L&D must seize the day or risk losing credibility says new Towards Maturity Benchmark Survey

LONDON, 29th November 2010. Heads of Learning & Development must grasp the opportunity offered by current circumstances to further innovative learning within their organisations, according to the new Benchmark Report from Towards Maturity, the internationally recognised benchmarking practice for learning innovation, or risk repeating the errors of the past.

The report shows that organisations have more opportunity than ever before to embed learning technologies effectively, with learning innovation being looked to cut costs and improve efficiency and access. Of the 400 organisations participating in the study:

• One in four are allocating 30% or more of their available training budget to learning technologies compared to one in 10 in 2008
• 80% now use electronic content, learning management systems and online assessment and surveys
• Over 80% say that innovative use of learning technology will be a deciding factor in their selection of an external learning provider in the future

However, the report also shows clearly that those organisations who are more mature in their use of learning innovation are most likely to achieve the looked-for benefits. Over the years, Towards Maturity’s benchmarking study has built up an understanding of the implementation practices that positively influence results: this year for the first time a maturity index has been introduced into the study, related to each organisation’s implementation practices. Applying the index makes it possible to see that, compared with organisations in the bottom quartile of the Towards Maturity Index (TMI), the top quartile are seven times more likely to report improved staff satisfaction, six times more likely to report increased productivity and three times more likely to report improved external customer satisfaction. On average, 30% of organisations are not yet realising the benefits they are looking for.

Worryingly, there are also signs of a decrease in good practices, including less strategic alignment, half as many organisations providing support to learners and only 13% measuring specific business metrics when evaluating.

‘In previous recessions, organisations increased their use of standalone e‐learning content but also experienced a backlash against e‐learning as soon as budgets started to flow. By neglecting effective implementation practices, there is a danger of organisations repeating history rather than exploiting the opportunity that increased demand has provided.’ (Accelerating Performance: Towards Maturity 2010-11 Benchmark Executive Summary).

The new Benchmark Report was launched on 25th & 26th November to more than 190 practitioners from the Learning & Skills Group and the E-learning Network, and will also be featured at the Online Educa event in Berlin this week. A new LinkedIn group titled ‘New Learning Benchmarks’ has been established to discuss the standards needed to drive L&D performance.

The 2010 Report is the fourth to be released in a longitudinal study that has lasted seven years and is ongoing. So far it has drawn in 1,200 organisations and 3,000 individual learners.

In his foreword to the Report, Peter Butler, Learning Director at Lloyds Banking Group said: ‘The 2010‐11 Towards Maturity Benchmark Report could not have come at a better time. The evidence is now here in spades: technology‐enabled learning is really starting to deliver. However the real step change in performance, it is clear from the report, comes not just from the use of technology per se, but from innovation thinking, practically applied. This is a unique moment for those working in learning.’

Laura Overton of Towards Maturity said: ‘The 2010 benchmark represents a unique industry collaboration and we acknowledge gratefully the inputs from many media and industry bodies who have helped to ensure its relevance and independence. Acknowledgement is also due to contribution of Becta in commissioning the study on behalf of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and to our founder Ambassadors who are helping us take this valuable work forward so that it can continue and develop in the years to come.’

The full Report contains a wealth of data on many areas of learning innovation and practice and is available for free download at www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark.

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Note to Editors

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1200 organisations and 3000 learners over 7 years.

Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on site.www.towardsmaturity.org
2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark <http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
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The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme

For Learning Providers focused on excellence and growth, the Ambassador Programme provides a fast, flexible way to raise industry profile and enhance credibility with clients and prospects:

• Align your company with the vision and values of our internationally recognized benchmarking study
• Benefit from a tailored package of promotional and market intelligence services

The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010. Founding ambassadors are:

• Brightwave
• Epic
• GlobalEnglish
• Line Communications
• LM Matters
• Plateau Systems
• Redtray
• The Charity Learning Consortium

Find out more at www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

Related downloads

• Accelerating Performance 2010-10 TM Benchmark Data Tables
• Accelerating performance 2010-11 Towards Maturity Benchmark Exe
• Accelerating performance 2010-11 Towards Maturity Benchmark full

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