L&D in the age of AI: summary of the Workplace Learning Report

Transform your Learning and Development (L&D) strategy and programs with expert insights from global digital recruitment specialists and the latest Workplace Learning Report LinkedIn data.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is both the catalyst and the vehicle of the change transforming workplaces today. The daily priorities of business owners and HR leaders alike – attracting and retaining top talent, promoting internal mobility, and fostering skills agility – all benefit from the latest leap forward in workplace technologies. But as with all change, success here must be strategically managed.

Learning and development plays a crucial role in the modern workplace, now more than ever.

L&D initiatives are paramount in upskilling workforces to understand and use AI effectively. In turn, AI supercharges the training organisations are able to deliver their people in even the most specialised roles, creating opportunities for tailored learning and career progression that keep your people engaged and loyal to your company. In a nutshell, learning is the key to preventing people from leaving.

This article explores how AI-driven L&D can address talent attraction, retention, internal mobility, skills agility, and skills gaps, empowering employees and productivity to thrive. Here’s how to plan and deliver a cutting-edge learning and development strategy that overcomes internal hurdles, seizes opportunities, and bridges the skills divide in your organisation.

Skip ahead to:

• Standard learning and development practice
• AI meets learning and development
• Transforming L&D: keep your goal in mind
• Learning and development strategies for the future
• Inclusive learning and development
• Upskilling for learning and development professionals

Standard learning and development practice in the workplace

Up to now, learning and development within organisations has mostly been delivered as broad-reaching training initiatives. With only so much budget to work with, understandably HR and Learning teams have to prioritise the majority in the training they’re able to offer.

This often means specialised roles, like digital roles, aren’t catered to. Therefore, specialists are dependent on individual training budgets to further their own knowledge of their fields, or they’re paying out of their own pockets.

What’s more, orgnanisations often struggle to provide impactful and easily accessible content. While learning platforms can gamify their content and design the best possible learning environments for the modern user, the average company’s intranet or training prorammes don’t have the same luxury of funds or optimisation data.

It can be hard to fully engage an already busy employee – and even harder to assess their retention and engagement.

That said, it is undeniable that learning and development is a crucial factor in retaining your talent. 90% of organisations report this is a top concern in 2024 – and an effective, engaging L&D offering is the number one strategy for boosting talent retention according to the latest LinkedIn data.

“Employees are now asking before they join a company, does this organisation align with my values and beliefs? Not only are employees after a rewarding job, but a clear progression path, continual development, and a place where they can belong. This is why employee value proposition is so important.”
Laura Maxwell-Smith
People Director of Salt Global  

AI meets learning and development

The duality of artificial intelligence (AI) is that it while it requires certain skills to be effectively implemented, creating a skills gap you’ll need to fill, it is also able to support the delivery of personalised training that promotes skills agility long term.

Career growth is a key factor in many job seekers’ decision making. While this is true of all age groups and across industries, this is reported as a priority for Gen Z entering the workforce, and for anyone in a role that is already being impacted by AI.

It tracks that in just one year, with the integration of AI into more workplaces, helping employees advance in their careers has soared from the 9th to the 4th spot on people directors’ priority list, according to LinkedIn’s report.

This reflects what our teams have seen working across the world with leading businesses: the importance of AI literacy across the workforce. Employees are seeking training from their employers that safeguards their roles and careers, while leaders are striving to upskill their staff to close the digital and AI skills gap and leverage the opportunities AI has to offer their business.

According to the ‘Immersive Whitepaper‘ by Talespin and Accenture, one of the most notable advancements for businesses incorporating AI is its ability to create personalised learning modules for each of your employees based on their preferences and performance. By using your company’s people data, AI systems can adjust learning simulations in real-time, improving learning experiences by generating custom dialogues, characters, and environments.

Here are some of the benefits of AI for learning and development programmes in the modern day:

• Automating tasks like communications throughout the learning process, personalising learning journeys and keeping employees engaged throughout.
• Customising learning experiences for each user means you can expand your training delivery to more employees without sacrificing the specificity of the training provided.
• Providing instant feedback based on user experience means you can monitor progress more effectively and holistically, iterating to better suit the changing needs of employees.
• Analysing data to identify skill gaps, recommend courses, and anticipate future learning requirements for the organisation before the need arises.

Retaining employees isn’t just about helping them learn new skills; it’s also about building teams that work well together. To accomplish this – your onboarding process is critical. You need to be giving new team members a warm welcome and sharing the company’s vision from day one.

Transforming learning and development: keep your goal in mind

It’s important to state that there’s no one tool or technology that will permanently close the skills gap at your company. Technology and society will continue to evolve, and with it the skills and roles you’ll need to compete in your marketplace. Successful businesses are ones that embrace the process of transformation and change as constant, and so they’re able to adapt to market and technology changes with agility and flexibility. Composable business structures notably withstood the test of pandemic uncertainty and emerged on top.

Adopting new technologies in the first place is a process. As with all change management strategies, meeting your organisation’s training needs requires thoughtful planning and delivery.  

First and foremost, it’s important to ensure your learning plans match your company’s goals. This means focusing on both employee growth and meeting strategic aims, especially in today’s AI-driven era.

“Building different skills and knowledge require different learning methodologies. So, how do you get started on transforming how you build skills and knowledge across your organisation? Don’t start by looking at technology solutions and their functionality. Develop a Capability Strategy,”
Drew Maguire
Director at Capability Group

LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2024 also emphasises the need to align your L&D strategy with company goals, something we as recruiters know from first-hand experience both sides of the hiring table. This advice goes beyond integrating AI into your learning and development programs to supercharge employee development. Digital transformation requires direction, vision and communication. It also requires a culture that embraces change and continual learning.

HR and People directorates play a crucial role in adoption – but are often weighed down themselves with manual, administrative tasks. HR digital transformation is crucial – as these teams can go on to spearhead and lead wider transformation projects and cultural evolutions that are required to build a workforce of the future.

Learning and development strategies for the future

To thrive, both businesses and people need to be empowered to learn, grow and develop in a fast-changing work landscape adapting to new technologies and advancements each year.

Continuous learning to navigate constant change

In today’s competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent is essential. Skill agility is a modern-day necessity in every role and across every industry – and the ability to provide tailored career development instead of one-size-fits-all, costly programs is a huge competitive advantage in appearing attractive as a brand, engaging your existing workforce and cultivating key skills in-house.

As global skill demands evolve swiftly, the World Economic Forum emphasises the necessity for a new mindset to develop skillsets over extended periods and through various life phases, ensuring sustained contributions to the workforce and employee development. By nurturing the skills required for the future of work across generations, businesses can adapt to evolving skill needs rapidly, and foster resilience in their workforce.

Aligning learning programs with business goals

Aligning your learning and development program with your business goals is essential for driving success for both your employees and the company. It ensures your people acquire skills that directly contribute to your overall business objectives, keeping them engaged and motivated while also providing value long-term.

Keeping your business plan and strategy in mind also helps map the skills most needed in your employee development plans. What skills are missing that are preventing you hitting targets and achieving goals? It’s also worth considering shifting your focus towards essential skills: prioritising adaptability, problem-solving, and effective communication. These skills are crucial across roles and industries, helping to foster a culture of continuous learning and synthesised collaboration.

Upskilling employees with new technology 

Generative AI improves skill development by creating diverse programs and offering personalised coaching through tailored learning materials, boosting effectiveness and engagement. This means you can provide opportunities for skills enhancement across a wide variety of fields and levels, and that your training can adapt and evolve with new developments in the market.

Cloud Asses observe a rise in immersive learning experiences and VR training, which they predict will only continue to grow in prevalence in the future. This tech facilitates hands-on learning experiences, increasing engagement and retention of information. Projections suggest that VR training will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.2% from 2022 to 2031.

Helping employees develop their careers

Career development initiatives are key to preventing your people leaving for new opportunities elsewhere. Not only do they retain top talent by encouraging internal mobility and independent motivation, but they also foster a culture internally that embraces change, innovation and learning new skills.

Microlearning delivers short, focused learning units tailored to specific skillsets. This flexible, on-demand way of learning is ideal for your employees’ busy schedules, helping them progress through a learning and development plan rather than feel buried by one.

“It’s time for a reality check. Achieving an adaptable workforce is going to require investment in your most valuable asset, your people. The only thing that will support your organisational agility, speed and scale aspirations are a suite of digital learning and communication tools. Note, not one, several! Your organisation’s survival may well be dependent on it. Building different skills and knowledge require different learning methodologies.” 
Drew Maguire
Director at the Capability Group 

Data-driven learning and development

Data and analytics play a crucial role in learning and development. Data enables effective decision-making by providing insights into learning outcomes, employee performance, and training effectiveness. LinkedIn emphasise in their report that aligning learning programs with business strategies remains the top priority for L&D professionals, which in turn showcases a need for higher data literacy among HR and People teams.

Which metrics are important to learning and development, and why do they matter? According to respondents to LinkedIn’s survey, the metrics that matter most to learning and development professionals today are:

• Performance reviews: 36%
• Employee productivity: 34%
• Employee retention: 31%
• Business impacts (deals closed, customer satisfaction): 30%
• Closing workforce skill gaps: 27%
• New skills per learner: 16%

Data and analytics drive effective decision-making in L&D, but they also safeguard these programs and allow their value to be clearly represented to the board and C-Suite of your company. To do so effectively, professionals must report with the wider business strategy in mind, showcasing how metrics from performance reviews to skills acquired, are helping to achieve the wider business’ vision.

Prioritising human skills in the age of AI

Human skills like communication and problem-solving are crucial in their own right. Effective communication fosters collaboration and understanding, while strong problem-solving abilities enable employees to adapt and innovate. Employers recognise that cultivating both technical and human skills is essential for success today. AI can effectively tailor learning and development plans to include both skillsets as employees’ needs develop throughout their career in your company.

For example, there is particular need for training managers in human skills. According to Gallup, a good manager means employees are 6 times more likely to be engaged in their role, and 3 times more likely to report an excellent quality of life. Frequently, top performers are promoted to managerial roles and suddenly need to display a whole new skillset to effectively care for their team. AI can facilitate tailoring managerial training to the individual and circumstances, helping them upskill to take a new facet of their role within your organisation.

How to build a diverse and inclusive L&D program

L&D initiatives, such as leadership development programs, can help to combat unconscious biases through targeted training and workshops. This is crucial in fostering inclusive hiring processes, fair evaluation practices, and a culture where every individual can feel safe and productive.

Building an inclusive learning environment involves integrating diverse perspectives and implementing policies prioritising equity and inclusion. It also means catering for different styles of learning and different access needs. AI can help to ensure that every user has training that suits their needs, whether those are Neurodiverse needs or familial care needs for working parents. Digital training also means that employees with physical disabilities still have the same access to upskill and participate from their devices.

Learning and development professionals: upskill for success

Continuous skill development is also essential for L&D and People professionals. As the learning landscape evolves with the advent of new technologies and methodologies, staying updated is key. By consistently upskilling themselves, L&D professionals can adapt to change as it happens, strengthen their abilities, and provide top-notch learning experiences that foster employee development.

“The accelerating rate of change can sometimes cause course material to become outdated upon release, exacerbating the difficulty of equipping employees with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world…Companies that adapt and invest in generative AI gain a competitive advantage, being better positioned to respond to emerging trends and equip their employees with the necessary skills to thrive in a dynamic business landscape.” immersive learning whitepaper, Talespin and Acenture. 

L&D efforts are pivotal in building a robust internal talent pipeline to meet future hiring needs. Through targeted training programs, skill development initiatives, and leadership development opportunities, organisations can identify and develop high-potential individuals within their workforce, aligning their skills with future job requirements.

By investing in the growth and advancement of current employees, organisations not only enhance retention but also cultivate a pool of qualified candidates for future internal promotions and succession planning. This proactive approach allows organisations to leverage their internal talent pool more effectively, keeping their people engaged, motivated and loyal to their business in the process.

Conclusion

In today’s rapidly evolving work landscape, learning and development is emerging as a fundamental strategic asset for businesses. As AI reshapes skill demands, L&D becomes pivotal for fostering innovation and equipping employees with essential competencies. Encouraging a culture of continuous learning not only bolsters retention but also attracts top talent, ensuring sustained organisational success. Moreover, aligning L&D with internal mobility initiatives enables businesses to cultivate a robust talent pipeline for future needs.

These key learnings have been summarised from LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report to condense exactly what you need to know to shape your learning and development in the age of AI.