Employees have a diverse range of skills, goals and learning styles – yet for too long, organisations have pushed the same, generic training out to everyone. The result? Wasted resources and time, and underwhelming outcomes.
Luckily, this is now evolving. Thanks to advances in automation and AI, organisations are now able to move away from mass learning and development programmes, instead embracing personalised experiences that reflect individual goals. This shift is long overdue. If every employee is different, their learning should be too.
The value of real personalised learning
Personalisation isn’t just about putting someone’s name on a course or showing a tailored dashboard. Well-executed personalised learning improves outcomes by delivering employees with learning that supplements and expands their existing skillsets, while directly supporting business needs.
When executed well, personalised learning can lead to:
Higher engagement: Employees are more likely to pay attention to content that is relevant to their day-to-day responsibilities and career goals. In fact, according to the 2024 LinkedIn learning report, more people spend time learning when it is personalised to their interests and career goals.
Improved retention: Employees who receive a personalised learning plan designed to suit them will feel more invested in and be more likely to stay.
Faster onboarding: Specific courses tailored to the role and experience of new hires enable them to get up to speed faster. This will set them in good standing for their future with the company.
Reduced support needs: Well-trained learners who know how to use their required tools and systems will need less handholding from IT, HR or managers.
Learning: A valuable tool, not a box-ticking exercise
Too many organisations still treat learning as a box-ticking exercise, pushing out courses based on compliance requirements. As a result, employees are often left wading through irrelevant content, wasting valuable time and feeling disengaged from the process.
Personalised learning flips that approach, using L&D as a tool to develop skillsets across the organisation that are most needed for business success. Furthermore, technological advancements mean that personalised learning is no longer resource-heavy. AI and automation allow L&D teams to scale this approach without extra headcount, overtime or budget strain.
Leading Learning Management Systems have begun to incorporate tools and capabilities to support this. For example, they can:
- Trigger learning content based on role, behaviour, or milestones;
- Adapt content dynamically depending on how an employee interacts with previous modules;
- Provide just-in-time resources, so employees can access the right help at the moment they need it.
Measure what matters
If a business is going to invest in personalised learning, it will need to track how well it’s working. That means moving beyond completion rates and focusing on more meaningful outcomes. Consider metrics such as the time it takes new hires to reach productivity or the number of employees growing in their role.
For those in HR and L&D, now is the time to re-evaluate your approach. Consider whether your business is still pushing the same training on every employee, and whether learning paths reflect real employee needs and business goals.
From here, you can start thinking about how to pilot a personalised learning journey and automate more learning workflows to free up time for strategic work.
Getting started
Once you begin, don’t let perfection become the enemy of progress. You don’t need to customise everything for everyone. Start with high-impact segments like onboarding or specific job roles.
It’s also important to understand that technology is an enabler and not a substitute for a clear strategy. Make sure you’re clear on what outcomes you want and test the experience from the learner’s perspective.
Personalised learning is fast becoming an expectation, and employees want content that meets them where they are and helps them grow. This is a win for businesses who want training that delivers real impact. By gearing learning towards the individual, both employees and businesses reap the benefits.
