Interview with Aishah Davis, Head of Product at Learnlight, conducted by Spanish HR magazine Equipos & Talento.

Business learners are behind the changes we are seeing in the corporate training market, explains Aishah Davis. Learners demand solutions that can deliver content immediately, wherever and whenever the learner is ready; and content must have direct relevance to their immediate needs. This approach is the building block Learnlight’s patented design principle. The Empowerment Method ™ is a methodology that puts the student at the heart of the learning process and strengthens their level of self-awareness and self-responsibility.

When making key business decisions, organizations have had to learn to take into account the changing attitudes of their employees to their roles and responsibilities. How does this focus on employee experience translate into the learning market?

Aishah Davis (A.D.): Across all sectors, businesses have discovered that what they need from employees has changed.

The traditional profile of an employee who does things is no longer as valuable as a team player who creates. The modern employee suggests new ideas, takes difficult decisions, adeptly solves problems and quickly implements action plans. This evolution of employees has taken place over the last 10 years and has been behind the shift in learning and development policies. It has formed the concept that Josh Bersin calls The Modern Learner.

How have learners changed in the last 10 years? What is a Modern Learner?

A.D.: Most employees are overworked, regularly interrupted and impatient for change.

The average person spends less than 1% of their work time on training or self-development.

This is a revolutionary change: power is shifting from employer to employee. Modern work demands mean that the average person spends less than 1% of their work time on training or self-development.

In my research, I have been able to synthesise the modern learner’s needs into three different concepts:

1. time,
2. place, 
3. method.

For learning to be effective, we need to design it with these three principles in mind. Time: learning must be in micro-chunks that are consumed quickly. Place: learners should be able to engage with content wherever they are. Method: Learning must be on demand and social, and preferably with video.

Further reading

Tailoring of content is increasingly important to end users. How do you adapt content and methods to each business learner and to the organisation itself?

A.D.: At Learnlight, we have developed our own patented learning methodology, the Empowerment Method ™. This methodology works just as well for language training as it does for soft skills training. It is the starting point for everything we do.

The central idea is that the student is the heart of the learning. They power the learning experience by their needs, context and objectives. The flexibility of the Empowerment Method ™ allows us to adapt content to each learner. Our flagship service, Coach, goes even further in helping to tailor the experience: a coach, with specific experience in virtual learning, guides them throughout their course.

The central idea is that the student is the heart of the learning. They power the learning experience by their needs, context and objectives.

We have also developed a series of foundation courses. This is a huge library of soft skills learning content that is targeted at different learner personas. Organisations can develop key soft skills using the same approach and method as they do with our language training solutions. We can also tailor digital content to a client’s specific needs to ensure our content meets their specific corporate or organizational objectives.

What are the latest trends in language learning?

A.D.: At Learnlight, we speak a lot about how the fourth industrial revolution is going to change the area of training. The truth is that we are really looking forward to being part of this journey. I think there are three main trends.

• The first is that solutions will have to be more intelligent, using AI to guide the learner.
• Secondly, training will have to come to the learner. In other words, instead of the students travelling to a physical class, the training will take place wherever the student is.
• And thirdly, we will see more edutainment, or educational entertainment. For people to learn, we have to grab, and then keep hold of their attention. Instructional designers will begin to change professionally to match these social changes.

You said that technology is already influencing how business people learn. How has this influenced your programs?

A.D.: We have always had clear ideas in relation to the use and limitations of technology. The Learnlight product division is primarily a group of technophiles. We have always been fascinated by new technologies and their possible applications to our world: the world of training. But we are also realists, and we understand that technology may solve a lot of problems, but not all.

The Learnlight product division is primarily a group of technophiles

At Learnlight it is our profound belief that what we call people-powered learning helps us understand the where impactful learning experiences are made. The connections with other people, the teachers, students and mentors who join us on our learning journeys are what changes us most dramatically.

Our philosophy is that technology must augment human connections; it should never try to replace them.

What is the one thing that makes Learnlight’s approach standout?

A.D.: At Learnlight, we have developed a single solution that meets all the modern learners’ needs by addressing the three challenges of time, place and method. Our robust technology enhances blended and flipped methodologies; through micro-learning, video-learning and mobile-learning. And then we take it a step further by providing a fully tailored solution.

Our philosophy is that technology must augment human connections; it should never try to replace them

Our clients highlight the effectiveness of our methodology, the Empowerment Method ™, combined with a solution that is accessible from any device, anywhere, any time. Our content covers a huge range of relevant and interesting topics, which are grounded in the experiences of business professionals.

Our trainers come from the top 1% in the world, meaning we can do our great content justice with great teachers. Our customer service culture is one of collaboration, focused on finding and implementing the best solutions for each organisation. We work shoulder to shoulder with our customers, as partners, helping them in their unique talent development process. We walk alongside our customers on their journey towards digital transformation.