Sector Benchmark Report

Transcription

1 Benchmark Report Insights to help you Modernise Learning and Deliver Results Energy & Utilities January 2015 Turning Data into Insights, Insights into Action

2 ABOUT THIS RESEARCH Data for this report is drawn from the -15 Towards Maturity Benchmark research conducted online during June-August with over 600 organisations. This is the eighth study in a longitudinal research series looking at the trends in the implementation and impact of learning technologies in the workplace. Download the Towards Maturity Benchmark report: Modernising Learning: Delivering Results for free at Full details of the survey methodology and participant demographics can be found in the Appendix of the main report. This report compares the response from organisations in the Energy and Utilities with responses from over 600 organisations that completed our -15 benchmark research. It provides an insight into the drivers, benefits, skills and technologies used by the. We review the strengths and weaknesses of implementation practices, as compared with top learning companies who are achieving the highest impact from their implementation of learning technologies in the workplace. See for more details. This Spotlight report is available to download thanks to the support of our Ambassadors programme. For more details of this programme, visit See also the Energy and Utilities Spotlight reports for the last three years and reports for other industries which are available from We would like to thank all those organisations that have kindly agreed to let themselves be quoted by name in this report. All the quotes from our research are provided by those in Energy and Utilities organisations. Research team: Dr Genny Dixon and Laura Overton Follow on Copyright Towards Maturity CIC All rights reserved. No part of this material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilised in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior authorisation. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 2

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction The benchmarking process What is driving change in Energy and Utilities? Benefits from a technology-enabled learning strategy Resourcing and budget allocation What is holding the back? What does good look like? Delivering programme impact Benchmarking against the best How does the Energy and Utilities compare? Where do we go from here? Balancing organisational and individual need Two-way business alignment Customer-activated learning New Models for Learning Transform training Develop a learning culture Integrate learning and talent Boosting Agility Flexible learning Simplify the learning experience Respond faster Equipping L&D as agents of change Improving results Areas for action How is implementation practice changing in the Energy and Utilities? Call to action Next steps Appendix. Data Tables Appendix A. What is driving change? Appendix B. What benefits are being achieved? Appendix C. What are the barriers to progress? Appendix D. What skills are being e-enabled? Appendix E. What technologies support modernisation? About Towards Maturity Towards Maturity 2015 Page 3

4 1 INTRODUCTION This section sets the scene and looks at the factors driving change in learning and development for organisations in the Energy and Utilities. Expectations are high and L&D are looking for tangible results and business impact from their programmes. However, many programmes fail to achieve their potential, despite high levels of investment. 1.1 THE BENCHMARKING PROCESS Benchmarking is a valuable technique to review current progress, compare with those that are achieving the best results and build an action plan for the future. Over 600 learning and development leaders responsible for aligning learning to business, improving learner engagement and modernising the learning strategy in the workplace took part in an in-depth online review between June and August in order to benchmark their strategy with others. The full findings are published in our Benchmark Report, MODERNISING LEARNING: DELIVERING RESULTS 1. In this report, we take a closer look at data gathered confidentially from 30 respondents in the Energy and Utilities. We include the following categories in our definition of Energy and Utilities for the purposes of this report: Energy and Utilities Oil Gas Electricity Nuclear Water and Waste management Through a process of comparison with industry benchmarks, learning from those organisations that are achieving the best results from implementing an e-enabled learning culture, we can hope to improve performance and impact of learning and development programmes across all those in the Energy and Utilities. 30 respondents 50% UK-based 60% from large organisations (over 5000 employees) 93% private Towards Maturity Benchmarks TOP LEARNING COMPANIES: those in the top quartile for the Towards Maturity Index TOP DECK: those in the top ten percent for the Towards Maturity Index See section 2.2 for a full discussion 1 The full methodology and list of participating organisations can be found in the Benchmark Report: Modernising Learning: Delivering Results ( Towards Maturity 2015 Page 4

5 This Spotlight report highlights two main types of benchmarks: Performance indicator benchmarks: highlighting the impact that different learning approaches are currently having on business, staff and efficiency Towards Maturity good practice benchmarks: focusing on action - why are others getting the results they are getting and what can be learned from them? 1.2 WHAT IS DRIVING CHANGE IN ENERGY AND UTILITIES? Ambition in this to deliver tangible business results from learning programmes remains high. The top drivers for investing in technology as part of a modernised learning strategy to enable learning and development in this, cited by all respondents, are: 100% increase learning access and flexibility (96% sample ) 100% improve the quality of learning delivered (96%) 100% improve monitoring of impact measures (94%) 100% improve management and administration of learning at work (94%) 100% support organisational change (93%) 100% deliver greater value for money (93%) 100% improve talent/performance management (93%) 100% develop a better qualified workforce (90%) Programme efficiency is also very important, with over 9 out of 10 organisations looking to reduce costs, reduce time away from the workplace and reach more learners through technology. The drivers for change in Energy and Utilities organisations are similar to others in the private. Most drivers have increased by a few percentage points since 2013, but the drivers do not change markedly from year-to-year. The most notable differences in this have been in the desire to use technology-enabled learning to comply with new regulations and legal requirements, engage new types of learners, extend learning to remote workers and to help inform customer/suppliers of new products and services. A full list of drivers for investment can be found in Appendix A. What is driving change? 1.3 BENEFITS FROM A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING STRATEGY Achieving these goals is another matter. Across a reference set of 19 drivers for investment, the number achieving the benefits they seek across the sample as a whole was only 31%. This rises to 32% for the Energy and Utilities, but this is still a long way behind the levels being achieved by the best. Those in top learning companies are achieving an of 53% whilst those in the top deck achieve 63% of the benefits they seek. Whilst some benefits are clearly easier to achieve than others, the highest levels of achievement do not always match those that are most sought after. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 5

6 The top business and efficiency benefits for in this, achieved by over one third of those seeking the benefit, are: 74% comply with new regulations and legal requirements (67% sample ) 60% help implement new IT systems (42%) 56% help implement new processes or new products (44%) 46% inform our customers/suppliers of new products (40%) 42% increase the volume of learning reaching more people (40%) 41% Improve effectiveness of face-to-face learning (46%) 40% support organisational change (30%) 39% push updated information to employees at the point of need (23%) 39% improve induction process (31%) 35% improve learning management and administration (32%) A full list of benefits can be found in Appendix B. What benefits are being achieved? 1.4 RESOURCING AND BUDGET ALLOCATION A greater proportion of organisations report that L&D team size has decreased in the past two years than across the private as a whole (36% have decreased, vs. 18% across the rest of the private ), although expectations for the next two years are more optimistic. The greatest increases predicted in the areas of facilitating social and collaborative learning and online training delivery. TABLE 1 PREDICTED CHANGE IN L&D TEAM SIZE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS Percentage of sample predicting that L&D team size will: Average Top learning companies Increase 32% 36% 31% 25% Stay the same 48% 54% 53% 60% Decrease 20% 10% 16% 14% 69% report that overall training budgets have remained static or even increased over the past two years (compared to an in the private of 79% and sample of 71%) and further above increase is anticipated in the next two years. However, a much lower proportion of that budget is spent on technology (10% vs. 19% ) although 77% predict that this proportion will increase over the next two years. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 6

7 FIGURE 1 CHANGE IN OVERALL TRAINING BUDGET PAST TWO YEARS NEXT TWO YEARS INVES TME NT IN TE CH NO L OGY The Technology Take-up Indicators below, provide benchmark values to compare adoption of learning technologies within the. With a lower proportion of overall training budget invested in learning technologies, less formal learning is e-enabled and fewer employees are using online learning compared with others in the private or across the sample as a whole. With 40% already reporting that they are increasing the volume of learning as a result of implementing technology-enabled solutions, this gives the great scope to further reach out to new learners. TABLE 2 TECHNOLOGY TAKE-UP INDICATORS Technology Take-up Indicators Average Average Sample Average TM Benchmark Value 2 % Employees using online learning for non-compliance 21% 36% 33% 52% % Employees using online learning for compliance 45% 60% 59% 64% % Completion rate for compliance training 56% 71% 70% 79% % Formal learning e-enabled 24% 32% 29% 42% % L&D budget allocated to learning technologies 10% 22% 19% 26% Please note: We only provide a completion rate for compliance training subjects. Completion rates in noncompliance subjects are not directly comparable as staff are often encouraged to take the learning they need from a programme rather than complete full courses. 2 Average of those in the top quartile for the Towards Maturity Index data Towards Maturity 2015 Page 7

8 1.5 WHAT IS HOLDING THE SECTOR BACK? The top barriers to technology-enabled learning and development for this, cited by over half of the sample, are: 71% Reluctance by users to learn with new technology (58% sample ) 59% Unreliable infrastructure/low bandwidth/technical factors (66%) 53% Lack of skills amongst L&D staff to implement and manage e-learning (62%) 53% L&D staff lack knowledge of the potential use and implementation of technology (56%) 53% Reluctance by senior managers to use online materials (49%) 53% Reluctance by line managers to encourage new ways of learning (58%) Fewer barriers are reported by this than most. Across a reference set of 16 factors that we track each year, this cite 6.71 on, compared to 7.44 across the private. Notable in comparison to the sample as a whole, is the high number of organisations that report their learners are reluctance to learn with new technology, ranked the most important barrier in this, but 6 th overall. According to learners from the Learning Landscape Study, they do indeed have the skills to manage their own learning, with 81% agreeing that they are responsible for managing their own learning and development and 63% happy to engage in online learning without prompting. This contradiction may indicate the need to develop a greater understanding in this of learner interest and capability. Cost, the top barrier across the sample as a whole (71%), is only cited by 41% and slips to 11 th on the list. Several other factors figure less prominently as barriers for this than across the whole sample. The appears to enjoy high levels of IT literacy and access to good IT support. The are also less likely to be discouraged by poor past experience and lack of good e-learning resources. In addition to those listed above, fewer organisations in this report that: 47% Past experience of e-learning hasn t fulfilled our expectation (55% ) 41% e-learning too generic and not sufficiently tailored to our needs (60%) 24% Lack of support from IT department (37%) 12% Learner ICT skills (37%) 6% Suppliers overemphasise presentation and style (26%) A full list of barriers to technology-enabled learning can be found in Appendix C. What are the barriers to progress? Towards Maturity 2015 Page 8

9 2 WHAT DOES GOOD LOOK LIKE? Given the high expectations for this, this section provides key performance and effective practice benchmarks, refined over ten years from the input of over 3,500 organisations that will help organisations in the Energy and Utilities accelerate progress towards their goals. 2.1 DELIVERING PROGRAMME IMPACT In all Towards Maturity studies, learning and development excellence begins with results. When we talk about Good we mean those that are delivering the best results for their organisation. The results in this section relate to business impact (ability to implement change faster, productivity and ultimate customer satisfaction), staff impact (linked to staff engagement, qualifications and time to competency) and efficiency (linked to cashable savings and time savings). TABLE 3 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Indicators Average Average Sample Average TM Benchmark Value 3 Business Impact Indicators Improvement in our ability to change procedures or products 21% 23% 24% 23% Improvement in our measure of customer satisfaction 23% 19% 18% 17% Improvement in our ability to speed up the rollout of new IT applications 19% 24% 25% 26% Increase in organisational productivity 16% 18% 15% 14% Increase in organisational revenue 5% 14% 11% 10% Staff Impact Indicators Improvement in our measure of staff satisfaction/engagement 15% 18% 17% 17% Reduction in time to competency 12% 12% 12% 12% Increase in qualifications gained by staff 22% 18% 15% 17% Reduction in staff turnover 19% 9% 9% 9% Efficiency Indicators Cost saved 14% 16% 17% 17% Increase in volume of training 16% 23% 23% 21% Reduction in delivery time 20% 21% 23% 22% Reduction in study time 19% 17% 19% 20% 3 Benchmark scores are based on three-year rolling s from a minimum of 792 responses from 2012 to to smooth out year-on-year variation. Participants were asked: We invite you to quantify the efficiency benefits that you attribute to the use of learning technologies, compared with more traditional classroom training methods. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 9

10 Where these KPI scores are below, there are recommendations for implementation in the next sections to help build a solid foundation for success in the future. With well over 700 organisations contributing to our 13 TM Benchmark Key Performance Indicators for L&D, others can use this independent evidence to help build the business case for change and engage important stakeholders. Although 1 in 3 organisations that were seeking this benefit report that they have reduced time away from the job, the actual degree of improvement changes little from year to year. Using these KPIs See Modernising Learning: Delivering Results page 32 for help on How to Design a Business Case for Change Not all organisations are able to provide quantitative data for the business benefits achieved still less can attribute their results directly to the impact of technology on their learning initiatives. However, it is very evident from the perceptions of L&D leaders that technology-enabled learning is making significant contribution to increasing productivity and performance and that it is helping businesses to respond faster to business change. More staff are engaged in learning and development as a result and it is having a positive impact on staff behaviour. The Energy and Utilities score above the TM Benchmark values for the KPIs shaded in green in Table 3. However, they score well below in the following areas, when considering the impact of technology-enabled learning: 21% strongly agree that staff can access learning directly relevant to their job 19% strongly agree that their managers recognise additional business benefits 13% strongly agree that learners recommend technology-enabled learning to colleagues 6% see significant increase in revenue as a result of technology-enabled learning 6% have noticed positive changes in staff behaviour TABLE 4 ACHIEVEMENT OF BUSINESS BENEFITS Percentage of respondents agreeing* with each statement Energy and Utilities Average Average Sample Average TM Benchmark Value 2 Learners put what they learn into practice quickly 27% 27% 25% 53% Learners recommend technology-enabled learning to colleagues to improve job performance Technology-enabled learning has made a significant contribution to increasing our revenue Technology-enabled learning has contributed to improvements in productivity across the organisation 13% 22% 18% 35% 6% 25% 21% 42% 19% 30% 24% 56% We have noticed positive changes in staff behaviour 6% 22% 21% 58% Managers agree that technology-enabled learning delivers additional business benefit We have increased the proportion of staff who are now on learning programmes 19% 37% 32% 61% 21% 44% 41% 64% Staff can access learning directly relevant to their job 21% 50% 47% 73% Learners can determine their own path through a programme of learning *Scoring 7 or more on a 9 point scale 7% 29% 29% 56% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 10

11 2.2 BENCHMARKING AGAINST THE BEST Two years ago we introduced the concept of the Top Learning Company as those achieving the best results for their learning and development programmes. The Towards Maturity Model, developed in 2006 and honed each year from the latest thinking and advice from leading practitioners and industry experts, provides a means of analysing what these organisations are doing differently in order to achieve their success. Our top learning companies, scoring in the top 25% for the Towards Maturity Index (TMI) 4, have consistently reported better business results, better staff engagement and fewer barriers to implementation. They are also more likely to report that they are able to adapt rapidly to change. In previous reports we have looked at the characteristic behaviours of these top learning companies to provide both inspiration and ideas for those struggling to realise their ambitions for modernising learning in their organisation. These top learning companies truly Get The Edge 5 when it comes to business and learning success. Organisations in the top quartile of the TMI are not only achieving significantly higher impact than, but are much more likely to be working proactively to improve their implementation and integrate their learning activities into the workplace. Figure 2 compares the percentages achieving benefits relating to talent management, business productivity improvement and responsiveness to change for those in the Energy and Utilities against the sample and the Benchmark values. When compared to those in the bottom quartile, top learning companies are over FOUR TIMES more likely to report: Improved staff motivation and engagement Improved speed of response to business change Improved ability to engage new types of learners and over THREE TIMES more likely to report: Improvements in productivity Faster application of learning points in the workflow FIGURE 2 COMPARISON OF BENEFITS ACHIEVED BY THE SECTOR Follow the Towards Maturity campaign on Twitter at: #GetTheEdge15 Towards Maturity 2015 Page 11

12 Increased ability to tailor learning programmes to need Improved talent/performance management Improved sharing of good practice Improved support for organisational change Even for these top learning companies, there are still a number of very worthwhile improvement strategies they can take. This year, by investigating the technology-enabled learning strategies of those in the very top 10% for the TMI, the Top Deck, we can start to define a winning formula to provide stretch and focus for further improvement, as well as some quick wins for all. 2.3 HOW DOES THE ENERGY AND UTILITIES SECTOR COMPARE? The Towards Maturity Index (TMI) provides a benchmark measurement of how well the e-enabled learning strategy has been implemented across the six work streams of good practice within the Towards Maturity Model. The TMI is calculated from answers to all of the statements in the implementation section of the benchmark (these can be found in the Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre under My Review, Accelerating Performance). The score is out of 100. The Energy and Utilities Towards Maturity Index is Energy and Utilities Average Average Sample Average TM Benchmark 6 TM Index The is in the bottom quartile for performance or implementation practice. We are shifting from a content focused classroom approach to architecting learning, creating a culture of continuous learning where learning can happen at anytime and anywhere. Providing greater support for learning to happen on-the-job and through others. Where employees can access learning through a range of ways and can 'pull' learning rather than having it 'pushed' to them. Increased use of technology such as social networking tools will form part of this change. (Learning and Development Manager, Energy and Utilities) 6 Top quartile boundary exceeded by 25% of the sample Towards Maturity 2015 Page 12

13 TABLE 5 THE SIX WORKSTREAMS O F THE TOWA RDS MATURITY MO DE L Workstream Defining Need Learner Context Work Context Building Capability Ensuring Engagement Demonstrating Value Description Activities that help align implementation with strategic, business and individual needs. Activities that provide learners with choices and options that support their work life balance and working context. Activities that understand and address issues of IT infrastructure, organisational culture and managerial support. Activities that build the skills of learning and development professionals in strategy, informal learning, assessment, support and design. Communications activities that support and empower learners and address the requirements of managers and learning and development staff as stakeholders. Activities that involve gathering feedback, measurement of benefits and ongoing communication of results. See page 27 for a full breakdown of the activity areas that make up these workstreams for the Energy and Utilities. Figure 3 provides a focus for improvement by highlighting strengths and weaknesses across the six workstreams of good practice that make up the full TMI score. Each score is out of nine. The Energy and Utilities scores below in each of these workstreams. FIGURE 3 BENCHMARKING AGAINST THE TOWARDS MATURITY MODEL Towards Maturity 2015 Page 13

14 2.4 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? By consistently analysing the behaviour of the top learning companies over the last ten years, we have been able to distil the actions and implementation characteristics that these top learning companies have taken in order to achieve such good results. In 2013, our tenth anniversary year, we organised these findings into nine themes that we described in the New Learning Agenda to provide a roadmap for change and help every organisation to improve their programme impact. By reflecting on each of the nine themes in turn, this report provides insights into how to modernise learning in this and achieve greater results. If a company is not risk adverse and will invest upfront in the investment... a proper strategy tied to the business can impact the bottom line. (Leadership practitioner, Energy and Utilities) Revisit your own Personalised Benchmark Report at Addressing the six key themes in the Towards Maturity Model can help accelerate performance. Tracking your organisation s progress year-on-year through the Towards Maturity Index can help improve implementation of technology-enabled learning and deliver results. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 14

15 3 BALANCING ORGANISATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL NEED Two distinct implementation practices run across all the workstreams of the Towards Maturity Model alignment and engagement, both of which are complementary and essential components of a successful modernised learning strategy. 3.1 TWO-WAY BUSINESS ALIGNMENT The Alignment Index provides an overall indication of how well aligned learning activities are with the priorities of the organisation. The Engagement Index provides an overall indication of how well you engage stakeholders and manage change. These two indices are calculated from a subset of relevant responses across the Towards Maturity Model. The score is out of 10. The Energy and Utilities Alignment and Engagement Index scores are as follows: Energy and Utilities Average Average Sample Average TM Benchmark 7 Alignment Index Engagement Index TM Benchmark values for the Toward Maturity Index and the Towards Maturity Model is the value exceeded by one quarter of participants. These are defined as our 'top learning companies'. 50% of Energy and Utilities organisations agree that their learning initiatives support the skills the business needs (compared to a sample of 60%) 28% agree that L&D team activity is fully aligned with the strategic goals of the organisation. For more information to help you improve alignment and engagement go to: and 7 Top quartile boundary exceeded by 25% of the sample Towards Maturity 2015 Page 15

16 3.2 CUSTOMER-ACTIVATED LEARNING Top learning companies are not only better aligned with organisational goals, but they continually balance the needs of the organisation with those of the individual. The New Learning Agenda refers to the need for a customer-activated learning strategy that understands and responds to the needs of the individual in the business. Organisations in Energy and Utilities are more proactive in understanding what their learners need and how they prefer to learn than most. 43% are proactive in understanding how learners currently learn what they need for their job (36% ) 27% agree that staff in our organisation understand how to identify the right information appropriate for their job (27%) Stakeholder communications across the Energy and Utilities are better than most, but whilst stakeholders are likely to be involved at the start of a programme, communication tails off towards the end and few are closing the circle with regular feedback on progress. Improving engagement with stakeholders at all levels will pay dividends. 53% ensure there is a communication plan in place for all key stakeholders (38% ) 29% identify and train local champions to act as agents for change (33%) 12% agree that top managers are seen to use learning technologies (26%) 18% regularly communicate e-learning successes to senior management (31%) 18% collect information from line managers on the extent to which the learning points have been applied at work (16%) 24% regularly communicate e-learning successes to line managers and supervisors (26%) If the top do not champion learning, the middle will not see it as a priority for the bottom. (CEO, Energy and Utilities) Learning Landscape Audit The Towards Maturity Learning Landscape Audit is an independent, confidential study conducted within individual organisations that looks at the learning preferences of learners and how they are using technology to support their personal development. Over 15,000 learners have now been through this study, giving valuable insights into new approaches to learner engagement and motivation. For more information see Towards Maturity 2015 Page 16

17 4 NEW MODELS FOR LEARNING In this section we look at how new thinking is transforming the way formal programmes are designed and delivered. Also at how organisations are building a learning culture by supporting learning at the point of need and integrating their learning and talent programmes. Across the sample as a whole, just 42% of organisations are looking at new models for supporting learning directly in the workflow such as the 70:20:10 model. In Energy and Utilities, this rises to 55%. Across the sample as a whole, only 26% agree that their L&D staff keep up to date with the latest research into learning theory. In Energy and Utilities, this is a similar level at 27%. 4.1 TRANSFORM TRAINING 35% of all formal learning and development in Energy and Utilities organisations is conducted in face-toface training sessions, with hardly any offered entirely online. TABLE 6 PERCENTAGE OF FORMAL LEARNING OFFERED AS FACE-TO-FACE, BLEND OR ONLINE Delivery mode sample Average of top learning companies Classroom or face-to-face learning 35% 20% 20% 12% Blend of classroom and online learning 64% 73% 74% 82% Online only 1% 7% 6% 6% Compared to, top learning companies are more likely to: Enable more skills including the soft skills of communications and problem solving with the aid of technology Support personal job aspirations and career goals with technology-enabled learning Allow staff access to a broad range of non-job-related learning Use performance support practices to support learning transfer after formal training Towards Maturity 2015 Page 17

18 Companies in the Energy and Utilities offer their staff a wide range of skills, exceeding the sample and the private for most skills. The skills offered by the greatest proportion of organisations in this are similar to most: 100% induction (95% sample ) 100% health and safety (90%) 100% industry-specific regulatory requirements (90%) 94% internal systems and processes (92%) 94% customer handling/service (83%) 88% general IT and web user skills (88%) 88% team working/working with others (88%) 88% communication/interpersonal skills (91%) 88% company specific skills (91%) 87% project management (85%) This are more likely to offer skills programmes in Customer Services and Health and Safety than, but less likely to offer programmes in Leadership and Management. However, the are less likely to e-enable much of this skills training than. The top skills that are likely to be e-enabled are: 0.53 health and safety (0.64 e-rating sample ) 0.53 induction (0.49) 0.46 IT professional skills (0.54) 0.47 internal systems and processes (0.51) 0.47 general IT and web user skills (0.65) 0.44 customer handling/service (0.42) For a full comparison of skills offered, see Appendix D. What skills are being e-enabled? THE TE CH NO LOGY MIX Technologies used by two-thirds or more organisations in the Energy and Utilities are: 94% virtual meetings (77% ) 93% Learning Management System (80%) 86% enterprise-wide information services such as SharePoint (70%) 81% surveys and questionnaires (81%) 81% online assessment (74%) 80% best practice videos (68%) 75% in-house social networks (44%) 71% job aids (66%) 69% custom-made e-learning objects (75%) 67% virtual classrooms (46%) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 18

19 Other technologies that the are significantly more likely to use than include: User-generated-content Wikis Serious games and simulations Electronic Performance Support Systems Skills diagnostic tools Competency management systems Learning Record Stores (e.g. Experience API) When it comes to developing online content, an of 38% of all e-learning content is being developed in house across the sample as a whole. In Energy and Utilities, this rises to 44%. Although L&D teams have the skills to deliver via virtual classrooms (45% vs. 34% ) and instructional design skills appear to be at a higher level compared to the rest of the sample (69% vs. 49% ), L&D teams in this are less well equipped than most to develop digital content (9% vs. 31% ). Subject matter experts are an important source for working with developers. 13% agree that their e-learning courses are always part of a broad mix of approaches (37% ) 46% understand the critical questions to be asked of external providers (49% ) 67% formalise their approach to working with internal subject matter experts (46%) Compared to the, top learning companies are more likely to use a wider variety of technologies. However, success does not correlate to the number of technologies used but rather to the way that they are used. Top learning companies are more likely to: Know what technology enabled learning their IT systems can deliver Have good links / relationships with the IT department Blend their use of several different learning technologies (from social media for collaboration to content delivery) to address a need and Pilot technologies more effectively before implementation We have recently upgraded our LMS which has been a directive from our head office and we are currently still in the process of exploring its features and benefits outside of just a tool to manage and provide course content and manage learning records. (Learning and Development Manager, Energy and Utilities) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 19

20 4.2 DEVELOP A LEARNING CULTURE Learners in this are already well engaged with technology and have the skills and IT facilities to support online and collaborative learning. However, there is not only the need to have the skills and facilities, developing and supporting the learning culture within the organisation is critical to success. Access to third-party social media is allowed by 71% of Energy and Utilities organisations (61% across the sample) but awareness of the potential for social media in learning is generally quite low in this. 21% agree that staff know how to work together to productively connect and share knowledge (20% sample ) 15% agree that staff know how to build appropriate networks with the right people (23%) Whilst the barriers reported are lower than across the rest of the sample, over half report that the organisation culture is still holding back development: TABLE 7 BARRIERS TO SOCIAL AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING Barrier Average Top learning companies Existing control and command culture/policy-related 47% 48% 51% 45% Technology or IT security related 35% 48% 53% 53% Issues of user safety, identify or trust 41% 44% 46% 49% Social media is the domain of other departments in the Organisation 12% 22% 26% 18% Head in the sand mentality it will go away 29% 26% 26% 17% L&D staff won't facilitate social learning 41% 16% 19% 12% Our learners are unwilling to share with each other 24% 20% 18% 14% Whilst Energy and Utilities are more likely than most to understand the support and systems available across the organization, they are not always making the best use of them. For example: 62% understand the support systems available to staff (e.g. help desk, peer support, manager support) (47% sample ) 40% help people locate in-house experts when they need them (38%) 14% use available support systems to promote self-reliance, not a culture of dependency (21%) 40% equip line managers with resources so their teams get the most out of online learning (37%) 43% foster learning for everyone, not just new starters (62%) 44% managers recognise the value of on-the-job learning (52%) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 20

21 4.3 INTEGRATE LEARNING AND TALENT The New Learning Agenda highlighted the importance of integrating learning and talent. This integration can take place at every stage of the talent management process, from on boarding, through performance management and succession planning. The whole area of talent management has risen up the L&D agenda in the last two years for this, but success is nevertheless hard to come by. From the 100% of respondents seeking to use technologyenabled learning to improve talent/performance management, only 10% report that they are achieving this benefit. Energy and Utilities organisations are ahead of the rest when it comes to integrating learning with performance management, although there is no room for complacency, particularly during the recruitment and on boarding process. TABLE 8 INTEGRATING LEARNING AND TALENT Percentage agreeing with each statement We use social media as an integral part of our recruitment process Succession planning is integrated into how we develop our people Performance management is integrated into our learning organisation Our learning technologies reinforce the way we recruit, onboard and develop our people Organisational learning starts before new staff even join us Average Top learning company 29% 35% 28% 41% 19% 35% 24% 53% 47% 43% 40% 64% 33% 24% 19% 44% 17% 18% 16% 32% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 21

22 5 BOOSTING AGILITY The New Learning Agenda highlights three areas where L&D can boost business agility: the provision of more flexible learning, focus on what works well and faster response to what the business needs. In this study, 100% (96% ) of organisations want to increase learning access and flexibility through the use of learning technologies. Only 30% (35% ) of Energy and Utilities organisations report that they have achieved this. 27% (26%) agree that technology-enabled learning provides staff with more control over their learning but only 6% (25%) of learners are allowed to self-select from a broad range of learning initiatives. 5.1 FLEXIBLE LEARNING Our research indicates that those that have implemented mobile learning in the workplace see a direct positive impact on productivity, knowledge sharing and employee satisfaction MO BILE A ND CLO UD-BASED CO NTE NT Use of mobile learning in this has increased from 48% in 2011 to 60% in, with 92% expecting to be using mobile technologies by A lower proportion support Bring Your Own Device than (38% vs. 45% ), perhaps related to the fact that 41% report problems due to the variation in learners personal technologies (vs. 49% ). However, the proportion developing platform independent content is also lower than (29% vs. 39%). Concerns about security of mobile learning figure highly for 59% organisations (66% ) and 47% consider that it is complex to support (50%). Cloud-based content is used by 21% of organisations (32% ) although only 7% are using cloudbased learning management systems. In the next two years: If we don't get bogged down in red tape I see a significant increase in the range of technology used as well as an increase in the use of mobile learning devices for learning. (Learning & Development Manager, Energy and Utilities) 8 In Focus: Learning in the Mobile Enterprise. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 22

23 5.2 SIMPLIFY THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE Staff can be overwhelmed by too much choice. Indeed only 49% of learners in our Learning Landscape Audit report that their organisation clearly communicates the learning opportunities available to them. Simplification can come through tailoring programmes to learner need, making learning more accessible and available at the point of need and ensuring that resources are up-to-date. Technology is the enabler rather than the solution in itself. Learning Management Systems are in use in 93% of Energy and Utilities organisations (80% sample ), but primarily just to store, track and deliver e-learning courses. 45% use a single sign-on process (60%). Of those with an LMS: 36% integrate their LMS with other management information systems (38% ) 21% integrate it with HR systems (19%) 21% use it to support a virtual classroom environment (31%) 14% are using learning analytics within an LMS to create more efficient and effective learning environments (33%) Whilst 56% have the technology for skills diagnostics (45% ), only 14% of Energy and Utilities organisations would agree that they are actually using them to help tailor learning to individual needs (10% ). 31% regularly check and review their programmes to ensure that they continue to meet organisational goals (43% ) and not all remove content once it has passed its sell-by date. 40% agree that they cull content that is no longer relevant (51% ). 21% agree that they use learning analytics to improve their service (21%). In the next two years: We will hopefully be able to get a more modern LMS - The Tin Can technology is very interesting - however most likely is that we will look into and support the informal learning much more and track less. (Head of Learning Operation & Implementation, Energy and Utilities) I would like to focus on game, social learning (communities of practices); blended learning solutions. But also focus on a the compliance part (training data and certifications) having an LMS that supports the need for training data, training and certification path in a consistent, quality and lean set up. (Head of Corporate University, Energy and Utilities) A focus on social/collaborative learning, video based content and appropriate use of gaming. (Employee Learning Manager, Energy and Utilities) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 23

24 5.3 RESPOND FASTER L&D want to be able to respond faster. They want to support organisational change but success rates are low. In this, of the 95% that cite responding faster to business change as a key driver for implementing technology-enabled learning, only 32% of them report that this is a benefit that they have achieved. Other benefits show similar levels of achievement but the is having some success at e-enabling their internal systems and process training, with the result that the time to implementation is reduced: 60% help implement new IT systems (42% sample ) 56% help implement new products or processes (44%) 40% support organisational change (32%) 39% push updated information to employees at the point of need (26%) However, only 30% report that their strategy for learning allows for changing business priorities (55% ) and 37% report that learning initiatives are delivered in time to meet the needs of the business (47%). Towards Maturity 2015 Page 24

25 6 EQUIPPING L&D AS AGENTS OF CHANGE In this section we consider ideas for the L&D approach to modernising learning in the Energy and Utilities. We look at the distribution of the L&D team across the skillsets required. We also consider the ways in which L&D professionals update their skills. Organisations in Energy and Utilities are less proactive about building the skills of their L&D team members than most. Figure 4 compares the relative distribution of skills to be found in-house in the L&D teams in organisations within the Energy and Utilities with those in the Top Deck. It is noticeable that, of those that consider such skills a priority, there is a greater emphasis in this on instructional design and virtual classroom delivery. FIGURE 4 RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF EXISTING L&D TEAM 43% have audited the skills of their L&D staff against those required (25% ) 21% agree that L&D staff are confident in incorporating the use of new media in learning design (28%) 21% agree that L&D staff have the right skills to design solutions that exploit learning technologies to business advantage (26%) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 25

26 Although most organisations do provide some form of CPD, there are still some that don t know how staff keep up-to-date. Many encourage L&D staff to use internal or professional interest groups. TABLE 9 BUILDING THE SKILLS OF L&D STAFF Proportion of sample that agree: Our organisation provides continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities to support use of technology for learning They join internal interest groups to learn from each other Our organisation encourages them to join external networks or professional bodies We don't know - but they are expected to keep up to date Average Top learning company 27% 44% 48% 69% 73% 49% 47% 73% 80% 61% 62% 85% 7% 21% 20% 10% We don't know - and leave it up to them 7% 17% 13% 8% In the next two years: Better leveraging what we have. We are a large corporation so have lots of great learning technologies already in place; we now need to ensure learners know how to use them, and then L&D staff leverage appropriately in all our solutions. (Director, Talent and Development, Energy and Utilities) Advice for others: Spend time to develop you own knowledge and skills by attending conferences and exhibitions, networking and visiting other companies and benchmarking with them. (Employee Learning Manager, Energy and Utilities) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 26

27 7 IMPROVING RESULTS The Towards Maturity Model illustrates areas where organisations must take action to raise performance of L&D across the. This section shows the performance across the six workstreams of the Towards Maturity Model and the positioning of this in the Top Deck. 7.1 AREAS FOR ACTION The table below highlights the aggregate scores for Energy and Utilities participants for each of the 19 activity areas within the Towards Maturity Model and provides a comparison of implementation behaviour with the across 384 organisations (based on Benchmark Data), top learning companies and other private organisations. Each score is out of nine. TABLE 10 ACTIVITY AREAS WITHIN THE TOWARDS MATURITY MODEL Workstream Activity area Energy and Utilities sample TM Benchmark Value 9 Defining Need Strategic Alignment Learner Context Work Context Building Capability Ensuring Engagement Demonstrating Value Business Alignment Individual Choices Individual Motivation Technical Environment Talent Management Work Culture L&D Essentials Designing Learning Transferring Learning Supporting Performance Facilitating Collaboration Empowering Individuals Engaging Trainers Involving Leaders Implementing Change Gathering Feedback Measuring Effectiveness Communicating Benefits Top quartile boundary exceeded by 25% of the sample Towards Maturity 2015 Page 27

28 7.2 HOW IS IMPLEMENTATION PRACTICE CHANGING IN THE ENERGY AND UTILITIES SECTOR? Where, on, organisations are evenly divided between the four quartiles for implementation practice, 17% of the Energy and Utilities lie in the top quartile our Top Learning Companies. Just one of the Energy and Utilities organisations measured in the top 10% of the sample and joins the Top Deck. The Energy and Utilities is behind the curve in most areas of the Towards Maturity model and below the scores for the private as a whole. However, when we consider the individual areas that contribute to successful implementation practice, despite the scoring above in each area, several activity areas emerge where the might take action to see significant improvement in performance and results. Activity areas that will make the greatest difference Strategic alignment Business alignment Individual choices Individual motivation Empowering individuals Engaging trainers Involving leaders Gathering feedback Communicating benefits Activity areas that are on track Technical Environment Talent management L&D essentials Transferring learning Lessons learned: Get your IT department on side. Work with procurement from day one. Don't oversell tech solutions until you are sure IT can support them. Don't become obsessed with having an LMS. There are simpler solutions. Be realistic about what you can/should do internally and what is better placed with external suppliers. (L&D Manager, Energy and Utilities) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 28

29 7.3 CALL TO ACTION Benchmarking with Towards Maturity focuses on action and results. Through our three stage cycle, L&D leaders in the Energy and Utilities : 1. Review an in-depth investigation into the learning strategy, how it is implemented and the outcome it is having within the single organisation 2. Compare looking at the results for one s own organisation against peers to identify strengths and weaknesses. In this report we compare not only with the sample, others in the Energy and Utilities and across the private as a whole, but with top learning companies those in the top quartile for impact and results 3. Act building an action plan from the lessons learned from this comparison together with the wealth of resources to support the L&D leader If you are one of the 400+ recipients of a Personalised Benchmarking Report in summer, compare your own organisation responses from the Towards Maturity Benchmark study with the figures presented in this report: Visit and review your own Personalised Benchmark Report and consider those statements where your scores were lowest. If your score in any action area falls below the pause and reflect on what the cause of this might be. What are the priorities for action? If your score is over the TM Benchmark /5 value consider the drivers for adoption of learning technologies in your organisation are you achieving the benefits you hoped for? Can you set goals for achievement in the short term? If you do not yet have your benchmark scores, the benchmarking process is freely available to all online at Towards Maturity 2015 Page 29

30 7.4 NEXT STEPS The following table illustrates actions that are the lowest amongst respondents in this, compared to those in the Top Deck for whom these are common practice. In each example, the first percentage indicates the proportion of organisations in the that apply this practice, versus the proportion of those in the Top Deck. Consider including these ideas in your action plan for Two-way business alignment Customer-activated learning Transform training Develop a learning culture Integrate learning and talent Flexible learning Simplify the learning experience Respond faster Equip L&D as agents of change Align L&D team activity with the strategic goals of the organisation (28% vs. 100%) Support career aspirations (or personal job goals) with technologyenabled learning (25% vs. 82%) Blend the use of several different learning technologies (from social media for collaboration to content delivery) (21% vs. 85%) Ensure managers recognise the value of on-the-job learning (44% vs. 82%) Use learning technologies to reinforce the way you recruit, on-board and develop your people (33% vs. 67%) Allow learners to learn at places convenient to them (48% vs. 89%) Ensure L&D staff consider the course as only one of many options for building skills and performance (49% vs. 88%) Deliver learning initiatives in time to meet the needs of the business (37% vs. 97%) Build confidence amongst L&D staff in incorporating the use of new media in learning design (21% vs. 82%) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 30

31 APPENDIX. DATA TABLES There are five sections of data tables: Drivers: listing what is driving the use of learning technologies for business and efficiency improvement and the drivers for using mobile learning Benefits: listing the benefits that are actually being realised from the use of the learning technologies Barriers: listing the factors cited by L&D professionals as barriers to progress Skills: looking at the topics of learning content offered within the last 12 months and the probability that these are e-enabled with learning technologies Technologies: listing usage of each type of technology, tool or development environment Notes on tables that follow: In each section you will be able to compare scores across the Energy and Utilities, the private as a whole, the sample and the TM Benchmark. The following organisations that we include in the Energy and Utilities have agreed to the use of their names in our reports: British Gas E.ON Siemens Wind Power West African Gas Pipeline npower Oman LNG KUFPEC BP Eskom scores represent the from up to 489 organisations. The TM Benchmark scores have been established from the responses of 80 top learning companies from the private, public and not for profit s who participated in the Towards Maturity Benchmark Study in. Top learning companies are defined as those in the top quartile for the Towards Maturity Index. See for more details of the methodology. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 31

32 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT APPENDIX A. WHAT IS DRIVING CHANGE? TABLE 11 BUSINESS DRIVERS FOR THE USE OF LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES Driver sample Top learning company Improve induction process 90% 89% 91% 86% Increase learning access and flexibility 100% 95% 96% 100% Increase ability to adapt programme to individual need/context 95% 89% 90% 94% Develop a better qualified workforce 100% 90% 90% 93% Comply with new regulations and legal requirements 95% 83% 85% 89% Help implement new processes or new products 90% 88% 89% 90% Increase on the job productivity 95% 91% 90% 93% Improve customer satisfaction 85% 89% 88% 89% Improve staff retention 95% 80% 81% 84% Help implement new IT systems 75% 71% 75% 80% Support organisational change 100% 92% 93% 90% Inform customers/suppliers of new products/services 65% 58% 55% 66% Engage new types of learners 95% 84% 85% 88% Provide a faster response to changing business conditions 95% 92% 91% 91% Speed up and improve the application of learning in workplace 95% 93% 93% 95% Reduce time to competence 95% 91% 91% 90% Increase the ongoing sharing of good practice 95% 95% 95% 98% Push updated information to employees at the point of need 90% 87% 87% 94% Improve talent/performance management 100% 93% 93% 96% Improve employee engagement with learning 90% 90% 90% 91% Improve effectiveness of face-to-face learning 85% 83% 83% 85% Improve staff motivation 85% 83% 83% 80% Extend learning to remote workers 80% 73% 74% 84% Participants were asked: What are the benefits your organisation is achieving relating to the business and its people? Responses were: This is not relevant to us ; This is a benefit we want but have not yet achieved ; This is a benefit we want and have achieved. Towards Maturity 2015 Page 32

33 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT TABLE 12 DRIVERS FOR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OF THE TRAINING PROCESS Driver sample Top learning company Improve management and administration of learning at work 100% 93% 94% 95% Improve monitoring of impact measures 100% 93% 94% 94% Improve the quality of learning delivered 100% 96% 96% 95% Achieve greater consistency of learning 95% 95% 94% 98% Increase volume - reaching more people 95% 88% 89% 93% Reduce training costs 90% 84% 85% 90% Reduce time away from the job 95% 87% 87% 84% Deliver greater value for money 100% 91% 93% 90% TABLE 13 DRIVERS FOR USING MOBILE LEARNING SOLUTIONS Driver sample Top learning company Reduce cost of IT support/delivery 50% 62% 62% 68% Learners can use their own mobile devices 60% 73% 75% 85% Increase appeal to the millennium learner 65% 72% 71% 81% Accessing support at the point of need 70% 78% 79% 91% Improve communication between individuals 75% 73% 73% 86% Improve learner-tutor communications 70% 69% 69% 83% Facilitate continuous learning 70% 75% 75% 75% TABLE 14 DRIVERS FOR USING SOCIAL OR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING Driver sample Top learning company Improve generation and sharing of user generated content 75% 78% 76% 86% Improve workplace application of learning 75% 84% 84% 89% Encourage reflection 75% 81% 81% 85% Develop networks outside the organisation 55% 66% 69% 75% Build networks inside the organisation 70% 82% 82% 90% Promote organised training initiatives 75% 79% 81% 85% Improve support for personal professional development 75% 83% 84% 88% Allow individuals to communicate in real time 65% 74% 74% 85% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 33

34 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT APPENDIX B. WHAT BENEFITS ARE BEING ACHIEVED? TABLE 15 BUSINESS BENEFITS FROM A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING STRATEGY Percentage of those seeking benefit that are achieving it sample Top learning company Improve induction process 39% 36% 34% 57% Increase learning access and flexibility 30% 37% 35% 61% Increase ability to adapt programme to individual need/context 21% 24% 22% 44% Develop a better qualified workforce 30% 37% 33% 46% Comply with new regulations and legal requirements 74% 69% 67% 72% Help implement new processes or new products 56% 51% 44% 65% Increase on the job productivity 11% 30% 28% 55% Improve customer satisfaction 29% 34% 33% 59% Improve staff retention 21% 29% 24% 40% Help implement new IT systems 60% 47% 42% 66% Support organisational change 40% 34% 32% 58% Inform customers/suppliers of new products/services 46% 39% 40% 57% Engage new types of learners 21% 25% 24% 46% Provide a faster response to changing business conditions 32% 27% 24% 52% Speed up and improve the application of learning in workplace 11% 25% 21% 51% Reduce time to competence 11% 26% 22% 44% Increase the ongoing sharing of good practice 32% 28% 24% 45% Push updated information to employees at the point of need 39% 29% 26% 55% Improve talent/performance management 10% 25% 21% 35% Improve employee engagement with learning 28% 27% 23% 45% Improve effectiveness of face-to-face learning 41% 47% 46% 66% Improve staff motivation 18% 28% 24% 55% Extend learning to remote workers 13% 42% 39% 67% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 34

35 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT TABLE 16 EFFICIENCY BENEFITS FROM A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING STRATEGY Percentage of those seeking benefit that are achieving it sample Top learning company Improve management and administration of learning at work 35% 33% 32% 45% Improve monitoring of impact measures 5% 21% 18% 32% Improve the quality of learning delivered 20% 41% 40% 68% Achieve greater consistency of learning 26% 34% 32% 56% Increase volume - reaching more people 42% 43% 40% 62% Reduce training costs 28% 37% 38% 58% Reduce time away from the job 32% 34% 33% 57% Deliver greater value for money 15% 31% 29% 54% TABLE 17 BENEFITS FROM USING MOBILE LEARNING Percentage of those seeking benefit that are achieving it sample Top learning company Reduce cost of IT support/delivery 20% 20% 18% 26% Learners can use their own mobile devices 8% 25% 25% 41% Increase appeal to the millennium learner 8% 14% 13% 23% Accessing support at the point of need 8% 16% 15% 27% Improve communication between individuals 7% 20% 19% 30% Improve learner-tutor communications 7% 16% 15% 27% Facilitate continuous learning 14% 16% 15% 25% TABLE 18 BENEFITS OF SOCIAL AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING Percentage of those seeking benefit that are achieving it sample Top learning company Improve generation and sharing of user generated content 0% 14% 12% 28% Improve workplace application of learning 0% 16% 13% 37% Encourage reflection 13% 10% 9% 16% Develop networks outside the organisation 18% 20% 21% 35% Build networks inside the organisation 21% 27% 26% 50% Promote organised training initiatives 13% 23% 24% 46% Improve support for personal professional development 20% 20% 20% 34% Allow individuals to communicate in real time 15% 31% 29% 47% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 35

36 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT APPENDIX C. WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO PROGRESS? TABLE 19 BARRIERS TO TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Barrier sample Top learning company Not seen as a management priority 35% 50% 51% 43% L&D staff lack knowledge about the potential use and implementation of technology Lack of skills amongst L&D staff to implement and manage e-learning Lack of skills amongst employees to manage own learning Reluctance by classroom training staff to adopt new technology Reluctance by users to learn with new technology Reluctance by senior managers to use online materials Reluctance by line managers to encourage new ways of learning 53% 51% 56% 34% 53% 57% 62% 37% 47% 61% 68% 54% 41% 37% 40% 33% 71% 49% 58% 38% 53% 46% 49% 49% 53% 48% 58% 45% Cost of set-up, development and maintenance 41% 71% 69% 67% Lack of attractive, high-quality e-learning that supports our business goals Past experience of e-learning hasn t fulfilled our expectations 47% 48% 52% 47% 47% 49% 55% 39% Suppliers overemphasise presentation and style 6% 23% 26% 32% e-learning too generic and not sufficiently tailored to our needs 41% 53% 60% 63% Lack of credibility of learning materials 24% 30% 33% 30% Unreliable ICT infrastructure/low bandwidth/technical restrictions/firewall Insufficient staff access to computers to be worthwhile 59% 61% 66% 49% 29% 22% 24% 22% Learner ICT skills 12% 27% 37% 25% Lack of support from IT department 24% 34% 37% 28% Pace of technological change 47% 34% 40% 38% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 36

37 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT APPENDIX D. WHAT SKILLS ARE BEING E-ENABLED? TABLE 20 PERCENTAGE OFFERING EACH SKILL Percentage that have offered each skill in the previous 12 months Skills topic sample Top learning company Leadership and management skills 82% 89% 92% 96% Induction 100% 93% 95% 91% Health and safety 100% 85% 90% 90% General IT and web user skills 88% 83% 88% 88% Team working / Working with others 88% 84% 88% 95% Communication / Interpersonal skills 88% 88% 91% 96% Industry specific regulatory requirements 100% 89% 90% 94% Customer handling/service 94% 81% 83% 86% Sales and marketing 81% 79% 67% 77% Company specific skills (not listed elsewhere) 88% 89% 91% 92% Foreign language skills 38% 42% 39% 54% Basic skills (literacy, numeracy, English as a 2nd Language) 65% 43% 49% 56% IT professional skills 76% 70% 73% 80% Problem solving 82% 73% 77% 91% Improving own learning and performance (L&D skills) 76% 75% 78% 90% Internal systems and processes 94% 91% 92% 94% Project/service management 87% 81% 85% 88% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 37

38 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT TABLE 21 E-RATING FOR A RANGE OF SKILLS OFFERED WITH THE AID OF TECHNOLOGY These e-ratings represents the proportion of each skill offered that is e-enabled. Skills topic sample Top learning company Leadership and management skills Induction Health and safety General IT and web user skills Team working / Working with others Communication / Interpersonal skills Industry specific regulatory requirements Customer handling/service Sales and marketing Company specific skills (not listed elsewhere) Foreign language skills Basic skills (literacy, numeracy, English as a 2nd Language) IT professional skills Problem solving Improving own learning and performance (L&D skills) Internal systems and processes Project/service management Towards Maturity 2015 Page 38

39 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT APPENDIX E. WHAT TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORT MODERNISATION? TABLE 22 TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT Technology sample Top learning company e-learning objects - 'off-the-shelf' 63% 63% 67% 72% e-learning objects custom made externally 69% 65% 64% 72% e-learning objects custom made in-house 69% 78% 75% 78% All e-learning objects 88% 92% 93% 95% User-generated content - tutor directed 44% 33% 34% 56% User generated content user directed 25% 29% 29% 45% All User-generated content 56% 43% 43% 66% Video content best practice inside the organisation 60% 66% 60% 85% Video content best practice outside the organisation 53% 44% 43% 68% All video 80% 73% 68% 89% Podcasting 31% 30% 31% 44% Online books 50% 53% 51% 69% Open education resources /digital materials offered free at the point of use 44% 52% 57% 68% Information repositories/learning portals - paid for services 44% 50% 54% 74% Blogs by tutors or learners 31% 34% 34% 59% In-house wikis 44% 38% 34% 49% Job aids (e.g. pdf checklists, infographics) 71% 63% 66% 78% Percentage using each technology TABLE 23 TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORTING MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION Technology sample Top learning company Surveys and questionnaires to help understand learning transfer 81% 82% 81% 91% Online assessment (e.g. to support certification/qualifications) 81% 75% 74% 87% Skills diagnostic tools (including simulations) 56% 44% 45% 62% Online evaluation of business impact 33% 36% 35% 56% Competency management systems 50% 40% 38% 52% e-portfolios 13% 18% 21% 25% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 39

40 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT TABLE 24 TECHNOLOGIES IN USE SUPPORTING COLLABORATION Technology sample Top learning company Virtual worlds (e.g. SecondLife) 7% 8% 7% 13% Virtual meetings (e.g. Webex, LiveMeeting) 94% 86% 77% 86% VOIP conferencing (e.g. Skype, Google+ Hangouts) 40% 58% 54% 70% Virtual classroom (live) 67% 54% 46% 58% All live online 94% 92% 86% 93% Immersive learning environments (such as serious games and simulations) 40% 26% 23% 39% Communities of practice (communities to support working practices/subject interest 33% 52% 52% 66% groups) External social networking or peer-to-peer sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) 40% 49% 49% 67% In-house social media (e.g. Yammer, Ning) 75% 47% 44% 55% Learning communities (e.g. action learning) 53% 42% 48% 64% Feeds/curation and social bookmarking 13% 18% 18% 36% TABLE 25 TECHNOLOGY, TOOLS AND DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS Technology sample Top learning company Internal/Enterprise-wide information services 86% 73% 70% 77% Electronic Performance Support Systems 57% 39% 35% 45% Cloud-based content (e.g. Google Docs) 21% 31% 32% 51% Software as a Service 29% 29% 27% 42% Rapid application development tools 64% 62% 61% 59% Open source e-learning development tools (e.g. Moodle) 33% 27% 40% 46% Web 2.0 widgets for personalising learning environments 14% 16% 16% 26% Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) 15% 24% 26% 35% Learning Record Store (Tin Can) 31% 23% 19% 29% Achievement goals, Badges, Points systems 25% 21% 17% 27% Single sign on process 45% 47% 44% 58% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 40

41 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT TABLE 26 MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES Technology sample Top learning company Provide mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) 36% 45% 42% 38% Provide tablet devices (e.g. ipad) 36% 39% 38% 39% Support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) 23% 47% 45% 54% Specifically enable your content for mobile devices 31% 44% 40% 52% Develop content that is platform-independent (e.g. in HTML5) 29% 42% 39% 49% Create advanced security policies (e.g. leaver/device loss management) 29% 33% 33% 42% QR codes 21% 20% 18% 27% Mobile app development tools 14% 19% 17% 34% Tools to organise and download mobile apps 7% 15% 14% 26% Integrate mobile apps within your LMS 8% 20% 15% 30% All mobile 60% 74% 74% 78% Towards Maturity 2015 Page 41

42 SECTOR BENCHMARK REPORT ABOUT TOWARDS MATURITY Towards Maturity is an independent benchmarking practice that provides authoritative research and expert consultancy services to help assess and improve the effectiveness and consistency of L&D performance within organisations. The Towards Maturity portfolio includes: The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study is an internationally recognized longitudinal study on the effective implementation of learning innovation based on the input of 3,500 organisations and 15,000 learners over eleven years. Towards Maturity continuously surveys and studies how people learn at work. This data is used to help L&D leaders assess and improve the appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of their learning provision. Previous research papers and specific reports are available through the Towards Maturity Shop. Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre A dedicated centre to complete your Benchmark and apply everything we know about good practice to gain personal, practical time saving advice in one place. Follow the online three-step continuous improvement process and Benchmark your current approach with your peers. Towards Maturity Strategic Review The Towards Maturity Strategic Review is a deeper analysis and comparison of your Benchmark against those who are already utilising learning innovation to deliver bottom line results and success. It helps you analyse and interpret your personal benchmark report to establish a base line and identify the next action steps for performance improvement leading to good practice within your organisation. Towards Maturity Learning Landscape The Towards Maturity Learning Landscape provides critical insights to help you understand the behaviours of your staff so you can design learning solutions that can be embedded more effectively into the workflow. It supports new learning technology strategies whilst mitigating risk when introducing new programmes or models of learning. Towards Maturity Benchmark Groups Join senior L&D leaders in your three times a year to use the Towards Maturity Benchmark to support performance improvement, prioritise action planning and accelerate progress. Attendance supports faster business results, strategic and tactical insights and an invaluable opportunity to network. Visit for more information. Follow on benchmark@towardsmaturity.org Tel: +44 (0) Towards Maturity 2015 Page 42