IT and Telecoms Sector Sees Significant Impact from Learning Technologies
Learning technologies are being used to speed up the implementation of new processes and to better inform customers of new customers and services.
New research from Towards Maturity reveals that organisations in the IT and Telecoms (ITT) sector are seeing a significant impact from the use of learning technologies. They report that they are more able to speed up the implementation of new procedures (by 27% on average), speed up the rollout of IT applications (17%) and increase organisational revenues (17%).
Launched today, Towards Maturity’s latest Sector Benchmark Report, Embracing Change in the IT and Telecoms Sector - sponsored by Raytheon Professional Services - shows that 100% of organisations want to use learning technologies to provide a faster response to changing business conditions (compared with a benchmark average of 94%). As a sector, it is embracing a range of learning technologies in order to deliver on this ambition, with 97% offering live online learning, 88% using virtual meetings and 87% delivering content via video. And in 84% of organisations, employees can use their own devices. This compares with just 41% of the Towards Maturity Benchmark average.
Laura Overton, Founder and CEO of Towards Maturity, said:
“Businesses in the IT and Telecoms sectors lead the way in their use of learning technologies and as a result, they are experiencing significant business benefits. However, there is still work to do - especially around communicating the learning successes and more fundamentally, seeking clarity on business need. That said, this is a sector that continues to embrace learning technologies in order to support business transformation. I would encourage L&D professionals to read this report and start benchmarking their own strategy in order to learn from what this sector is achieving.”
Despite the successes, organisations face a range of challenges in implementing learning technologies. These range from cultural barriers to using technology (63%) and lack of support from line managers (49%) and lack of engagement with learning technology by senior managers (44%).
Mark Oliver, Managing Director at Raytheon Professional Services commented on the findings:
“This report, and our own research, indicates that those that have implemented learning technologies in the workplace have delivered significant efficiency gains, although there are still some challenges. One of the top barriers to technology-enabled learning and development for this sector is cultural differences and how learning is not fully engaging key stakeholders or seen as a management priority. The businesses addressing these challenges, through initiatives such as linking training interventions with employee KPIs, are convincing line managers to embrace the principles of investing in training as a higher priority than before.
This sector is more proactive in understanding what its learners need, how they prefer to learn and harnessing new learning technology. This in-depth report, which shares many practical insights, is an excellent source of inspiration for those looking to improve their offering and future-proof their strategy.”
The study can be downloaded for free at: www.towardsmaturity.org/sector/2016/itt
Key highlights from the report
Over 600 Learning and Development professionals completed the Towards Maturity Benchmark™ in 2015. 51 of those were from businesses in the ITT sector. Analysis of their responses throughout the benchmark process shows that they are aspiring to lead the way in their facilitation of modern learning methods:
- 84% want to better inform customers/suppliers of new products/services (compared to 60% on average of the whole 2015 Benchmark sample)
- 83% support Bring Your Own Device (41%)
- 63% specifically enable their content for mobile devices (38%)
However, the sector is reporting significant barriers for the adoption of learning technologies when compared to the top learning organisations (top performers scoring in the top 10% of the Towards Maturity Index):
- 63% report cultural differences as a barrier (compared to only 46% of top learning organisations)
- 58% report a reluctance by line managers to encourage new ways of learning (49%)
- 55% say it is not seen as a management priority (33%)
- 55% report a reluctance by senior managers to use online materials (44%)
Additionally, a relatively small proportion of ITT businesses report that they are actually achieving the benefits they would like to see in the following areas:
- Speeding up the implementation of new processes or new products (53%)
- Informing customers/suppliers of new products/services (52%)
- Providing a faster response to changing business conditions (32%)
ENDS
Notes to editors
Data for this report is drawn from the Towards Maturity 2015 Benchmark™ research with over 600 L&D leaders, reported in Embracing Change (www.towardsmaturity.org/2015benchmark - see Appendix B of that report for study methodology and participant demographics). Within this study are results from 52 IT and Telecoms businesses, which are investigated further in this report.
This Sector Benchmark Report is free to download thanks to the specific support of one of our Ambassadors, Raytheon RPS. Previous studies in this series can be downloaded at: www.towardsmaturity.org/research
Laura Overton is available for interview. To book an appointment, please email [email protected].
About Raytheon RPS
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