsic motivations. Organizations should set up systems to reward progression in the learning process, encouraging employees to begin and continue the learning journey.
• Participation and experimentation : Throughout the learning journey, employees need a safe space to participate, digest, apply, and experiment with the new knowledge they’re gaining through the learning journey. The experimentation and feedback loop are key to achieving behavior change.
• On-going connects:  Design learning journeys that include more than formal training events. Develop guides for managers to follow-up with employees on what they learned, implement social and mobile learning strategies, and allow employees to direct much of their own informal learning.

What Are Key Aspects that Would Help You Create Effective Learning Journeys?

Leverage the following aspects when developing learning journeys:

• Start with the end in mind : Planning is too often abbreviated in the L&D field, a reaction to develop content as quickly as possible to please business stakeholders. Remember what Albert Einstein said about planning: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
• Include all stakeholders:  During the initiation phase, include key stakeholders and ensure that everyone involved in the process has the information they need. Leaders should ask themselves the following questions: What do I know? Who needs to know? Have I told them?
• Build awareness of the solution with the target audience : Begin with primers to help them understand the big picture of the learning journey. Include an exposition on the current state, the desired future state, and the differences between those two states. Use microlearning hits that get to the point quickly.
• Stimulate prior knowledge with which learners can scaffold new information.
• Present content in the most appropriate modality.
• Model learning strategies to help students assimilate new information.
• Include as much application and practice as possible with healthy feedback loops.
• Assess performance, giving additional feedback to learners.
• Once learners are back on the job, use informal learning and coaching nudges to reinforce the application of new knowledge on the job. Employ performance support systems so learners can quickly find and share information they need in the flow of work.
• Reward behavior change : While punitive rewards may be effective in the short term, for effective long-term behavior change, learning journeys should offer employees as much purpose, autonomy, and mastery as possible. Once employees are paid a fair and competitive wage, purpose, autonomy, and mastery are more effective methods of motivation than even bonus models.

Making It Work – EI Design’s Learning and Performance Ecosystem Based Approach to Create Effective Learning Journeys

EI Design has developed a highly effective model for creating effective learning journeys in a Learning and Performance Ecosystem. It’s a cyclical model that includes the following:

• Capture  attention  about learning opportunities.
• Explain what employees will gain from the learning journey ( what’s in it for me ).
• Leverage  immersive  formal learning events that employ gamification, virtual and augmented reality, scenario based learning, and branching scenarios.
• Support formal events with  performance support tools , giving employees access to information in the flow of work: exactly what they need, when they need it.
• Reinforce learning after formal events with safe places to  practice  and receive  feedback  on their performance.
• Provide  social learning  so that learners can collaborate with others progressing in the learning journey, sharing knowledge and experiences.

Parting Thoughts

Effective behavior change occurs over time as desired competencies and behaviors are reinforced through a blend of formal and informal training. Learning is not a onetime event. Professionals seek mastery of their trade, striving for autonomy and purpose. Learning journeys, thoughtfully developed and shared with employees, are an effective method of facilitating behavior change that aligns to enterprise goals and initiatives.

I hope this article provides the requisite insights on how you can use our unique Learning and Performance Ecosystem to create effective learning journeys and boost employee performance.

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How do Learning Journeys work?

Life is full of learning experiences and opportunities. We learn at school, at home, in the workplace, and in the community. It can be useful to think about how we learn as a journey. Like any journey, you’re directing the course. There is a starting point, a destination and waypoints along the way. There are also tools that can help you navigate the terrain and you need fuel to keep you going. 

Thinking about learning in this way can help you achieve your goal or aim, and improve the way you learn. There are four steps in a learning journey: 

The first step in a learning journey is to find your purpose. It’s a good idea to ask yourself why you are doing something. Understanding the reason behind your actions will set you on a clear Learning Journeys path. Ask yourself what you want to achieve. 

The next step is to figure out where you are in your journey and discover ways you can move forward. This is where your Learning Power comes into play. Learning Power is like the fuel that drives you on your learning journey. Learning Power improves your potential to succeed. To understand your unique Learning Power you can answer questions about how you think, feel and behave when you are learning. How you answer these questions will generate your Learning Power Profile.  

Your Learning Power Profile is displayed in the form of a spider diagram as well as an orientation to learning indicator. It presents quantitative data about the dimensions of Learning Power. You can use your Learning Power Profile to grow your awareness around the way you learn and to develop your ability to work towards achieving your goal or purpose. Here is an example of a Learning Power Profile and the  Orientation to Learning Indicator: 

Once you have diagnosed your own Learning Power and received your Learning Power Profile you’re ready to use it as a framework to plan the direction of your learning journey. How can you use your profile to improve the way you learn? How can you build your learning power? Was there one specific learning dimension you want to focus on? How can the dimensions you’re strong in help you in the areas you want to grow? Understanding how you learn, what you’re good at and how you can improve means you can now take the necessary steps to achieve success.  

There are several resources to help you figure out what does my Learning Power profile mean? 

Now it’s time to put your plan into action, and often this will mean doing something different. While moving forward on your learning journey, navigating the terrain and working towards your goal, you might discover new ways of doing things, be exposed to new ideas and/or change your approach to old problems. It’s all about using your Learning Power to fuel purposeful and meaningful action. 

It’s also important to keep track of your progress throughout your learning journey in order to see how you’ve changed. When you feel you’ve developed throughout your learning journey you can complete your Learning Power Profile again, and then reflect again on what it might be telling you .  

Take time to think about what you’ve learned. What new knowledge have you generated? Have you met the targets you set yourself? Has your learning power improved? Can you show any evidence of your progress? And how have you changed as a result of your learning journey?

Don't forget...

The profile provided by Learning Journeys is contextual – that means your Learning Power Profile is determined by your perception of yourself at a point in time and in relation to the learning context (or contexts) in your mind at that time. The tool reflects changes in your perception of yourself as a learner and/or changes in your learning context. This means that learning facilitators and coaches can support you with strategies that improve your learning power. 

What are Learning Dimensions?

There are nine dimensions of Learning Power, and these are the areas you can build on to help boost yourself along on your journey

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.

Create a Learning Journey for Leaders

LEARNING JOURNEY

What Is a Learning Journey?

A learning journey is a strategic approach to developing groups of leaders over time. It’s based on the principle that true behavior change takes time, and that people learn best together—as long as they can personalize their experience.

At DDI, we create learning journeys to maximize the time and effectiveness of leadership development . Learning journeys offer the right blend of personalized learning with group connection. For example, leaders can take assessments, pursue online learning, and coaching to boost their knowledge and insight. But they cement learning when they come together in virtual or in-person classroom sessions.

Ready to get started? We offer proven, competency-based learning journeys you can implement right away. Or we can work with you to create a completely custom learning journey, just for you. Either way, we’re ready to start walking by your side as your leaders begin their transformation.

Compared to Companies That Use More Traditional Learning Methods, Companies That Use a Blended Learning Journey Are:

more likely to be financially successful

more likely to have a highly-rated development program

more likely to have a strong leadership bench

Learn how Commvault built a global leadership development program with content from DDI's leadership development subscription.

How Commvault Develops Leaders Strategically with a DDI Leadership Development Subscription

A one-and-done or an eight-hour-long Zoom session wasn’t going to cut it. That’s why we moved to the concept of a learning journey that included content delivered in shorter sprints, but delivered over a period of time

— Joe Ilvento, Chief Learning Officer at Commvault

Explore Sample Learning Journeys

A learning journey to help leaders build morale and engagement to retain talent.

Boost Team Engagement

ROOM 356-357

Take your leaders on a learning journey to create a coaching culture that boosts performance.

Build a Coaching Culture

This learning journey will help leaders practice inclusion to create a welcoming, supportive environment for all.

Develop Inclusive Leadership

Design Your Own Learning Journey

With a DDI Leadership Development Subscription, you get a dedicated strategic learning team who will work with you to create a custom program, just for your leaders.

We start by understanding the business goals you need to accomplish. From there, we’ll work by your side to curate the perfect blend of content to ensure your leaders will gain the right skills. Then we’ll tailor learning formats that will best fit your culture and your leaders’ needs.

Explore subscriptions

Want to Take Things Virtual?

At DDI, we’re big believers in the power of learning together. But that doesn't mean it has to be in-person.

As many companies have shifted to a virtual workplace, we’ve taken leadership development with it. We offer learning journeys that take place entirely in the virtual world.

But that doesn’t mean you miss out on human connection. Our virtual classroom format creates the same bond leaders get in the classroom – just without handshakes.

Learn about virtual classroom

Don’t Forget Microlearning

The key to creating successful learning journeys is to sustain learning in between classroom sessions. And that’s where microlearning comes in.

Microlearning offers quick learning experiences that help leaders practice and deepen their skills between larger learning sessions. It can be things like short courses, videos, self-assessments, online tools, or other quick formats.

In just a few minutes, microlearning offers a quick boost to keep your leaders engaged.

Explore microlearning

recommended Resources

How one company developed a frontline leadership learning journey with elements of both digital learning content and in-person classroom experiences.

How We Did It: Creating a Frontline Leadership Learning Journey

Explore best practices for how to create a learning journey and learn why this approach is crucial for a company’s leadership development strategy.

How to Design an Effective Learning Journey

DDI’s Ultimate Guide to Leadership Development gives HR pros everything they need to create and launch powerful leadership development experiences.

Ultimate Guide to Leadership Development

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What Is Lifelong Learning? (And How to Do it Yourself)

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What Is Lifelong Learning? (And How to Do it Yourself) was originally published on Forage .

We often equate school with learning — so once we’ve graduated, we’re done, right? While we may not return to lectures and discussion groups, learning is far from over the second we leave high school or college. Embracing lifelong learning, or the concept of ongoing learning, can help you grab the attention of employers, get hired, and succeed in your entire career.

So, what exactly is lifelong learning, and why do employers care so much about it? Here’s what you need to know, how to get started, and how to show it off in an application.

Lifelong Learning Definition

Lifelong learning is the constant, ongoing pursuit of knowledge. This practice “ensures that individuals continually enhance their skills and knowledge, regardless of occupation, age, or educational level, enabling them to stay ahead of the game,” says Emily Maguire, managing director and career consultant at Reflections Career Coaching.

Typically, lifelong learning is self-motivated, meaning the desire to learn comes from a desire for personal and professional growth.

Professional Skills Development

Develop critical professional skills like project planning, setting goals, and relationship management in a real-world work environment.

Avg. Time: 3-4 hours

Skills you’ll build: Time management, scheduling, explaining analysis, presentations

Lifelong Learning Examples

So, what does lifelong learning look like? While you can take courses or pursue formalized education as part of lifelong learning, this kind of learning doesn’t have a specific structure. Examples of lifelong learning include:

• Taking online courses
• Learning a new language
• Joining a book club
• Listening to podcasts
• Watching TED Talks or educational YouTube videos
• Attending a workshop or seminar
• Earning a professional certification
• Completing a coding bootcamp
• Learning a musical instrument
• Taking an art or cooking class
• Doing a DIY home improvement project
• Picking up a new hobby, like knitting or photography
• Conducting independent research
• Trying a new fitness class or physical activity

Lifelong learning doesn’t always have to be an intense academic research project or something applicable to the professional skills you want to develop. The main point of lifelong learning is that you’re building a new skill or knowledge even if that doesn’t obviously translate to your dream job — flexing that learning muscle is a valuable skill you can transfer to any career path.

Why Do Employers Care About Lifelong Learning?

Employers care about lifelong learning because they seek employees who are willing to upskill, adapt, and navigate change. 

It Shows the Ability to Upskill

“Doors will open for you if you keep a learner’s mindset as you leave school and are constantly willing to get out of your comfort zone,” says Arissan Nicole, career and resume coach and workplace expert. “Employers want people that are open and committed to growth. Innovation and creativity take trying new things, taking risks, and being open to failing. Those committed to lifelong learning know that failing is a step in the learning process and have the resilience to keep moving forward. Employers want people who are unwilling to give up and motivated to do whatever it takes to solve a problem or find a solution.”

As an early career professional, lifelong learning is essential because you don’t have many job skills yet — you’ll learn them on the job! Employers know and expect this, so they’re primarily looking to hire entry-level candidates who’ve shown they’re committed to learning new skills quickly. 

“From our recruitment data, most fresh employees have a greater success rate when they stress on lifelong learning in their CVs and interviews,” says Philip McParlane, founder of 4dayweek.io, the world’s largest four day workweek recruitment platform. “This is because lifelong learners embody a growth mindset that proves instrumental in navigating the swift transformations within industries. Companies recognize this quality as a strategic asset, understanding that employees committed to continuous learning contribute to innovation and demonstrate resilience in the face of change.”

Helps Employees Adapt to a Changing Work Landscape

Lifelong learning is also vital to employers throughout your career as the working world changes. For example, an employer might expect you to use a new technology or software to do your job. Or, there may be a shift in your organization’s structure, and your boss may expect you to take on different projects or leadership responsibilities. Employees who can embrace change by learning new skills are highly valuable to employers. 

“Regardless of one’s chosen profession, the inclination and ability to learn and adapt are central to success on the job, any job,” says Bill Catlette, partner at Contented Cow, a leadership development company. “There are very few roles in the modern workspace where the knowledge required to excel is static.”

How to Practice Lifelong Learning

If lifelong learning is the key to getting hired and success at work, how can you start?

Take a Forage Job Simulation

Forage job simulations are free, self-paced programs that show you what it’s like to work in a specific role at a top employer. In these simulations, you’ll build real-world work skills by replicating tasks that someone on a team at the company would actually do — whether that’s coding a new feature for an app, planning a marketing campaign , or writing a hypothetical email to a client explaining legal considerations in their current case. 

Once you complete a Forage job simulation, you’ll get a certificate you can put on your LinkedIn profile and examples of how to share what skills you learned on your resume and in an interview. Employers are also more likely to hire students who’ve completed Forage job simulations — a sign of lifelong learning! 

Unsure where to get started? Take our quiz to find the best job simulation for you . 

Pursue Independent Projects

Pursuing a project on a topic you’re interested in can show employers that you’re self-motivated and willing to learn. There are tons of options depending on your career interest:

• An aspiring writer working on articles and publishing them on a personal blog
• An aspiring software engineer contributing to an open-source project
• An aspiring data analyst analyzing a public dataset 
• An aspiring UX designer redesigning the experience of a famous brand’s website 
• An aspiring social media manager developing a strategy for a personal brand or business’s social media

Digital Design & UX

Conduct user research and create wireframes for an app for the electric industry. 

Avg. Time: 5-6 hours

Skills you’ll build: Mobile design, app design, persona creation, UX, UI

Work With Others

While lifelong learning often comes from personal motivation, collaborating with others can help you build soft skills and help keep you disciplined. 

For example, you could join a book club with fellow aspiring marketing professionals and all read books about marketing strategy. Or, if you’re an aspiring web developer, you and some friends could decide to participate in a daily coding challenge. Finding people who also want to learn can help inspire you and even help you discover new ways to achieve your goals.

Set SMART Goals

Figuring out when and how to fit lifelong learning into your life can be complicated and overwhelming, especially when first trying to enter the workforce! Setting SMART goals can help you break down the process into smaller, achievable, and actionable steps.

SMART goals are:

• Specific: What exactly do you want to learn?
• Measurable: How are you measuring success? What defines a “finished” result?
• Actionable: When do you have time to accomplish this? What extra resources do you need?
• Relevant: How will this help you in your prospective career?
• Time-bound: What is your deadline?

How to Show Lifelong Learning in a Job Application

You’re doing the work of developing your knowledge and skills — now, how do you show employers that?

List It On Your Resume

It’s almost as simple as it sounds: put your lifelong learning activities on your resume ! 

“You can list relevant courses you have taken, certifications you have earned, workshops and trainings you may have attended, and more,” says Mary Krull, SHRM-SCP, PRC, and lead talent attraction partner at Southern New Hampshire University. “The key here will be ensuring that what you list is relevant to the role. No need to list everything you have done — keep it relevant!”

Resume Masterclass

Build a resume hiring managers look for from start to finish.

Skills you’ll build: Professional summary, illustrating your impact in teams, showcasing outcomes of your contributions

“Get strategic about relevant coursework in your education section,” says Tramelle D. Jones, strategic success and workplace wellness coach with TDJ Consulting. “For example, when applying to a position that lists tasks where you’ll utilize data analytics , list classes such as ‘Advanced Data Analytics Techniques.’ Remember to include any cross-disciplinary coursework and offer an explanation that solidifies the connection. For example, ‘Innovations in Sustainable Business Practice’ – Discussed how data analytics can be applied to consumer behavior to understand preferences.”

You can also list any trainings, workshops, certifications, or conferences in a dedicated “professional development” or “education and certification” section. 

Create an Online Portfolio

If you’ve worked on independent projects, compiling your work into an online portfolio is a great way to tangibly show your skills to hiring managers . Projects make the skills and experience you articulate in your resume, cover letter, and interview visible. Online portfolios don’t need to be extravagant; a free, simple website that shows your projects is all you need.

Share Specific Examples

When preparing your application, whether writing a cover letter or practicing common job interview questions and answers , have a few lifelong learning examples you’re comfortable elaborating on. The key is to ensure they’re relevant to the role you’re applying for and demonstrate your willingness and ability to learn.

“In your cover letter, you can bring up your commitment to continuous learning and how it ties to the specific qualifications for the job,” Krull says. “Explain how your commitment to professional development will benefit the organization and align with its values. If they invite you to interview for a role, you may have an opportunity to discuss your professional development experience. Have a couple of learning experiences in mind that had a positive impact on your development. As long as those examples help you answer an interview question, this can be a great way to weave in your experience as a lifelong learner.”

Unspoken Interview Fundamentals

Learn how to develop your professional story and practice sharing it in an interview context. 

Avg. Time: 2-3 hours

Skills you’ll build: Verbal communication, video interviewing, identifying strengths

Don’t be afraid to get specific, either. Naming particular processes, tools, and technologies you used to learn something new can help illustrate your lifelong learning to the hiring manager.

Lifelong Learning: The Bottom Line

Practicing lifelong learning is about continuously gaining new skills and knowledge. While this is often a personal journey, it can help you get hired and succeed throughout your career.

To start the lifelong learning process, try independent learning, working with others, and setting SMART goals to get the job done. Once you’ve gained new skills, call them out on your resume, cover letter, and in interviews.

“In a nutshell, the educational paradigm is transitioning towards a lifelong journey,” McParlane says. “Employers grasp the value of hiring individuals who perceive learning as an ongoing, dynamic process. As a prospective employee, your ability to articulate not just what you’ve learned, but how that knowledge contributes to adaptability and problem-solving , becomes a pivotal differentiator in a fiercely competitive job market.”

Start your lifelong learning journey with a free Forage job simulation . 

Image credit: Canva

The post What Is Lifelong Learning? (And How to Do it Yourself) appeared first on Forage .

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• Identifying the key lessons and outcomes at a detailed level
• Determining what blend of each EPIC component would best serve which aspects of the programme. An example of some questions you can ask at this stage are:
• How important is it to practice this skill in a real-world environment? Are there opportunities for stretch assignments or special projects to enhance the skill/behaviour? (E) 
• Do people need to work together to come up with solutions? How important is immediate feedback? Are there subject matter experts who can offer some guidance? (P) 
• Does the content need to be accessed at the point of need? Would providing videos, tip sheets, etc. be useful or not likely accessed? (I)
• Does working in a group enhance the learning? Is practice in a ‘safe’ environment important? (C) 
• Planning at a high level the order in which each intervention should occur
• Ensuring that there is a good balance of each approach – and not defaulting to classroom type learning!

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How to Create Effective Learning Journeys that Drive Employee Performance

May 11, 2021 | By Asha Pandey

Modern organizations prioritize skill development for employee performance, creating personalized learning journeys to align with organizational goals and foster a culture of continuous improvement. In this article, I explore the connection between learning journeys and their impact on employee performance.

What Is a Learning Journey?

A learning journey is a dynamic and continuous process focused on acquiring and refining skills for long-term growth and professional advancement. Unlike traditional training, it entails a sequence of interconnected learning experiences, blending formal training with self-initiated informal learning opportunities. This approach integrates new skills seamlessly into daily work practices, fostering enhanced employee performance within skill-centric organizational frameworks.

This approach, bolstered by AI, personalizes learning experiences, tailoring them to individual needs and fostering continuous growth and improved performance within skill-centric organizational frameworks.

.Key Characteristics of a Learning Journey:

A well-defined learning journey must entail the following characteristics:

• Is Structured and Ongoing : A learning journey is not a one-time event; instead, it’s a continuous process that unfolds over time, allowing individuals to evolve and adapt to new knowledge and skills. Integral to this process is the role of mentor feedback, which provides learners with essential insights and guidance, helping to refine skills and align learning objectives with real-world applications. This mentorship aspect enriches the learning journey, making it more personalized and effective.
• P rovides Customized Learning Experiences : It comprises personalized content and a variety of delivery methods tailored to meet the unique needs and goals of individuals or teams.
• Includes Formal and Informal Components : It combines formal training programs with  informal learning opportunities , creating a holistic approach that caters to different learning preferences.
• Offers Behavioral Focus : The primary goal is to induce positive behavioral changes, leading to improved employee performance and alignment with organizational objectives.
• Is Flexible and Adaptive : Allows learners to personalize their path based on their individual needs, preferences, and skill levels, optimizing engagement and effectiveness.
• Accommodates Ongoing Feedback and Assessment : Has provisions and mechanisms to track learner progress, identify areas for improvement, and provide timely guidance and support.

How do Traditional Training Methods Differ from Learning Journeys??

While there may be many, the key differences between traditional training methods and modern learning journeys can be summarized as follows:

Why Should You Invest in Learning Journeys?

According to a study by LinkedIn, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Furthermore, research by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) found that organizations with comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than those without. These statistics underscore the importance of investing in learning journeys, particularly in skill-based organizations. By prioritizing continuous skill development through personalized learning experiences, organizations can not only boost employee retention but also drive tangible business outcomes. Moreover, the ability to adapt quickly to changing skill demands is crucial in today’s fast-paced work environment. Investing in learning journeys ensures that employees are equipped with the necessary competencies to navigate evolving industry trends and contribute effectively to organizational success.

In business, those who can learn are able to adapt and thrive to changing circumstances. Companies should find and develop coyotes in their organizations – employees who actively participate in their own learning journeys and contribute to the journey of their coworkers.

Learning journeys offer a dual advantage, benefiting both the organization and its employees. They align learning and development with business goals, promoting innovation and engagement. From the employee’s perspective, learning journeys provide a clear path for skill enhancement, motivation, and relevance to career aspirations, ultimately driving continuous improvement and professional development.

Benefits of Learning Journeys from a Business Perspective:

• Customization for Strategic Alignment: Learning journeys offer highly customized programs designed to align with an organization’s key goals and objectives. They are structured to address specific enterprise challenges and opportunities, ensuring that the learning journey directly supports the business’s strategic direction.
• Future-Proofing the Business: By structuring learning journeys around key enterprise goals, organizations are better prepared to face future challenges. This proactive approach drives both incremental and disruptive innovation, allowing businesses to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.
• Improved Employee Engagement: Organizations that value learning and encourage professional development through learning journeys experience heightened employee engagement. Employees are more motivated and committed when they feel their growth is supported and recognized.

Benefits of Learning Journeys from an Employee’s Perspective:

• Guidance for Skill Enhancement: Learning journeys serve as a GPS for individual learners, guiding them through the process of skill acquisition and proficiency development. They offer a clear path through formal and informal learning, helping employees enhance their skills and expertise.
• Motivation and Awareness: Learning journeys provide motivation and awareness, inspiring individuals to take charge of their own development. They create a sense of purpose and direction, encouraging learners to proactively seek knowledge and growth opportunities.
• Learning Consumption and Application: These structured journeys guide learners through the stages of learning consumption and knowledge application, ensuring that the acquired skills and knowledge are put into practice effectively.
• Relevance to Career Aspirations: Learning journeys are highly relevant to individuals, assisting them in achieving their career aspirations. Whether it’s mastering a specific role or acquiring expertise in a particular technological domain, these journeys support individual growth and development.

Why Do Learning Journeys Work?

Learning journeys work in the modern learning landscape because they align with the principles of adult learning theory and the needs of today’s workforce. By integrating technology, personalization, and continuous feedback, they create engaging and relevant learning experiences. This approach acknowledges the diverse learning preferences and the importance of lifelong learning, driving meaningful skill development and performance improvement.

Learning journeys function as a structured approach to professional and personal development. Here’s how they typically work:

• Initial Assessment : Identifying individual learner needs and goals.
• Customized Learning Path : Designing a personalized learning plan based on the initial assessment.
• Diverse Learning Methods : Incorporating various formats like online modules, workshops, and real-world assignments.
• Ongoing Support : Providing mentorship, peer interaction, and resources throughout the journey.
• Continuous Feedback : Regular assessments and feedback to track progress and adjust the learning path.
• Real-world Application : Opportunities for applying learned skills in practical settings.
• Reflection and Adaptation : Encouraging learners to reflect on their progress and adapt their learning strategies.

This process ensures that learning is an ongoing, evolving journey tailored to each individual’s needs and goals, leading to effective skill development and personal growth.

What are the Key Components of a Learning Journey?

A well-structured learning journey comprises several key components that work in tandem to ensure effective and engaging learning experiences. These components are critical in shaping a comprehensive learning path that caters to diverse learning styles and objectives.

• Identifying specific learning needs and objectives.
• Setting clear, measurable goals for the learning journey.
• Incorporation of diverse learning methods such as online courses, workshops, and practical exercises.
• Blending formal with informal learning opportunities.
• Tailoring content to meet individual learner’s needs and preferences.
• Offering flexible learning paths that accommodate different learning paces.
• Regular evaluations to track progress.
• Providing timely feedback to guide and improve learning.
• Opportunities to apply learned skills in real-world scenarios.
• Reinforcement activities to ensure retention and integration of new knowledge.
• Access to necessary learning materials and resources.
• Support from instructors, mentors, or peer groups.

These components collectively ensure that a learning journey is not only comprehensive but also adaptable, engaging, and result oriented.

Best Practices to Create an Effective Learning Journey

Here are some tips that can help when building learning journeys:

• Consider the overarching vision, acknowledging that the future, though uncertain, is always present. Learning occurs over prolonged time and should never been something that employees stop doing, nor should organizations ever rest on their previous laurels. Integrating spaced learning and repetition into this process is crucial, as it greatly contributes to better knowledge retention, allowing learners to revisit and reinforce concepts at regular intervals, thereby solidifying their understanding and application in practical scenarios.
• Awareness: Before employees can begin a learning journey, they need to be aware of what is available, how the organization will support them, and what lies ahead.
• Motivation: While some employees are motivated for the pure sake of learning, some are looking for additional extrinsic motivations. Organizations should set up systems to reward progression in the learning process, encouraging employees to begin and continue the learning journey.
• Participation and experimentation: Throughout the learning journey, employees need a safe space to participate, digest, apply, and experiment with the new knowledge they’re gaining through the learning journey. Experimentation and feedback loop are key to achieving behavior change.
• On-going connects: Design learning journeys that include more than formal training events. Develop guides for managers to follow-up with employees on what they learned, implement social and mobile learning strategies, and allow employees to direct much of their own informal learning.

Further, leverage the following techniques when developing learning journeys:

• Start with the end in mind : Planning is too often abbreviated in the L&D field, a reaction to develop content as quickly as possible to please business stakeholders. Remember what Albert Einstein said about planning: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
• Include all stakeholders:  During the initiation phase, include key stakeholders and ensure that everyone involved in the process has the information they need. Leaders should ask themselves the following questions: What do I know? Who needs to know? Have I told them?
• Build awareness of the solution with the target audience : Begin with primers to help them understand the big picture of the learning journey. Include an exposition on the current state, the desired future state, and the differences between those two states. Use microlearning hits that get to the point quickly.
• Stimulate prior knowledge with which learners can scaffold new information.
• Present content in the most appropriate modality.
• Model learning strategies to help students assimilate new information.
• Include as much application and practice as possible with healthy feedback loops.
• Assess performance, giving additional feedback to learners.
• Once learners are back on the job, use informal learning and coaching nudges to reinforce the application of new knowledge on the job.  Employ performance support systems  so learners can quickly find and  share information they need in the flow of work.
• Reward behavior change : While punitive rewards may be effective in the short term, for effective long-term behavior change, learning journeys should offer employees as much purpose, autonomy, and mastery as possible. Once employees are paid a fair and competitive wage, purpose, autonomy, and mastery are more effective methods of motivation than even bonus models.

Making It Work – EI’s Learning and Performance Ecosystem Based Approach to Create Effective Learning Journeys

EI has developed a highly effective model for creating effective learning journeys in a  Learning and Performance Ecosystem . It’s a cyclical model that includes the following:

• Capture attention about learning opportunities.
• Explain what employees will gain from the learning journey (what’s in it for me).
• Leverage immersive formal learning  events that employ gamification, virtual and augmented reality, scenario based learning, and branching scenarios.
• Support formal events with performance support tools, giving employees  access to information in the flow of work : exactly what they need, when they need it.
• Reinforce learning after formal events with safe places to practice and receive feedback on their performance.
• Provide social learning so that learners can collaborate with others progressing in the learning journey, sharing knowledge and experiences.

Here are 3 case studies that provide further insight into how we have leveraged EI’s L&P ecosystem:

Case Study #1: Microlearning-based Learning Journey

The Background 

A global conglomerate observed that despite conducting their performance review cycles promptly, the performance conversations were still unstructured, resulting in insufficient documentation. They required a new learning program that would cover the different facets of performance conversations, including how to conduct them.

Our Solution

Our solution comprised a 3-month learning program strategically releasing various microlearning assets, including 5–10-minute interactive modules, 2–4-minute video nuggets, simulated videos, game-based conversation simulations, and scenario-based assessments.

A key highlight of the solution was the highly immersive video-based conversation simulation with Gamification features. It focused on building engagement and helping employees and managers practice the organization’s way of conducting performance conversations.

Within the first two weeks of launch, we observed over 1700 course completions. According to the detailed feedback forms used to measure critical KPIs like Business Impact, Content Quality, Job Impact, Learning Relevance, etc., the overall score was an exceptional 8.58/10.00.

Case Study #2: Personalized, Adaptive Learning Through Apps

The Background

A leading soft skills training company aimed to develop a personalized app to help learners understand their strengths and weaknesses, thereby enabling greater success both professionally and personally.

After completing an initial survey, learners were provided with a personalized, gamified learning pathway comprising microlearning nuggets such as engaging videos, interactive content, downloadable aids, exercises, and quizzes. Learning analytics were utilized to recommend additional assets based on usage patterns, viewing preferences, quiz scores, etc.

The app-based solution encouraged immediate learning during moments of need while also helping learners improve their skills through robust analytics.

Case Study #3: A Portal-based Tour

A market frontrunner in the tobacco industry sought a retailer engagement program with bite-size modules on their products and categories. The objective was to craft a memorable experience that would encourage learners to revisit.

An ‘Open Tour’ concept with storytelling allowed learners to visit product facilities across the globe and interact with fictional characters. Learners could choose their destinations through a virtual map, driving need-based learning, as well as share their own stories through a social forum, facilitating peer interactions.

A blend of videos, animations, and adaptive challenges were used to enhance the learning experience.

The program helped learners explore and apply the acquired knowledge in a real-time environment. Moreover, the right learning interventions helped improve engagement with the brand.

Parting Thoughts

Effective behavior change occurs over time as desired competencies and behaviors are reinforced through a blend of formal and informal training. Learning is not a one-time event. Professionals seek mastery of their trade, striving for autonomy and purpose. Learning journeys, thoughtfully developed and shared with employees, are an effective method of facilitating behavior change that aligns to enterprise goals and initiatives.

I hope this article provides the requisite insights on how you can use our unique Learning and Performance Ecosystem to create effective learning journeys and boost employee performance.

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HR terms frequently used by HR professionals.

Learning journey 

What is a learning journey.

A learning journey is a strategic approach to developing specific skillsets.

How can you encourage employees to go on a learning journey?

A successful learning journey depends on employee engagement. The objectives and goals must focus on the individual. What are their needs? What are their desires? What are their constraints? The goals and objectives should also coincide with the organization’s mission and values.

How can HR leaders measure the learning journey of employees?

As the learning journey progresses, HR leaders must establish milestones for the team to ensure that each individual completes their training on time. Leaders should also regularly meet with their employees to discuss their progress and have a place for the individual to apply their new knowledge and skills. Meeting with the team will ensure they fully understand what they’re learning and see a change in the team’s behavior.

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Essential Online Learning Tools That Will Elevate Any Student's Academic Journey

Posted: May 17, 2024 | Last updated: May 17, 2024

There has never been more pressure for students to get ahead, which makes finding the right tips, tricks, and mechanisms to put in place to help them learn more critical than ever. Online learning tools have become an essential piece of the puzzle for students looking to increase their achievement potential.

The only problem? There are so many options out there that it's hard to figure out which tools are actually the best. What's great is that there is such a variety of tools, and many of them cater to unconventional learning styles or they're built to provide a more accessible, less-expensive learning experience. Anyone who has ever had to buy hundreds of dollars in test prep books or has spent hours and hours trying to find the right videos on YouTube to help them knows that it can be a burdensome cost both financially and with your time.

I chose five of my favorite online learning tools as both a perpetual student and a mom of students. Whether you're in grad school for the third time or you're in high school, there is something here you'll find helpful.

1) Masterclass Membership

Masterclass is one of my favorite unconventional ways of learning. It is essentially a series of lectures by the top people in the field. Think storytelling from Martin Scorcese , taking your cooking skills to the next level with Gordon Ramsay , and organizing for change with Malala Yousefzai .

They are usually fairly broad categories like learning how to stream or learning about space travel, but they break it down in a way that relates to a variety of more niche subjects.

The classes are deeply immersive but not interactive. Each class varies in time from a little over an hour to five hours or more. They are cut up into bite-size classes perfect for listening to while cooking dinner or watching while you wait at the dentist's office.

The lectures are engaging and well-plotted to give you all of the relevant data necessary in the order that makes the most sense, with enough detail that it informs without overwhelming.

I have listened to several, with my favorites being the classes from authors Neil Gaiman and Roxane Gay, and businessperson Kim Scott. However, I have found that even watching or listening to Masterclass subjects that are not directly related to my area of study or my work life has a tangible benefit on those areas by opening my mind to include more expansive ideas in any number of areas.

You can subscribe to one or more devices depending on how you like to learn. As someone who likes multiple modalities for learning, there are times I want to watch the classes on my laptop and times when I would rather just listen on my headphones on my phone, so I find that two devices suit me just right.

2) Udemy Online Courses

Udemy is a learning tool focused on coding and programming, with a ton of certificate prep courses thrown in. With an individual monthly plan ($20 per month), you have access to over 11,000 courses on everything from learning Python to Microsoft's AI. Each course is fairly monocular, focusing on one piece of coding, software, or programming and breaking it down into bite-size pieces with ample resources for each course.

The breakdown of the courses is a little less straightforward with Udemy than with Masterclass or some others because it's more about how long one single concept takes to teach than trying to fit an idea or chapter in a specific time frame.

The main difference between Udemy and other online learning platforms is that each class isn't something that Udemy has created or hired a professional in the arena to create. It is a database for instructors to post their content and for learners to find. There is free content on the site, and anyone can create a free course, but for a paid course, the teacher needs to pay the site to be considered for their professional tier. This is great for some reasons — like creators who want to get their courses in the hands of more people, but it also means that not every course has the same level of rigor or quality.

That being said, the paid content is generally great, and for the low cost of entry, it's a fantastic platform for learning how to code or improving other skills in the coding arena. It's also my 16-year-old computer wunderkind son's favorite online learning tool.

3) Gift Card (3 Months)

Most people think that Audible is only for audiobooks, but that's just the beginning. Of course, they have an unparalleled catalog of audiobooks, but they also have a ton of podcasts, single-episode topic learning, and entire courses built into their programming that are available to members to download at any time.

Audible's primary learning tool available is called "The Great Courses," and they are truly incredible. There aren't words for how much my family and I love Audible (as members for well over a decade, we own more than 1100 titles!). My favorite course for students (which are fully able to be cited for college papers ) is "Particle Physics for Non-Physicists" by Steven Pollack. The title sounds dry and boring, but the course is anything but. I only wish I had it when I was trying to slog through undergraduate cosmology, trying to wrap my English major brain around abstract mathematical and scientific concepts. They also have content that is only available on Audible, like "Medieval Myths and Mysteries" and "The Skeptics Guide to Investing," among others.

Audible's courses feel a bit like Masterclass courses, but they tend to be far more in-depth, and instead of being approached by famous names that most of us are familiar with, they tend to be more academically curated, which brings a bit more gravitas to the learning on many of the subjects. Audible has one of the broadest catalogs, with nary a subject going unexplored. It's done in Audible's signature highly-produced style with extremely good-quality audio and reliable performance. Last but not least, their app is so easy to use and navigate, allowing you to take notes, record bits to save for later, and share what you find insightful.

4) Membership

SkillShare combines lectures and instruction with project-based learning and student-teacher interaction, putting it in a whole league of its own. They have tens of thousands of courses available on just about every subject. Whether you're looking for how to coordinate your closet after graduation or you want to learn how to edit videos on your laptop. They have a multitude of courses in just about every subject you could dream of.

I love that SkillShare doesn't rely on novice learners to power its base. Instead, it opts for multiple levels of courses on any given subject so that there's a real opportunity to grow and improve. Where Masterclass is built like a liberal arts education, SkillShare is a more specific trade school with tons of great info on each choice.

SkillShare has a few really fun capabilities that make it stand out from the crowd of online learning platforms. One of them is the ability to "schedule" learning for a specific time. I find that having a schedule for these things really increases my accountability and keeps me coming back to do what I commit to.

As someone who is profoundly Deaf, one of my favorite things about SkillShare is their transcript function. Each of their videos has a transcript available so that if you like to read while you listen, or, like me, sometimes you just want to not worry about keeping up with captions while trying to take notes, this is an impressive and helpful feature.

There's also a space on the platform to post questions to the teacher and interact with other students, share projects and concerns, and generally converse with one another.

Unfortunately, like Udemy, SkillShare has the issue of a lack of continuity of product quality from class to class. While most are fairly great, some of the classes would benefit from more editing or perhaps more time spent creating them.

5) Khan Academy

The Khan Academy

If you're a parent, chances are you've heard of Khan Academy. It's an online course program designed to assist learning from the classroom space. However, that's not all it is. This free, not-for-profit site also offers a variety of courses for adults, like those designed for studying for the LSAT test and the MCAT tests.

As someone who struggled with maths all through primary and secondary school, I wish I'd had Khan Academy to help me out of the tricky binds I found myself in. The platform is so user-friendly that my kids had no problem using it with virtually no instruction at all. And let me tell you, this online learning tool saved my youngest's bacon during the pandemic when she was struggling to learn many of the math concepts during remote learning.

They don't just have lectures on maths, science, history, ELA, and more. They also have online coursework available that helps you or your student in real-time with real-time corrections. You'll work the problem out on the "board," and it will help you figure out the concepts and where you're going wrong. Looking to learn how to make a paragraph better? It guides you through step-by-step.

And once you're no longer in need of calculus help (you first have a celebration) and then you can go on to learn with their partner programs about things like Ancient Art and American History. It's part tutor/part class/part confidence booster.

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CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python

Learn to use machine learning in Python in this introductory course on artificial intelligence.

Associated Schools

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

What you'll learn.

Graph search algorithms

Reinforcement learning

Machine learning

Artificial intelligence principles

How to design intelligent systems

How to use AI in Python programs

Course description

AI is transforming how we live, work, and play. By enabling new technologies like self-driving cars and recommendation systems or improving old ones like medical diagnostics and search engines, the demand for expertise in AI and machine learning is growing rapidly. This course will enable you to take the first step toward solving important real-world problems and future-proofing your career.

CS50’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python explores the concepts and algorithms at the foundation of modern artificial intelligence, diving into the ideas that give rise to technologies like game-playing engines, handwriting recognition, and machine translation. Through hands-on projects, students gain exposure to the theory behind graph search algorithms, classification, optimization, reinforcement learning, and other topics in artificial intelligence and machine learning as they incorporate them into their own Python programs. By course’s end, students emerge with experience in libraries for machine learning as well as knowledge of artificial intelligence principles that enable them to design intelligent systems of their own.

Enroll now to gain expertise in one of the fastest-growing domains of computer science from the creators of one of the most popular computer science courses ever, CS50. You’ll learn the theoretical frameworks that enable these new technologies while gaining practical experience in how to apply these powerful techniques in your work.

Instructors

David J. Malan

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When Did Everything Become a ‘Journey’?

Changing our hair, getting divorced, taking spa vacations — they’re not just things we do; they’re “journeys.” The quest for better health is the greatest journey of all.

By Lisa Miller

Drew Barrymore has been talking with Gayle King about her perimenopause “journey ,” and the soccer phenom Carli Lloyd has just divulged her fertility “journey .” By sharing her breast cancer story, Olivia Munn has said she hopes she will “help others find comfort, inspiration, and support on their own journey.” A recent interview with Anne Hathaway has been posted on Instagram with a headline highlighting her “ sobriety journey ,” and Kelly Clarkson has opened up about what Women’s Health calls her “ weight loss journey .” On TikTok, a zillion influencer-guides lead pilgrims on journeys through such ephemeral realms as faith, healing, grief, friendship, mastectomy, and therapy — often selling courses, supplements or eating plans as if they were talismans to help safeguard their path.

Listen to this article with reporter commentary

“Journey” has decisively taken its place in American speech. The word holds an upbeat utility these days, signaling struggle without darkness or detail, and expressing — in the broadest possible way — an individual’s experience of travails over time.

It’s often related to physical or mental health, but it can really be about anything: “Putting on your socks can be a journey of self-discovery,” said Beth Patton, who lives in Central Indiana and has relapsing polychondritis, an inflammatory disorder. In the chronic disease community, she said, “journey” is a debated word. “It’s a way to romanticize ordinary or unpleasant experiences, like, ‘Oh, this is something special and magical.’” Not everyone appreciates this, she said.

According to the linguistics professor Jesse Egbert at Northern Arizona University, the use of “journey” (the noun) has nearly doubled in American English since 1990, with the most frequent instances occurring online. Mining a new database of conversational American English he and colleagues are building, Egbert could show exactly how colloquial “journey” has become: One woman in Pennsylvania described her “journey to become a morning person,” while another, in Massachusetts, said she was “on a journey of trying to like fish.”

Egbert was able to further demonstrate how the word itself has undergone a transformative journey — what linguists call “semantic drift.” It wasn’t so long ago that Americans mostly used “journey” to mean a literal trip, whereas now it’s more popular as a metaphor. Egbert demonstrated this by searching the more than one billion words in a database called COCA for the nouns people put before “journey” to clarify what sort they’re on. Between 1990 and 2005, the most common modifier was “return,” followed by words like “ocean,” “train,” “mile,” “night,” “overland,” and “bus.”

But between 2006 and 2019, usage shifted. “Return” remains the most common noun modifier to journey, but now it’s followed closely by “faith,” “cancer,” and “life.” Among the top 25 nouns used to modify “journey” today are: “soul,” “adoption,” and “hair.”

In almost every language, “journey” has become a way to talk abstractly about outcomes, for good reason: According to what linguists call the “primary metaphor theory,” humans learn as babies crawling toward their toys that “‘purpose’ and ‘destination’ coincide,” said Elena Semino, a linguist at Lancaster University who specializes in metaphor. As we become able to accomplish our goals while sitting still (standardized tests! working from home!), ambition and travel diverge. Yet we continue to envision achievement as a matter of forward progress. This is why we say, “‘I know what I want, but I don’t know how to get there,’” Semino explained. “Or ‘I’m at a crossroads.’”

So it’s not surprising, perhaps, that as Americans started seeing good health as a desirable goal, achievable through their own actions and choices — and marketers encouraged these pursuits and commodified them — the words “journey” and “health” became inextricably linked. In 1898, C.W. Post wrote a pamphlet he called “The Road to Wellville,” which he attached to each box of his new product, Grape-Nuts. In 1926, the Postum Cereal Company republished the pamphlet as a small book , now with the subtitle, “A Personally Conducted Journey to the Land of Good Health by the Route of Right Living.”

The language (and business) of self-help so completely saturates culture, “it gets kind of hard to trace where a word started and where it came from,” said Jessica Lamb-Shapiro, author of “Promise Land: My Journey Through America’s Self-Help Culture.” Americans like to put an optimistic, brave spin on suffering, and “journey” seeped in because, Lamb-Shapiro speculated, it’s bland enough to “tackle really difficult things,” yet positive enough to “make them palatable and tolerable.”

“Journey” had fully entered medical speak by the 2010s. Many cancer patients recoiled from the “battle” language traditionally used by doctors, as well as by friends and relatives. In “Illness as Metaphor,” Susan Sontag had noted back in 1978 that “every physician and every attentive patient is familiar with, if perhaps inured to, this military terminology.” But now, opposition to the notion of disease as an enemy combatant reached a crescendo. To reflexively call an experience of cancer a battle created “winners” and “losers,” where death or long suffering represented a failure — of will, strength, determination, diet, behavior, or outlook — on the part of the patient.

Many patients “detest” the military metaphor, Robert Miller conceded in Oncology Times in 2010. Knowing this, Miller, then a breast cancer oncologist affiliated with Johns Hopkins, said he struggled to find the right words in composing a condolence note to a patient’s spouse. “I welcome suggestions,” he wrote.

“Journey” seemed less judgmental, more neutral. In Britain, the National Health Service had started to almost exclusively use “journey” language in reference to cancer (treatments were “pathways”). Semino, the metaphor expert whose father had died of cancer at a time when patients’ diagnoses were hidden from them, wanted to examine how patients talked about it — and whether that language caused them harm. In a research paper Semino published with colleagues in 2015, she looked at how patients talked about their cancer on forums online and found that they still used “battle” as often as they did “journey,” and that “journey” could be disempowering, as well.

For some people, talking about cancer as a “journey” gave them a sense of control and camaraderie — buddies traveling the same path — but others used the term to convey their exhaustion. Having cancer “is like trying to drive a coach and horses uphill with no back wheels on the coach,” one man wrote. Patients used “journey” to describe just how passive they felt or how reluctant to bear the burden of their disease. Separately, patients have told Semino how much they hate the word “journey,” saying it trivializes their experience, that it’s clichéd.

But it was too late: The metaphor already was everywhere. In 2014, Anna Wintour was asked which word she would like to banish from the fashion lexicon and she said, “journey.” The following year, Yolanda Foster, the mother of Gigi and Bella Hadid, told People magazine that while she was on her Lyme disease journey, two of her children were afflicted, too. Medical journals and government publications began describing insomnia , the effort to achieve health-care reform , diabetes , and the development of RSV vaccines as a journey. The term “healing journey,” in use since at least the mid-2010s, blew up around 2021. The phrase in news media referenced the experience of cancer , celebrity weight loss , trafficking of Indigenous children , Sean Combs’s creative process , spa vacations , amputation , and better sex .

On the Reddit channel Chronic Illness, one poster eloquently fumed that persistent sickness is not a journey. “It’s endless, pointless and repetitive. There’s no new ground to gain here.” The cultural insistence on illness as a journey, from which a traveler can learn useful, or even life-changing lessons, becomes something to “disassociate from, survive, endure.” It “causes social isolation.”

Although she concedes its downsides, Stephanie Swanson likes to think of herself as on a journey. Swanson, who is 37 and lives in Kansas City, was an engineer by training, with three young children, a career and a sideline as an aerialist, when she got long Covid in the summer of 2022. The things that had made her successful — her physical stamina, her ability to solve problems — evaporated. “I’ve had to give up my career, my hobbies, my physical abilities,” she said. “I’ve gained 30 pounds on my tiny dancer body. I’m doing the best I can with what I have.”

Swanson makes a distinction between “journey” and “trip”: The latter is circumscribed by a start, an end, and hotel and restaurant reservations along the way. She sees “journey” as a way to capture the arc of a whole life.

When she was running operations at a medical center at the University of Kansas, she always imagined slowing down to enjoy her kids more or to read a book, but “I felt like my head was going to explode.” Now Swanson has become a person who must rent a wheelchair for her upcoming trip to New York City, and she likes how “journey” accommodates all the challenging, unexpected circumstances she confronts. “To me, the word ‘journey’ resonates with choosing to be on a path of acceptance but not standing still,” she said. “I’m not giving up, but recognizing that this is the path I’m on.”

Ramani Durvasula uses “journey” advisedly. A clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who treats women in emotionally abusive relationships, she recognizes how “journey” has been “eye-rollingly cheapened” and has started to experiment with alternatives. She’s tried “process.” She’s tried “healing trajectory.” But she falls back on journey, because it, more than any other word, expresses the step-by-step, sometimes circular or backward nature of enduring something hard. “Arguably, a journey doesn’t have a destination,” she said. “Have you ever taken a hike in a loop? And you end up exactly where you parked your car?”

But Durvasula does object to the easy-breezy healing so many journey hashtags promote, what she calls the “post-sobriety, post-weight-loss, now-I’m-in-love-again-after-my-toxic-relationship” reels. Too many TikToks show the crying in the car then the cute party dress, skipping over the middle, when people feel ugly, angry, self-loathing, and hopeless. “I want to see the hell,” she said. “I want to see the nightmare.”

When in 2020 a Swedish linguist named Charlotte Hommerberg studied how advanced cancer patients describe their experience, she found they used “battle” and “journey,” like everyone else. But most also used a third metaphor that conveyed not progress, fight or hope. They said cancer was like “imprisonment,” a feeling of being stuck — like a “free bird in a cage,” one person wrote. Powerless and going nowhere.

Read by Lisa Miller

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

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AI Is Everybody’s Business

This briefing presents three principles to guide business leaders when making AI investments: invest in practices that build capabilities required for AI, involve all your people in your AI journey, and focus on realizing value from your AI projects. The principles are supported by the MIT CISR data monetization research, and the briefing illustrates them using examples from the Australia Taxation Office and CarMax. The three principles apply to any kind of AI, defined as technology that performs human-like cognitive tasks; subsequent briefings will present management advice distinct to machine learning and generative tools, respectively.

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Any visitor to the website can read many MIT CISR Research Briefings in the webpage. But site users who have signed up on the site and are logged in can download all available briefings, plus get access to additional content. Even more content is available to members of MIT CISR member organizations .

Author Barb Wixom reads this research briefing as part of our audio edition of the series. Follow the series on SoundCloud.

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT

Today, everybody across the organization is hungry to know more about AI. What is it good for? Should I trust it? Will it take my job? Business leaders are investing in massive training programs, partnering with promising vendors and consultants, and collaborating with peers to identify ways to benefit from AI and avoid the risk of AI missteps. They are trying to understand how to manage AI responsibly and at scale.

Our book Data Is Everybody’s Business: The Fundamentals of Data Monetization describes how organizations make money using their data.[foot]Barbara H. Wixom, Cynthia M. Beath, and Leslie Owens, Data Is Everybody's Business: The Fundamentals of Data Monetization , (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2023), https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048217/data-is-everybodys-business/ .[/foot] We wrote the book to clarify what data monetization is (the conversion of data into financial returns) and how to do it (by using data to improve work, wrap products and experiences, and sell informational solutions). AI technology’s role in this is to help data monetization project teams use data in ways that humans cannot, usually because of big complexity or scope or required speed. In our data monetization research, we have regularly seen leaders use AI effectively to realize extraordinary business goals. In this briefing, we explain how such leaders achieve big AI wins and maximize financial returns.

Using AI in Data Monetization

AI refers to the ability of machines to perform human-like cognitive tasks.[foot]See Hind Benbya, Thomas H. Davenport, and Stella Pachidi, “Special Issue Editorial: Artificial Intelligence in Organizations: Current State and Future Opportunities , ” MIS Quarterly Executive 19, no. 4 (December 2020), https://aisel.aisnet.org/misqe/vol19/iss4/4 .[/foot] Since 2019, MIT CISR researchers have been studying deployed data monetization initiatives that rely on machine learning and predictive algorithms, commonly referred to as predictive AI.[foot]This research draws on a Q1 to Q2 2019 asynchronous discussion about AI-related challenges with fifty-three data executives from the MIT CISR Data Research Advisory Board; more than one hundred structured interviews with AI professionals regarding fifty-two AI projects from Q3 2019 to Q2 2020; and ten AI project narratives published by MIT CISR between 2020 and 2023.[/foot] Such initiatives use large data repositories to recognize patterns across time, draw inferences, and predict outcomes and future trends. For example, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) used machine learning, neural nets, and decision trees to understand citizen tax-filing behaviors and produce respectful nudges that helped citizens abide by Australia’s work-related expense policies. In 2018, the nudging resulted in AUD$113 million in changed claim amounts.[foot]I. A. Someh, B. H. Wixom, and R. W. Gregory, “The Australian Taxation Office: Creating Value with Advanced Analytics,” MIT CISR Working Paper No. 447, November 2020, https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/MIT_CISRwp447_ATOAdvancedAnalytics_SomehWixomGregory .[/foot]

In 2023, we began exploring data monetization initiatives that rely on generative AI.[foot]This research draws on two asynchronous generative AI discussions (Q3 2023, N=35; Q1 2024, N=34) regarding investments and capabilities and roles and skills, respectively, with data executives from the MIT CISR Data Research Advisory Board. It also draws on in-progress case studies with large organizations in the publishing, building materials, and equipment manufacturing industries.[/foot] This type of AI analyzes vast amounts of text or image data to discern patterns in them. Using these patterns, generative AI can create new text, software code, images, or videos, usually in response to user prompts. Organizations are now beginning to openly discuss data monetization initiative deployments that include generative AI technologies. For example, used vehicle retailer CarMax reported using OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to help aggregate customer reviews and other car information from multiple data sets to create helpful, easy-to-read summaries about individual used cars for its online shoppers. At any point in time, CarMax has on average 50,000 cars on its website, so to produce such content without AI the company would require hundreds of content writers and years of time; using ChatGPT, the company’s content team can generate summaries in hours.[foot]Paula Rooney, “CarMax drives business value with GPT-3.5,” CIO , May 5, 2023, https://www.cio.com/article/475487/carmax-drives-business-value-with-gpt-3-5.html ; Hayete Gallot and Shamim Mohammad, “Taking the car-buying experience to the max with AI,” January 2, 2024, in Pivotal with Hayete Gallot, produced by Larj Media, podcast, MP3 audio, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/taking-the-car-buying-experience-to-the-max-with-ai/id1667013760?i=1000640365455 .[/foot]

Big advancements in machine learning, generative tools, and other AI technologies inspire big investments when leaders believe the technologies can help satisfy pent-up demand for solutions that previously seemed out of reach. However, there is a lot to learn about novel technologies before we can properly manage them. In this year’s MIT CISR research, we are studying predictive and generative AI from several angles. This briefing is the first in a series; in future briefings we will present management advice specific to machine learning and generative tools. For now, we present three principles supported by our data monetization research to guide business leaders when making AI investments of any kind: invest in practices that build capabilities required for AI, involve all your people in your AI journey, and focus on realizing value from your AI projects.

Principle 1: Invest in Practices That Build Capabilities Required for AI

Succeeding with AI depends on having deep data science skills that help teams successfully build and validate effective models. In fact, organizations need deep data science skills even when the models they are using are embedded in tools and partner solutions, including to evaluate their risks; only then can their teams make informed decisions about how to incorporate AI effectively into work practices. We worry that some leaders view buying AI products from providers as an opportunity to use AI without deep data science skills; we do not advise this.

But deep data science skills are not enough. Leaders often hire new talent and offer AI literacy training without making adequate investments in building complementary skills that are just as important. Our research shows that an organization’s progress in AI is dependent on having not only an advanced data science capability, but on having equally advanced capabilities in data management, data platform, acceptable data use, and customer understanding.[foot]In the June 2022 MIT CISR research briefing, we described why and how organizations build the five advanced data monetization capabilities for AI. See B. H. Wixom, I. A. Someh, and C. M. Beath, “Building Advanced Data Monetization Capabilities for the AI-Powered Organization,” MIT CISR Research Briefing, Vol. XXII, No. 6, June 2022, https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/2022_0601_AdvancedAICapabilities_WixomSomehBeath .[/foot] Think about it. Without the ability to curate data (an advanced data management capability), teams cannot effectively incorporate a diverse set of features into their models. Without the ability to oversee the legality and ethics of partners’ data use (an advanced acceptable data use capability), teams cannot responsibly deploy AI solutions into production.

It’s no surprise that ATO’s AI journey evolved in conjunction with the organization’s Smarter Data Program, which ATO established to build world-class data analytics capabilities, and that CarMax emphasizes that its governance, talent, and other data investments have been core to its generative AI progress.

Capabilities come mainly from learning by doing, so they are shaped by new practices in the form of training programs, policies, processes, or tools. As organizations undertake more and more sophisticated practices, their capabilities get more robust. Do invest in AI training—but also invest in practices that will boost the organization’s ability to manage data (such as adopting a data cataloging tool), make data accessible cost effectively (such as adopting cloud policies), improve data governance (such as establishing an ethical oversight committee), and solidify your customer understanding (such as mapping customer journeys). In particular, adopt policies and processes that will improve your data governance, so that data is only used in AI initiatives in ways that are consonant with your organization's values and its regulatory environment.

Principle 2: Involve All Your People in Your AI Journey

Data monetization initiatives require a variety of stakeholders—people doing the work, developing products, and offering solutions—to inform project requirements and to ensure the adoption and confident use of new data tools and behaviors.[foot]Ida Someh, Barbara Wixom, Michael Davern, and Graeme Shanks, “Configuring Relationships between Analytics and Business Domain Groups for Knowledge Integration, ” Journal of the Association for Information Systems 24, no. 2 (2023): 592-618, https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/configuring-relationships-between-analytics-and-business-domain-groups-knowledge .[/foot] With AI, involving a variety of stakeholders in initiatives helps non-data scientists become knowledgeable about what AI can and cannot do, how long it takes to deliver certain kinds of functionality, and what AI solutions cost. This, in turn, helps organizations in building trustworthy models, an important AI capability we call AI explanation (AIX).[foot]Ida Someh, Barbara H. Wixom, Cynthia M. Beath, and Angela Zutavern, “Building an Artificial Intelligence Explanation Capability,” MIS Quarterly Executive 21, no. 2 (2022), https://cisr.mit.edu/publication/building-artificial-intelligence-explanation-capability .[/foot]

For example, at ATO, data scientists educated business colleagues on the mechanics and results of models they created. Business colleagues provided feedback on the logic used in the models and helped to fine-tune them, and this interaction helped everyone understand how the AI made decisions. The data scientists provided their model results to ATO auditors, who also served as a feedback loop to the data scientists for improving the model. The data scientists regularly reported on initiative progress to senior management, regulators, and other stakeholders, which ensured that the AI team was proactively creating positive benefits without neglecting negative external factors that might surface.

Given the consumerization of generative AI tools, we believe that pervasive worker involvement in ideating, building, refining, using, and testing AI models and tools will become even more crucial to deploying fruitful AI projects—and building trust that AI will do the right thing in the right way at the right time.

Principle 3: Focus on Realizing Value From Your AI Projects

AI is costly—just add up your organization’s expenses in tools, talent, and training. AI needs to pay off, yet some organizations become distracted with endless experimentation. Others get caught up in finding the sweet spot of the technology, ignoring the sweet spot of their business model. For example, it is easy to become enamored of using generative AI to improve worker productivity, rolling out tools for employees to write better emails and capture what happened in meetings. But unless those activities materially impact how your organization makes money, there likely are better ways to spend your time and money.

Leaders with data monetization experience will make sure their AI projects realize value in the form of increased revenues or reduced expenses by backing initiatives that are clearly aligned with real challenges and opportunities. That is step one. In our research, the leaders that realize value from their data monetization initiatives measure and track their outcomes, especially their financial outcomes, and they hold someone accountable for achieving the desired financial returns. At CarMax, a cross-functional team owned the mission to provide better website information for used car shoppers, a mission important to the company’s sales goals. Starting with sales goals in mind, the team experimented with and then chose a generative AI solution that would enhance the shopper experience and increase sales.

Figure 1: Three Principles for Getting Value from AI Investments

The three principles are based on the following concepts from MIT CISR data research: 1. Data liquidity: the ease of data asset recombination and reuse 2. Data democracy: an organization that empowers employees in the access and use of data 3. Data monetization: the generation of financial returns from data assets

Managing AI Using a Data Monetization Mindset

AI has and always will play a big role in data monetization. It’s not a matter of whether to incorporate AI, but a matter of how to best use it. To figure this out, quantify the outcomes of some of your organization’s recent AI projects. How much money has the organization realized from them? If the answer disappoints, then make sure the AI technology value proposition is a fit for your organization’s most important goals. Then assign accountability for ensuring that AI technology is applied in use cases that impact your income statements. If the AI technology is not a fit for your organization, then don’t be distracted by media reports of the AI du jour.

Understanding your AI technology investments can be hard if your organization is using AI tools that are bundled in software you purchase or are built for you by a consultant. To set yourself up for success, ask your partners to be transparent with you about the quality of data they used to train their AI models and the data practices they relied on. Do their answers persuade you that their tools are trustworthy? Is it obvious that your partner is using data compliantly and is safeguarding the model from producing bad or undesired outcomes? If so, make sure this good news is shared with the people in your organization and those your organization serves. If not, rethink whether to break with your partner and find another way to incorporate the AI technology into your organization, such as by hiring people to build it in-house.

To paraphrase our book’s conclusion: When people actively engage in data monetization initiatives using AI , they learn, and they help their organization learn. Their engagement creates momentum that initiates a virtuous cycle in which people’s engagement leads to better data and more bottom-line value, which in turn leads to new ideas and more engagement, which further improves data and delivers more value, and so on. Imagine this happening across your organization as all people everywhere make it their business to find ways to use AI to monetize data.

This is why AI, like data, is everybody’s business.

© 2024 MIT Center for Information Systems Research, Wixom and Beath. MIT CISR Research Briefings are published monthly to update the center’s member organizations on current research projects.

Related Publications

Talking Points

Ai, like data, is everybody's business.

Working Paper: Vignette

The australian taxation office: creating value with advanced analytics.

Research Briefing

Building advanced data monetization capabilities for the ai-powered organization.

Building AI Explanation Capability for the AI-Powered Organization

What is Data Monetization?

About the researchers.

Barbara H. Wixom, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)

Cynthia M. Beath, Professor Emerita, University of Texas and Academic Research Fellow, MIT CISR

Mit center for information systems research (cisr).

Founded in 1974 and grounded in MIT's tradition of combining academic knowledge and practical purpose, MIT CISR helps executives meet the challenge of leading increasingly digital and data-driven organizations. We work directly with digital leaders, executives, and boards to develop our insights. Our consortium forms a global community that comprises more than seventy-five organizations.

MIT CISR Associate Members

MIT CISR wishes to thank all of our associate members for their support and contributions.

MIT CISR's Mission Expand

MIT CISR helps executives meet the challenge of leading increasingly digital and data-driven organizations. We provide insights on how organizations effectively realize value from approaches such as digital business transformation, data monetization, business ecosystems, and the digital workplace. Founded in 1974 and grounded in MIT’s tradition of combining academic knowledge and practical purpose, we work directly with digital leaders, executives, and boards to develop our insights. Our consortium forms a global community that comprises more than seventy-five organizations.