David Manning is the Founder and Managing Partner of Performance Development Group (PDG). David has over 20 years in the management consulting and learning outsourcing space, and has successfully led the growth of global organizations and start-up ventures. David formed PDG after serving as the Chief Operating Officer for a global training consultancy. He was interviewed at PDG headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania Spring 2014. David shared three trends in the learning field: High Performance Learning Organizations, Flexible Resource Management, and Globalization of Learning. In this article, he speaks about High Performance Learning Organizations; additional trends will appear in future issues of the PDG Fast Five newsletter and the PDG blog.
What is a top trend you have seen recently in the corporate learning and development field?
Executives are looking to get more value out of their learning organizations. More than ever before, the learning function is getting a seat at the table and aligning their priorities with solving key business issues versus solving training issues. In order to maximize this opportunity, companies need to increase the effectiveness within the learning function and are doing so by creating High Performance Learning Organizations, with the best people, the most efficient processes/tools, and governed by purpose. Near and long term goals are directly linked to and measured upon business impact. They see an opportunity for learning to drive shareholder value now more than ever before.
What has changed in the marketplace to drive these changes?
In many cases, learning organizations have not been well-aligned with the business strategy, and therefore the capability building which they were doing was not directly connected to what the business needs to execute their strategy. What has changed is that companies have identified this oversight and are now installing leadership within the learning function capable of leading the change to a High Performance Learning Organization.
Why is this trend important to those in the learning industry?
Opportunity. There will be a great opportunity for learning to drive organizational and cultural change and directly impact shareholder value. Over the next decade, the learning function will gain more visibility within the enterprise and be viewed as a strategic differentiator. High Potential employees within the learning function will be noticed and fast tracked for senior roles within the organization. Simply put, the companies with the best learning organizations will have the most success.
For more about performance improvement read the following resources:
- Leveraging Learning to Change Culture and Drive Growth
- Using Performance Improvement to Drive Business Metrics
- Tips for Great Performance Support
- Driving Organization Improvement Through Social Media
David Manning is the
Founder and Managing Partner
at Performance Development Group
