Technology and organisational learning

Business leaders have many new and promising tools at their disposal to create continuous learning organisations

Technology in all forms is now being used in learning by children as young as pre-schoolers and corporate leaders in top executive education programmes. Technology is always advancing and there is no slowing it down. It can be disruptive, but in this case we can leverage the power of disruption instead of being afraid of it.

A study by IBM Education of personalised education suggests that regardless of the challenges we face with technology, education is constantly evolving, and educators have embraced digital services. We have all seen the rise of e-learning and distance learning for many university degrees and certifications. Students can learn in an online environment without ever having to step into a classroom.

So, as business leaders, how do you take advantage of the advances in technology for organisational learning?

First, you can personalise your learning according to your preferences and goals. When it comes to learning, especially in diverse organisations, it is not one-size-fitsall. The use of technology can assist in the personalisation of learning for each individual, team or organisation. You might have already seen this at work through online courses on websites such as Coursera or Udemy, which adapt content and the pace of learning according to your goals.

Personalised learning affects your people in a positive way, as the content of each course or learning module caters to individual or team needs and goals. This motivates people as they will be more eager to learn content that they can use, and at their own pace.

Second, you can utilise blended learning by combining in-session training with online content delivery. In fact, according to IBM, in the world of professional education, blended learning is a very appealing digital solution.

In addition, as technology can personalise learning, it can also be used to adjust courses to learners’ preferences, based on when they want to attend face-to-face sessions or later access the material online.

The benefit of blended learning is that it helps keep learners engaged. When you are forced to sit in a training session for hours with no variety, retention is low. Additionally, in our information-cluttered world, attention spans are growing shorter; therefore, it’s important to keep things interesting.

Third, there is vast world of learning resources online that you can access, anywhere and at any time for the learner’s convenience. This is especially important to the people in your organisation, as they also have to manage their work and personal time.

Furthermore, online resources are useful and convenient when one needs to relearn certain content. Learners can always access material when they need a refresher or clarification of certain content.

Fourth, you can take advantage of automated systems to manage time-consuming tasks such as assessment and feedback. Manually working on each learner’s assessment and feedback, especially in large organisations, can be a time-consuming and tedious task. Additionally, honest feedback is a delicate subject that many people avoid tackling.

An automated system can provide learners with quicker and more honest feedback so that they can make the necessary improvements. Facilitators can benefit from this by putting aside the monotonous tasks of assessment and feedback and focus more on empathy and support — and basically the human part of teaching and learning.

The same is true when it comes to the broader application of technology in business. The more we can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks that people find unfulfilling, the more time we have to focus on strategic planning and tasks that require the unique human touch.

Because technology helps make learning more flexible, efficiency is enhanced. The rate at which we stay attentive and absorb new information and knowledge increases when we can access information on our own time.

Of course, technology-aided learning will only be effective if the online content is relevant, appropriate and accurate. We all know how much misinformation there is online. Furthermore, technology still has its limits when it comes to creativity. While technology can take care of tasks that are tedious and repetitive, it takes creative humans to come up with quality content for learners.

Also keep in mind that your people need to learn about the technology they are using if they want to take full advantage of what it can offer them as learners.

All in all, technology has its pluses and minuses. Business leaders always need to be aware of the potential risks of technology. While leveraging artificial intelligence and other tools can do great things for our businesses, we certainly cannot rely on technology alone. People will always be one of the main driving forces of your business and need your continuing support.

Arinya Talerngsri is chief capability officer and managing director at SEAC (formerly APMGroup), an executive, leadership and innovation capability development centre for Southeast Asia. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or visit www.seasiacenter.com/ for more information.