Traditionally, training programs have been designed to follow prescribed content and curricula, that assumes every learner has arrived with the same amount of knowledge, skills and competence, and that a one or two day course is sufficient for improving the result of those participating. At TaylorMade Learning Solutions, our focus is on working with people who understand that developing people is really more of a process – rather than an event.

In his article The #1 Reason Leadership Development Fails, author Mike Myatt lists twenty reasons why traditional training fails and why it’s a problem for organizations trying to get ahead in today’s competitive global environment. At TaylorMade Learning Solutions, we understand that training budgets need to go further and that the pressure to show results is increasing. That’s why LearnScape targets only those skills that an individual needs to develop, is customizable and flexible in it’s implementation and comes with built-in accountability mechanisms.

Don’t let the self-directed nature of LearnScape worry you. When learning is interesting, there’s far less encouragement and monitoring of activity completion needed, freeing your HR folks up for doing far more meaningful and productive work. Learners tell us they appreciate how responsive the LearnScape approach is to their needs and to the demands of their day-to-day work.  Here’s how we’ve been able to address what Myatt says is why “training is indeed the #1 reason leadership development fails” and why we would argue is the #1 reason developing any other soft skill fails, too!

In the past, workplace skills were largely mechanical: they could easily be laid out in a curriculum and taught based on a proven method or series of processes. This isn’t the case in today’s information age where jobs are less structured, are constantly changing, and are relying more and more on the soft skills of those who we say, are our most important resource: our people.  The 21^st century classrooms of today are seeing teachers “flipping” the learning process, using classroom time to support, check and assess the learning that takes place largely outside of the classroom after recognizing that rote learning and memorization simply doesn’t translate in to an increase in competence.

The demand for employees who are able to learn, analyze, create and think for themselves is growing exponentially with many thought leaders believing it’s high time we “flip the workplace” as well. So why not give the learner access to the resources they need and simply let them get on with it?

At the same time, many organizations are adopting the 70:20:10 model, based on an understanding that

• 70% of our learning comes from actually doing our job, through day-to-day practice and experience.
• 20% comes via other people, through asking questions when we have a problem, networking, or conversation.
• 10% of learning comes from formal training.

Learning is all about context – and nowadays, it’s also about cost, timely implementation and return on investment. LearnScape is flexible, easy-to-access and responsive to the needs of today’s learner and organizations. LearnScape is action learning, experiential, informal, and delivered digitally when and where people need to access it.

LearnScape has been designed based on a model that is sometimes referred to as “action learning” which is learning that is experiential in nature.  Also referred to as “applied” or “experiential” learning, learners engage in activities accessed from a customized learning portal within our uniquely designed Learning Management System (LMS).

Each competency or skill involves between 20 and 30 hours of learning activities, all designed to expose the learner to new notions, concepts, ideas and perspectives; think critically about them; apply and evaluate them; and continue to practice them. Application for the learner may involve using the skill on the job/in their work, practicing the skill with their Practice Community members, colleagues, mentors, etc. Either way, we’re a bit of a dog-with-a-bone when it comes to ensuring that the learning has in fact translated into an increase in competence on the job. There’s simply no better way to tackle the “transfer of learning” challenge than through action learning.

With LearnScape, the manager or supervisor plays an important role. A Manager’s Coaching Guide takes the work out of the activity debriefings that learners are required to engage in as a way of demonstrating their work and efforts towards mastering their new skills.  And just when as managers, we thought we knew everything!  As it turns out, the debriefing process itself turns up nuggets of new thinking and perspectives that have us learning too!

LearnScape takes advantage of the best place to learn – in the workplace and on the job – allowing organizations to leverage their investment through the learner’s on-the-job performance and results.