MIT Sloan Management Review Article on The Practices That Set Learning Organizations Apart

Organizations are struggling to keep pace with the new skills needed in their workforces, thanks to large-scale trends such as the shift to digital business models and the increased adoption of workplace automation, AI, and advanced analytics. The pandemic accelerated those trends, putting an increased premium on learning and development (L&D) as a means of equipping companies to handle both long-term challenges and short-term crises.

To understand the implications of these changes, we recently engaged in more than 60 in-depth conversations with CEOs, chief human resources officers, chief learning officers, chief operating officers, and other senior HR and business leaders across six countries. We supplemented that research through surveys of more than 250 professionals worldwide about their approaches to L&D. The results show that relatively few organizations had strong L&D programs in place before the pandemic.

About the Author

David G. Collings (@collingsdg) is a professor of human resource management at Dublin City University Business School.

John McMackin is an assistant professor in human resource management and organizational behavior at Dublin City University Business School.

Learn more about MIT SMR.