View this webinar to discover:

• First-hand insights from James Addis & Jessica Burch of TSYS
• Field-proven best practices from Sebastian Apelt of Above + Beyond
• In-depth answers to key innovation and continuous improvement questions from the panel of speakers

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WEBINAR

Contact us learn more about Project WOW and request a free demo today!

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Hiring the right talent doesn’t happen by accident. That’s why we are thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Headway Group, an executive search and recruitment research firm, to offer enhanced hiring and recruitment services to our existing and future client bases.

Based in Toronto and serving clients from emerging and developing companies, Headway Group navigates the complexities of talent recruitment by helping organizations hire people with the right combination of experience, skills, and competencies for critical leadership, management, technical, and/or specialist roles.

With over 20 years of recruitment experience, Tracy Posner and Catherine Graham founded Headway Group with the intention of providing flexibility and transparency in executive search and recruitment services, qualities that are often lacking in large-scale recruitment firms. They customize the talent acquisition process to fit the specific needs of their clients, whether it be developing a search strategy, building a target list, identifying candidates, reaching out to prospects, and facilitating the interview, referencing, and negotiation process of new hires.

Leveraging Above + Beyond’s Leadership DNA™ methodology, Headway Group clients will gain even stronger results and laser-focused data to make the right hiring decisions.

Leadership DNA™, a cutting-edge Talent Assessment and Data Analysis process, is used to develop a customized success profile for key roles across an organization.  Built on 30+ years of benchmarked, global performance data, this assessment methodology is highly predictive and robust, providing organizations with the objective data and benchmark comparisons they need to make informed talent identification and recruitment decisions.

“No matter anyone’s experience or capabilities, there is always an existing bias in the recruitment process,” said Tracy Posner, co-founder of Headway Group. “By leveraging this DNA methodology, we are able to remove the bias for our clients and dig into the data, which will provide them with highly targeted and specific knowledge. All of this adds another element of confidence that they are making the right hiring decision with their prospects.”

What makes A+B and Headway a perfect fit is our collective focus: people – specifically, the ability to bring out the best in them. By leveraging our expert knowledge, experience, training, and technologies, we are able to assess, identify, attract, and develop the best candidates in a way that benefits the reputation of our clients and the legitimacy of our services.

Join Us for a Conversation on Industry Insights & Talent Analytics

On April 16th, 2019, we are hosting an event in Toronto for clients interested in adding data and talent analytics to their recruitment strategy. Gain exclusive insights into the world of talent management and recruitment, and find out how the new partnership between A+B and Headway can help innovate your approach to talent acquisition. Attending the event will grant you a FREE assessment and debrief, courtesy of Above + Beyond. For more information on our services, or if you’re interested in attending the event, contact us today.

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About Headway Group

Headway group is an executive search and recruitment research firm. They navigate the complexities of the talent attraction process to help organizations hire people with a unique and often rare combination of experience, skills, and competencies for critical leadership, management, technical, or specialist roles.

Whether you’re looking to engage an external company for the full recruitment cycle, or are looking for an extra set of hands to support your existing recruitment team, Headway provides organizations with the edge they need to attract and retain the right candidates.

About Above + Beyond

Above + Beyond is a Toronto-Based Management Consulting firm focused on the transformation of individual and organizations globally.  We specialize in team-building, leadership development, organizational change efforts, strategic planning, and partnering processes for fortune 500 companies, small to medium-sized businesses, governmental organizations and non-profits.

Our approach to consulting, classroom training, and use of data analytics for talent management helps our clients nurture a Dynamic Culture, Great Leadership and Engaged Employees. The result- exceptional differentiation designed to build customer loyalty and drive sustainable growth.

How Citizen Science and Gamification Can Unlock Human Potential

Fundamentally, citizen science addresses two core concerns that many companies face when approaching innovation. Managers want to gain ideas from engaged, forward-thinking staff who are not boxed into a restrictive corporate mindset. They also want to glean potentially groundbreaking ideas from external thinkers, but don’t want to open their innovation workshops to unreliable or mavericks whose ideas could prove disastrous. A well-regulated citizen science initiative can help to both engage internal and external staff, as well as refine external ideation efficiently.

An example of citizen science unlocking human potential is epitomized by the Earthwatch Institute. This organization engages external researchers by ‘demystifying’ the scientific process, making it accessible (thus eliminating the chance of receiving unreliable feedback), and then incentivizing citizen scientists worldwide to tackle the environmental challenges most relevant to them. In 2015, citizen scientists associated with Earthwatch gathered crucial data that assisted the Canadian parks department in applying more effective forest fire treatments – thus protecting native grasslands and wildlife populations. By making scientific methods less obscure and distant (siloed off) from the general population, Earthwatch thus secured the data that drove significant change.

Citizen science is also proving effective for innovation in the medical sector. Zooniverse – the world’s largest people-powered research hub – presents a prime example of this. Currently, the company has more than 1.5 million registered citizen scientists from around the world. Thanks to these contributors, researchers from various organizations have made important new discoveries and published numerous research papers.

Zooniverse’ Worm Watch Lab project, launched in 2013, demonstrates how citizen science can rapidly yield major results that would take excessive amounts of time within a traditional (or purely internal) research paradigm. Essentially, the project entails citizen scientists observing online videos of worms in a laboratory and hitting a key on the computer whenever they observe a worm laying an egg. The research gleaned from this provides greater insight into the workings of the human brain, as well as how genes effect behavior.

The Zooniverse Worm Watch Lab project engages citizen scientists by adding a gamification component. Gamification can prove to be a powerful strategy for garnering greater participation in innovation and research projects.

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A major reason for the success behind the Worms Watch project is that it adds a gamification component to citizen science. As the name suggests, gamification is the process of adding game-play elements to non-game scenarios. In the case of Worms Watch, the citizen scientist is engaged with a particular challenge (to click the right key whenever a worm lays an egg), an approach that Zooniverse staff identified as being “strangely addictive”.

So how can corporations, government departments, and research organizations use gamification to unlock human potential – that is, without expending excessive time and resources? The most efficient way is to implement open innovation management software that offers built-in gamification capabilities. For example, Qmarkets’ products include flexible gamification functionality, which incentivizes participants to contribute their ideas in exchange for rewards. These rewards can range from online points to tangible prizes for the best ideas submitted.

Addressing Fundamental Needs – The Power of Open Innovation

Today, leading global companies use open innovation methods to gather input from different groups of people. Open innovation can be used to crowd-source trending ideas, as well as keep up to date with incremental product innovations. Often, companies with an open innovation focus do not leverage gamification the way open science organizations do – that is, in a participatory democracy style, with direct, committed, meaningful input from volunteers motivated by gameplay elements.

Breaking down restrictions and opening research to non-professionals can prove invaluable for driving crucial data.

A good example of this is Nestle’s Henri project, which is driven by Qmarkets’ cutting-edge innovation management software. The project gives the public a chance to join various projects, without offering any monetary incentives and with subtle (yet effective) gamification elements.

Part of what makes the Henri project so effective is that it taps into the human need for recognition and prestige via creative pursuits (top-tier factors in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). Well-designed gamification can speak to such needs and substantially increase people’s motivation to join in large-scale projects, however large organizations are not currently employing gamification as effectively as the citizen science community.

How can Corporates Harness the Power of Citizen Science?

Although citizen science can present a host of challenges, it also offers the chance to reap major ROI by involving your staff and/or clients in meaningful, value-adding activities. Companies must also take into account confidentiality, security, and integration requirements when implementing citizen science to their open innovation strategy.

Implementing the citizen science methodology to your open innovation strategy is an excellent way to tap into the wisdom of the crowds. By spearheading projects that will allow regular people to get in touch with their inner-scientist and contribute data about the things that most matter to them, you can drive results and discover new ways to overcome strategic challenges. All you need are the resources, a clear focus, an innovation management platform to serve as your mission control, and gamified elements to incentivize contribution. With those elements in place, your citizen science project will be ready for blast off.

To learn how Qmarkets can help your organization harness the power of open innovation, click here for a free demonstration.

About Qmarkets

As an established leader on the idea and innovation management landscape, Qmarkets has developed a reputation over the last 10 years for delivering the most comprehensive crowdsourcing software solutions in the world. Recognized by leading analysts such as Gartner, Forrester, and Info-tech, Qmarkets offers unmatched technical and design flexibility to their extensive list of leading global clients; including Nestle, Ford, Lufthansa, Ab InBev, Phillip Morris International, UniCredit, and many more.

Qmarkets’ software offering extends beyond innovation management to include products focusing on process improvement, continuous improvement and operational excellence; open innovation with customers and business partners; technology scouting for enterprise M&A opportunities; and digital employee engagement.

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This article was written by Eran Tsur, VP Marketing at QMarkets.

We’ve partnered with Qmarkets to provide clients with a well-organized process that will allow for improved change management, targeted leadership, real-time employee engagement, and collective goal-sharing. Leveraging their suite of collective intelligence solutions, clients of our Project WOW program will be able to virtually tackle a variety of business challenges, including innovation management, process improvement, new product development, talent identification and incubation, and hackathons.

We’ve partnered with Qmarkets to provide clients with a well-organized process that will allow for improved change management, targeted leadership, real-time employee engagement, and collective goal-sharing. Leveraging their suite of collective intelligence solutions, clients of our Project WOW program will be able to virtually tackle a variety of business challenges, including innovation management, process improvement, new product development, talent identification and incubation, and hackathons.

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The acclaimed educational reformer John Dewey once said, “every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination”. Today, this audacity is reflected in the rising influence of citizen science – that is, the collaboration of volunteer non-scientists with professional scientists in collecting data and analyzing it to resolve real-world issues.

The citizen science movement is growing rapidly on a global scale, synergizing professionals from diverse scientific fields and volunteers from around the world. As the general public’s interest in science continues to increase, professional scientists and researchers develop innovative tools to effectively engage crowds.

In the current disruptive business landscape, where innovation is more important than ever, organizations need to look to alternative sources to gather ideas and solutions in order to remain successful. As such, businesses are beginning to recognize the potential citizen science has for supporting open innovation initiatives. After all, citizen science and open innovation methodologies share numerous similarities. Both have the potential to gather powerful insights and break the insular corporate mindset that often stifles growth.

Even large-scale corporations – including Coca-Cola, Nasa, and Google – are beginning to adopt the citizen science approach. Such companies have implemented online challenges that incentivise the general population to apply their scientific acumen (even if not formally attained) to develop innovative solutions and ideas. The result is a more open and democratized approach to knowledge gathering, informed by the scientific process and honed to address specific issues within a given timeframe.

Crowdsourcing company HeroX provides a platform for citizen science projects in conjunction with the Nasa Tournaments Lab. The platform makes it easier for individuals with no scientific background to contribute data to regularly updated NASA projects.

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This article will explore why major companies and scientific organizations are increasingly seeking the contributions of citizen scientists. We’ll cover why the citizen science approach is useful for breaking down restrictive corporate silos, saving money, and seeking out untapped reservoirs of genius. Throughout, we’ll touch on how open innovation management software – such as that offered by Qmarkets – can help leverage the collective intelligence of citizen scientists to drive business results.

But first, let’s take a brief look at how citizen science has developed over the years.

The Evolution of Citizen Science

Although some in the scientific community have raised concerns about the validity and/or applicability of crowdsourced discoveries, grassroots citizen science has been successfully practiced for over a century. In 1890, the American National Weather Service launched the Cooperative Observer Program – a still ongoing project that supports long-term climate studies by reporting national meteorological changes in real time, as recorded by volunteers.

“Businesses are beginning to recognize the potential citizen science has when it comes to gathering powerful insights and breaking the insular corporate mindset that often stifles innovation.”

Today, the digitalization of information has created many new opportunities not just for scientists. Companies, individuals, NGOs and other groups are now able to collaborate with the greater public, thanks to this revolutionary technology. Real-time technologies, artificial intelligence, and big data capabilities exponentiate the amount of information that can be collected for both short and long-term projects. The speed at which this information can be processed can also be dramatically increased via digitalization.

Citizen science and crowdsourcing are being increasingly recognized as invaluable tools for solving large-scale problems that transcend borders. The Crowdsourcing Week article A Thousand Eyes Are Better Than Two by  Shay Hershkovitz details how international naval and air force authorities have implemented crowd-based initiatives in their search for the missing MH 370 airliner. By harnessing the power of decentralized crowds (and recognizing where data science and human-based analysis intersect), searchers are able to gain a far broader set of data than would be possible by only employing dedicated professionals.

The potential of open source and citizen science has grown rapidly over the years, and now encompass major international initiatives- including the search for the missing MH370 airliner.

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As we will see, breaking down restrictions and opening research to non-professionals can prove invaluable for driving crucial data.

Click here to continue reading and discover how organizations can unlock human potential with the power of Citizen Science and Gamification.

Since this trend in HR is only increasing, we sat down with Andrew Levison, Founder and President of Above + Beyond, who gave us great insight into the world of Talent Analytics. A+B has developed a Leadership DNA™ Methodology that delivers critical insights about people in an organization: their preferences, their potential, what makes them more effective, and how they can contribute more to the success of their organization. It ultimately determines what makes people productive and willing to go the extra mile.

Q: What was the driving force behind your decision to use talent analytics to make decisions?

AL: We noticed that most companies rely on subjective criteria, gut instinct and a singular focus on performance to assess, identify and develop their people, but it can often prove costly and inefficient when the chosen person doesn’t fit the culture or possess the right talent.

In search of a solution, we met with OD professionals and experts in talent, and discovered that sport teams are best in class when it comes to talent management. What differentiates them from the rest is their use of data analytics to maximize the potential of their people. Similar to sport teams, we decided to utilize predictive talent analytics to assess, identify and develop employees.

Q: Tell us more about Leadership DNA. How do you use talent analytics at A+B?   

AL: The basis for developing DNA follows a big data normative assessment, one that has become an industry standard and a validated assessment tool. These assessments use science and advanced statistical methods to help with selection, training and development decisions, and are based off 35 years of ongoing research into the components that make people successful.

Through our assessments, we interpret data to create ideal success profiles of high potentials and performers, and then assess that against the current state of the client’s organization. We then help our clients customize their training and development based off those results in order to provide the best possible solution for individuals, teams, departments, and the organization at large.

Ultimately, our Leadership DNA™ methodology enables companies to choose staff strategically and multi-dimensionally, which reduces costs and increases efficiencies. With a data-based approach to talent management, organizations can consistently assess, identify and develop the right people with the right potential to catalyze strategy, culture and customer experience.

Q: Tell us some of the things you have uncovered by digging into the data – what trends were you able to observe. Was there anything surprising?

AL: Through our research, although ”successful” leaders have similar character traits, there is one critical trait that is the same across all industries and levels: Self-Management. This character trait, an indicator of person’s ability to thrive in challenging, competitive and unknowing environments, is the most reliable indicator of potential for success that we have found.

Another trait that has evolved, as organizations move from a more hierarchical to collaborative structure, is Independence. We’ve found that “Coach-like leaders”, who are oriented towards teamwork, are the ones that are being rated as high potentials and high performers.  

Further to this point, we know from our research that the vast majority of human beings are team-oriented and hard-wired to play on a team.  We see this globally. Historically, in the West, independence has been rewarded in the workplace. We know this because our data shows that the majority of senior leaders (mainly baby boomers) in mature organizations are independent.

However, our data is showing that trend to be changing, as successful leaders in today’s workforce are much more hard-wired to play on a team.  Collaborative technologies and matrixed workplaces are in part driving this. Demographics play a big role too, as Gen Y now comprises over 50% of our workforce. As more and more Gen X and Gen Y move into management positions, we see the successful ones are much more team-oriented compared to being independent.

Something less predictive that we are seeing is more and more senior leaders are showing lower levels of self-confidence and are not feeling 100% in control.  This could be because we live in a much more collaborative world, and working independently in silo’s no longer works.

Q: How do you know that talent analytics works? Do you have any Leadership DNA success stories you’d like to share?

AL: One of our clients, a large retail chain in North America, reduced leadership turnover from 70% to 30% in the first year of using our model. This equated to a $500,000 savings in hiring costs, and 1500 hours saved by managers in the screening and selection of employees.

One of their stores ran an independent case study by hiring half of their employees using our assessment and half without. Those hired with the assessment had 100% retention after 12 months, while only 30% of those without remained.

Another client, a leading logistics company, was able to identify high performers, high potentials and strong professionals at the VP level, which eliminated long-term reliance on expensive recruiting firms. We began by assisting the client in segmenting training dollars in order to redirect the majority of spend towards high performers and high potentials. As a result, training budgets were reduced by 27%. We also reduced job position risk by identifying a larger pool of potential candidates – 0 vacancies after 27 months. Lastly, our model reduced leadership turnover by 80%. Overall, the Leadership DNA process helped them maximize their budget for training and development by segmenting their population, directing their spend, and giving people the exact training they needed in order to realize their potential.  

We also helped a global payment company adjust their talent identification process, resulting in a new Performance Management process. The application of this major restructuring process reduced implementation time by 50% and increased accuracy in selection by 90%. Development Dollars were then relocated to specific groups, areas and regions within the company.

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The effectiveness of talent analytics can help organizations let go of old-school, institution-based decision making, and move towards a more precise, validated, and objective way to develop people in the workforce. If you are looking to improve the performance of your people, but the old ways of doing that are no longer working, then digging into the data is a great place to start.

Do you know who your top performers are? How much is it costing you when you make an uninformed decision? Contact us today to learn more about Leadership DNA and our talent development programs. 

Have you ever tried to lead people who didn’t want you to be there in the first place? That’s what happened to my friend, Peter Schutz. He was in Europe about the time that Porsche took a serious financial dip. Dr. Porsche met with Peter and offered him the job of president of his famous company. This good news for Peter was seen as bad news by the Porsche senior leadership team. “I can’t believe the new president of Porsche is an American!” was the prevailing attitude.

At Peter’s first “let’s get down to business” meeting, he felt this strong attitude of resistance. Peter had already proven himself as a leader, but this was different. Yet, he knew this sacred rule: “people do things for their reasons, not ours.” So he had a plan. Peter knew that Porsche had a history of pride in their automobiles, their company, and their people. And he knew that a great deal of that pride was expressed in the international racing world where Porsche had led the pack and taken the prize for years. But, as of late, the winner’s circle had eluded them. So Peter’s opening to his team was a question, “How do you think we’re going to do in the race this year?”

The only answer was silence, shuffling feet, and staring at shoes— not a word was spoken. He continued, “I’ll take that reply as not being very hopeful.” Then he asked the team a second question, “What do you think it would take for us to win?” The shoe staring and feet shuffling became even more dramatic. “Well, I’ll tell you what,” he said, “I want you to come to me by a week from today with answers to my question. Meeting adjourned.”

Peter knew he was taking a huge risk, and, though he looked perfectly calm on the outside, he told me his emotional richter scale was about nine on the inside. This was his first day on the job, and so far the team’s resentment of him seemed impenetrable.
 Nothing happened for three or four days, and Peter’s tension was getting higher. He was asking himself, “Will anyone come forward? Have I blown this great opportunity before I even get started?”

The next day, one person came in, his head still down, and told Peter that there was a prototype body of a racecar stored in one of the warehouses. That was a start. Then, someone else mentioned an experimental engine that was being tinkered with in R&D. A few other hints were dropped about possible auto parts that might make up a real racecar. The team even began talking to Peter, but with little emotion and even less commitment. The attitude was “Yeah, we can enter the race, and we might do okay, but that’s as far as we’re willing to promise.”

Want to venture a guess as to how this story ended? If you said they won, you’re correct! Porsche did win that all-important race. The next year, they won first and third, and the year after that, they won first, second and third. The pride was back, the morale improved, and profits rolled in. Peter was a hero; his risk had paid off.

This success story hinged on a leader’s courage to risk his job, his reputation, and his pride by putting it all on the line to let his followers know that he cared and that he meant business.
 Peter brought out the best in people by asking them to reinvent, recreate and restore a great brand to its former greatness. That was his job. That’s not only good business, it’s a noble cause. Leaders who risk and stretch themselves while giving others an opportunity to do the same will always find people who will follow them— not because they have to, but because they want to.

Choose to be a leader who helps people find the “nobility” in the work they do. It’s a worthy risk with a likely worthwhile return.

What leaders really want is a workforce filled with committed people— people who are ready and willing to go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to assure the company they work for is successful and growing. This translates into a solution of creating a company of high performing folks who are passionately focused on finding and keeping loyal customers. But too often, leaders are more part of the problem than part of the solution.

Leadership is the phenomenon of someone following someone else because they want to, not because they have to. As we all know, this is more rare than normal. A lot of people— 87%, according a recent Gallup poll— are basically complying and disengaged at work. They show up, they use minimal effort and energy with hardly a trace of passion. Nobody truly wants it this way.

Engage your organization in discovering opportunities for efficiency and innovation, right through to implementation, with Project WOW.

What this means is that it’s time for a transformation. And a transformation starts with a new mindset.

Try this one on for size: Leaders have two customers—

1) those who buy their products and services, and,

2) those who buy their call to work with commitment, creativity and passion.

Companies go to great lengths to influence the customers that buy their products and services. This happens because companies know they can’t control their customers. At best, they can only influence them. But what about the people who work for the company? Too often, people in leadership or power positions have an unconscious mindset that they control the people who work for them. This is an illusion. It has dire consequences. So here is what I suggest to such leaders: Take off your “boss hat” and put back on your “sales and marketing hat.” Approach the people who work for you as customers to whom you are selling work!

What leaders need to sell:  When researchers dig into workforce commitment, they often ask workers questions that are tied to this central issue: “What would it take to get your full commitment to your company? What would it take to motivate you to do whatever it takes to help the company reach its vision and accomplish its goals?”

Here’s what the research shows. Most people work first for money. It provides them with a sense of security, options and some degree of control. But people will work well beyond money for an organization that provides them with serious growth and development possibilities— not just specific work-related growth, but also life-related growth.

This kind of growth gives them a sense of true empowerment by helping them discover their true potential, find out who they really are, and the possibilities of who they could become. A recruiting and retaining slogan for this employee value proposition might be, “Come and work here where we’ll help you grow and prosper.” And that promise has to be delivered.

There’s one more important revelation from the research: People will work well beyond the above if they are given a meaningful purpose. They desperately want to know that they are making a difference and that their life and legacy are important. It pays to sell all three.

The lesson is clear. If the value proposition offered by organizational leaders includes all three commitment drivers— money, growth and purpose— employees would be getting what they really want. They, in turn, would be more willing to give their leaders what they want, which is the employees’ totally dedicated passion.

Leaders who help employees grow simply do a better job of retaining good people. People will follow leaders who provide them with the opportunity to grow and to become all they can be while learning how to make a difference in the world— not because they have to, but because they want to! So, go forth and sell added value to your “other” customers.

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Want to bring out the best in your people? Learn how to best support your teams by digging into their DNA. For more information on our Leadership DNA assessments, click here.

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Chances are, you’ve read and heard a lot about the dramatic changes underway in our workplaces, and may be wondering if, one morning, you’re going to wake up and find yourself in a whole new world. Maybe you anticipate a workplace filled with lifelike androids for co-workers and learning modules packed into pills you can consume with your morning smoothie. You may also wonder how much of the speculation around modern employees and the digital revolution to swallow whole, and how much to take with a grain of salt. Here are three common ideas about professional learning that we believe miss the mark.

MISCONCEPTION #1: DIGITAL LEARNING IS THE FUTURE; THE CLASSROOM IS BECOMING LESS AND LESS RELEVANT

When a quick scan of Google’s search results turns up a list of titles like 5 Reasons why Digital Learning is the Future of Education, it’s understandable that many learning professionals are rushing to convert their content to eLearning modules. The arguments in favour of eLearning generally focus on its convenience and scalability, sometimes pointing out its potential for interactivity through discussion forums and participant engagement through visuals, videos and gamification. While valid, such arguments miss two important points.

First, an obvious but often-overlooked reality is that not all learning objectives are equal: acquiring declarative, or factual, knowledge is very different from changing ingrained behaviours. For example, topics like programming languages or financial management lend themselves to self-paced digital training, while skills like empowering employees and managing teams require a more interactive approach.

Leadership, communication and collaboration are the skills cited as most important by executives surveyed by LinkedIn in 2018. Essential to professionals across all industries and most job roles, 92% of these executives see “soft skills” as more important than technical competencies, while 89% say it’s hard to find qualified people. As these are the very capabilities that most depend on practice, feedback and interaction to acquire, face-to-face methodologies such as one-on-one coaching and classroom sessions will continue to play a vital role.

Second, modern learners themselves consistently affirm the value of face-to-face training, despite being sophisticated consumers of online educational content. According to a 2016 survey of over 1000 workers across various industries in the UK, classroom training is preferred by 52.7%, over either eLearning (18%) or self-study (29.3%). In a separate study, 64% of learners cite classroom courses as essential or highly useful for learning what they need for their job.

However, research also shows that 88% of staff like to learn at their own pace, 43% feel that accessing learning content from their mobile devices is essential or very useful, and 59% of learners want online learning to be blended with other modalities such as face-to-face training or individual coaching. The natural conclusion is that the future of professional learning will be a blend, the mix determined by the method best suited for a particular learning outcome, as well as by the organization’s pragmatic considerations.

Reality: Face-to-face training will remain essential to the professional learning experience; it adds value that digital methods will enhance, but not replace, as learners themselves recognize.

MISCONCEPTION #2: GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON HOW PEOPLE LEARN

Generational differences in the workforce is a still a hot topic these days; the drivers, values and abilities of older and younger workers scrutinized, compared and fiercely debated. Learning professionals may justifiably worry about whether younger folks will resist learning in the classroom, and whether older employees will shy away from cutting-edge technology.

However, a growing body of evidence suggests that intergenerational disparities may be exaggerated. Workers of different ages are similarly motivated to do meaningful work and enjoy a high quality of life while achieving expertise in their fields.

Similarly, the empirical evidence suggests that learning preferences do not vary significantly by generation. According to one survey of 5,700 professional learners, 55.9% of Millennials find classroom learning of more value than either independent study or eLearning, and older people are just as likely to use digital methods as their younger peers to learn what they need for their jobs.

In fact, while 35% of 21 to 30-year-olds learn on their commute, 62% of those over 50 like to study on the go—perhaps through reading books, but also via podcasts, videos and smartphone apps.

While the similarity of preferences across generations is good news for those designing and implementing modern learning solutions, it is noteworthy that most learners are looking for innovative, blended approaches—not just the newer members of our workforces.

Reality: Professional learners across the generations have similar motivations, preferences and technological skills; observable differences are mainly due to life stage and external factors.

MISCONCEPTION #3: MODERN WORKERS HAVE SUPER-SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

The citation about people today having a shorter attention span than a goldfish has been shared widely and used to suggest that modern employees struggle to take in anything longer or more complex than a viral meme or a YouTube cat video. At first glance, it seems to justify cutting back on training; after all, why develop instructional content that no one is going to use?

The problem is, this data point has been widely misinterpreted! The meaning of the “shorter-than-a-goldfish” statistic is that content has only about 8 seconds to capture our interest before we move on; once we engage, we are perfectly capable of taking as deep a dive as our need and interest in the topic inspire us to.

In fact, the wealth of content found online exists to satisfy our nearly insatiable appetite for learning, both on the job and off. Personal and professional development have never been more in demand by employees: 94% would stay at a company longer if it offered opportunities for learning and development.

However, it is true that the flood of information competing for our attention has raised the bar for the quality of the learning experiences we offer. As business leaders and L&D professionals, there are high expectations for us to provide an array of options, including individual coaching and classroom time, along with innovative solutions such as games, videos, social media-based learning and more. Now, the question is, how are you offering engaging, accessible, multi-modal learning opportunities which impact the success of your organization?

Reality: Learners focus successfully when engaged by relevant, high-quality content; in fact, employees have never been more driven to learn and enhance their professional skills than they are today.

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Learn more about optimizing your learning solutions at Canadian Management Centre’s FREE webinar: https://cmcoutperform.com/Making-the-Quantum-Leap-Webinar.