Last week I completed a quiz from Towards Maturity titled, What do your learners want for Christmas? Here were the main learning points for me:

1. 86% of learners said they find it useful working with team members to learn what they need to do their job. Question  for me: How can we promote more team based learning? How can we encourage more knowledge sharing across the organisation? What processes can we put in place to encourage that?
2. 65% of learners say they are motivated by technology that helps them network and learn from each other: Question for me: How can I implement simple technology to aid people to learn more? What kind of technology can I use?
3. Learners said that their biggest barrier to learning online is Uninspiring content followed by the fact that they can't find what they need. Question for me: How can we make content more interesting and easier to find?
4. Over 70% of learners are happy to engage in online learning without prompting. Question for me: If we need to do any prompting how much do we do?
5. 75% of learners say they are willing to engage with online learning. Question for me: How much opportunity do we give people to learn online?
6. 63% of learners said they would like their online achievements to be recognised. Question for me: How can we start recognising people for their online learning achievements?
7. 63% of learners rate the classroom as an essential or very useful way of learning what they need for their job, but 88% want to be able to learn at their own pace. Question for me: How do we strike a balance between classroom training and more self-paced learning?
8. 78% of learners have their own device to access resources they need to do their job better. Question for me: How can we create simple but easily accessible resources that people can use on their own devices? For example PDFs clearly readable on mobile phones.
9. 67% of those most likely to say they want to access learning on the go are under 21, 65% of senior managers would also like to do this, followed by 62% of sales staff. Question for me: Do I currently know how many people in my organisation prefer to learn this way?
10. Summary of what learners want from L&D this Christmas:
    1. To be listened to - don't act on your assumptions but find out how your staff are learning and meet them there.
    2. To be recognised.
    3. Flexibility - formal learning isn't dead but it needs to be personalised and flexible.
    4. Mobility - to be able to access great resources at the point of need.

Overall learning for me is:

• Ask more questions to understand people's learning preferences more.
• Use technology even if is simple.
• Don't assume you know what people need.
• Performance support is important.