{"id":765,"date":"2010-10-06T17:43:55","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T15:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/OEB_Newsportal\/?p=765"},"modified":"2016-11-24T18:59:47","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T16:59:47","slug":"compelling-evidence-for-business-change-%e2%80%93-a-study-into-the-impact-of-learning-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/compelling-evidence-for-business-change-%e2%80%93-a-study-into-the-impact-of-learning-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Compelling Evidence for Business Change \u2013 A Study into the Impact of Learning Technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Laura Overton<\/p><\/div>\n

Skills are moving up the business agenda – business leaders across Europe flag that building skills and retaining knowledge is a critical component to business success over the next 10 years. But the squeeze is on. Employers of all sizes and in all sectors are demanding more for less from their learning and development: more results, more quality, more speed, more volume and more responsiveness, but with less time, fewer resources and less inconvenience. As a result, an increasing number are turning to technology to help them. Here, Laura Overton, managing director of the London-based learning technology analysts, Towards Maturity, elaborates on recent research into the impact of learning technologies at the workplace.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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By Laura Overton<\/em><\/p>\n

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The promise and allure of technology enabled learning in the workplace is strong but is there clear and concrete evidence to illustrate it actually delivers the type of bottom-line business benefits that business leaders are looking for? Does it help to impact sales figures or customer loyalty? Does it improve an organisation\u2019s ability to be more agile in responding to market demands \u2013 spotting trends or releasing services to market faster?<\/p>\n

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At Towards Maturity our research over the past six years has shown that many organisations are looking beyond the traditional application of technology to address compliance training or basic IT skills. Many are considering how learning technologies can be used to redefine how learning can support business priorities described above. In our latest benchmark with four hundred organisations (due for release in November) four out of five organisations said that they were investing in technology to improve induction and implementation of new processes and products, over 65 percent are looking to improve customer satisfaction, staff retention and organisational change.<\/p>\n

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We are demanding more now than ever before. However, many still remain sceptical about the benefits. Until now, good evidence of real business results has been scattered and difficult to come by.<\/p>\n

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The absence of independent facts and figures means that many who want to consider new approaches to meeting business needs are at risk of making decisions without a firm foundation on which to build their business case. As a result, many implementations are driven by technology rather than business need, resulting in poor engagement, a bad experience and a lost opportunity.<\/p>\n

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Earlier this year, Becta commissioned a report to consolidate the evidence of business success as part of its legacy to encourage the innovative use of technology throughout learning and training. This work reviewed over one hundred and eighty articles and reports and 48 case studies in a search for tangible evidence of workplace success. While cost was a significant factor, the team also looked for evidence of impact on other business priorities of importance to both private and public sector organisations.<\/p>\n

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The resulting report is designed to help organisations looking to build a strong business case to engage their management teams with new ways of learning.<\/p>\n

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Eight main themes emerged from this analysis supported by powerful examples across a wide range of sectors, a number of whom have taken part at ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN. These include:<\/p>\n

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