Study uncovers revealing correlation between great companies and their culture of learning with individual happiness and its impact on job satisfaction.
In the not too distant fall, the Online Marketing Institute will release its new Digital Life and Learning Study, an evolution from last year’s Digital Skills and Talent Gap Study. This year we will go further and address the three critical areas of:
1) Identifying individual needs, desires, and personal job satisfaction drivers
2) Addressing corporate talent, culture, and learning program gaps
3) Solving the problem of the eLearning and training solutions landscape
And, of course, we will quantify the gaps between individual needs and perceptions as well as corporate investment and programs. Here’s a sneak peek at some early findings and a chance to get a copy for participating in the ever-revealing study.
Finding #1: Direct relation between personal happiness and job satisfaction.
Finding #2: Huge gap between execs/HR and employee priorities and perspective.
Finding #3: Culture of learning grossly underserved by check-the-box programs.
Finding #4: Old-school in-person training and cookie cutter content licensing is still the norm. Customized eLearning programs are the trend to watch.
Finding #5: Digital skills of agencies and in-house are way below brand expectations – especially in mobile, analytics, and big data.
Here are a few quotes from the study to further illuminate each finding.
Individual: “When I am motivated and excited about the work in front of me this week, and (have) new ideas to tackle the challenge, I just wake up each morning feeling more energetic and ready to tackle the day. I just wish we could find more ways to help me maintain that focus.
HR: “We are very generous on learning. Our company gives employees a budget of $1,000 to attend events or buy learning programs; we are deeply committed to education…”
Same Company Employee: “I really wish the company would invest in me (and) help me develop the skills and career path to show me the way to succeed. I think the last time I used my education budget was three years ago. And that was a great event, with great parties; I met great people, but did it help my career? I don’t think so.”
Company Executive: “I know my team has had industry trainers and thought leaders come in and inspire the team around new trends and areas of importance, but truthfully, I don’t think much happens two days later after that training is done. And I always walk away wondering aloud, ‘how much did we pay for that?’ But alas, I don’t spend much time drilling deeper.”
Fortune 100 Marketer: “Ugh, my agency just doesn’t get it. I keep asking “Why do we invite them to our strategic meetings?” They just don’t get it: data, digital, or even social media for that matter…and if I wasn’t overwhelmed with getting things done, I’d probably get rid of them.”
In summary, I think we have a long way to go on really implementing top notch learning programs that fulfill on the promise of true education, professional development and the career path there in. The good news is, the trend is heading in the right direction with execs and individuals becoming more and more aware of the challenge and seeking new ways (aka custom eLearning programs) to fix it.
If you’d like to participate or request a copy of the study upon release, just email AaronK@OnlineMarketingInsitute.org.