Effective L&D is personalised, and tailored to individuals.
Sure, you can categorise learners into groups according to how they learn but try to teach a kinaesthetic learner through a series of presentations, seminars or classroom lectures and you may well find results, well, underwhelming. 😖
To illustrate our point, let’s say that you’re on The Julliard School faculty.
The acting faculty to be precise. You have a talented, novice group of undergraduates and, this morning, you’re spearheading a class using the Alexander Technique–an acting method focusing on speech and movement. Your goal? To guide students so they’re able to deliver an impactful rendition of Hamlet’s, “To Be or Not to Be.” 🎭
What learning model do you use?
Kinaesthetic learning, of course!
This model helps learners to discover, explore, and, well, act to best acquire and retain new information. ✨☺️
Try using another learning model, say, naturalistic learning, which focuses the learning experience on being in tune with the natural world to understand how things work, and you may find results underwhelming!
The world might be your stage, but you should really be on a stage when training to be an actor! 🤔
It’s easy to design and deliver a learning experience when you have a group of people who learn in the same way.
Sadly, education and professional environments aren’t always the same. You have a hodgepodge of personalities and learning styles. But, hey, that’s life!
Designing and delivering successful L&D to a group of people with diverse learning styles is challenging. These differences are a barrier to achieving high course satisfaction, completion rates, competence, and, ultimately, value to your organisation. 🏆
So, how do you overcome this challenge?
Simple. L&D teams should invest time in researching and understanding how everyone in the organisation absorbs and retains information.
Gain a thorough understanding of learning models and select the one that mirrors the learning style of the people you want to influence. 🙌
Sounds like a lot of work, right?
Well, thankfully, Thirst knows an awful lot about learning models. In this guide, we’ll examine a learning model that, over the last few decades, has evolved into a cornerstone of L&D. The 70:20:10 learning model.
Interested in learning ALL the ESSENTIAL information about the 70:20:10 learning model?
Keep reading, you never know, in 5 minutes you may just revolutionise your workplace L&D!
What is the 70:20:10 Learning Model?
The 70:20:10 learning model is an innovative framework which emphasises on-the-job experiential learning, social and formal learning to optimise employee productivity and growth.
Organisations that have embraced the 70:20:10 L&D learning model have reaped rewards, including heightened workforce engagement, skill acquisition, a formidable reputation, influence, and market share. ⭐
Now, the 70:20:10 learning model can be challenging to implement organisation-wide.
Why? Well, for starters, it’s difficult to measure on-the-job training.
The model shifts accountability onto employees’ shoulders which presents its own management challenges, and more.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worthwhile.
In fact, quite the opposite! And don’t forget that no learning model is without its own unique set of challenges.
The decision organisations must make is whether the 70:20:10 learning model is best suited to their workforce. What is true is that this model can have a profound impact on any workforce’s prowess. 🤔
So, let’s review the basics of the 70:20:10 learning model.
An Integral Part of Everyday Working
The 70:20:10 learning model suggests that the best way employees learn is through a mixture of on-the-job training (70%), social learning (20%) and formal education (10%).
This strategy aligns with real-world business needs to deliver a practical approach to skill building and professional development.
The model’s goal is to encourage leaders, managers, and everyone else to view L&D as an integral part of their everyday activities, rather than something that’s optional, not a priority, that they’ll get to when they have the time.
Historically, the 70:20:10 model has proven very effective; however, digital acceleration and the ever-changing commercial market have dulled its potency.
Things are a little different today. Skill-based L&D has taken centre stage. Online learning has been thrust into the limelight. But that doesn’t mean that the 70:20:10 model is without its benefits. 💻 🙌
Let’s review the benefits below.
What Are the Benefits of the 70:20:10 Model?
Organisations that implement the 70:20:10 model will enjoy several strategic advantages, allowing them to drive change, innovation and equip employees with valuable skills, improve productivity, retain the best employees, and be prepared for any future sector-wide evolution and disruption.
Below is a brief outline of the key benefits.
✅ Driving Change and Competitive Advantage
Organisations must not stagnate. Do so and they risk losing valuable market share.
Change is a necessary part of any organisation’s lifespan.
Driving change enhances competitive advantage, meets user and customer demands, improves workplace culture and performance, and demonstrates sector-wide authority and leadership. 👏
✅ Increased Employee Engagement and Skillsets
Fostering a strong learning culture in any organisation increases employee engagement.
But it’s more than that.
It creates employee loyalty and empowerment whilst promoting professional satisfaction and value.
Engaged employees stay at organisations longer. This reduces recruitment costs and costly disruptions.💰
✅ Sector Authority and Reputation
People gravitate to organisations with strong reputations.
They’re also quick to judge when personal or even third-party expectations are not met. Organisations viewed as leaders become renowned, and sought after. Their reputation precedes them. 📈
✅ Adaption to Industry Changes
Industries evolve. New innovations, products, services, and best practices emerge at the forefront of the consumer consciousness.
By maximising cross-department L&D, the 70:20:10 learning model makes adapting to industry changes as seamless as possible.
✅ Supports Both Formal and Informal Learning
People are more receptive to different learning environments, depending on their learning style.
Some need to do something, to take action, to fully grasp it. Others benefit from visual or auditory learning.
The 70:20:10 learning model supports both formal and informal, giving your organisation a greater chance of influencing a broader range of people. 🧑🏫 🧑💻 🏆
✅ Easily Scalable
Given that most learning experiences (70%) of the 70:20:10 model happen on the job through, what’s best described as, social learning, the model can be easily scaled as your organisation grows WITHOUT sacrificing personalisation.
✅ Maximises Training ROI
By reducing traditional L&D costs, increasing employee engagement, honing training effectiveness, and improving productivity without taking employees away from their day-to-day activities for prolonged periods, the 70:20:10 model maximises L&D training ROI.
How to Create a 70:20:10 Development Plan
Okay, no we’ve got to grips fully with the 70:20:10 model, let’s look at how you can create an organisation-wide development plan to spearhead L&D, prosperity, and growth.
Spoiler alert: it’s all about a skill-based approach that aligns with your evolving organisational needs.
1. Assess Organisational Needs
Creating a 70:20:10 development plan without knowing precisely what L&D will benefit the organisation is like trying to plan a road trip to Provence without sat nav, or an old-school AA road map! 🗺️
So, for example, if you want to pivot to data analysis, any development plan must focus on the shift everyone in the business will have to make to fully grasp how to generate, interpret and use data.
Be sure to map your organisational goals by gathering information from team leaders and managers, and then identify skills gaps. Then match L&D to fill those skills gaps. 😯
2. Structure Experimental Learning Opportunities (70%)
Much of the workplace’s L&D will come from on-the-job training, as we’ve previously outlined.
So, it makes sense that this is given significant emphasis (70% to be exact) in your development plan.
This may include the following:
- Challenging assignments: tasks or projects that challenge employees to step outside of their comfort zone and develop new skills
- Cross-functional projects: encourage people from different areas of the business to work together in groups to complete tasks and solve problems, encouraging collaboration 🤝🏽
- Job shadowing: pairing novice and experienced colleagues to work together and learn about each other’s skills and expertise 💯
- Leadership opportunities: giving colleagues the opportunity to develop or hone their leadership skills
Remember, it’s important to match opportunities with individual development needs and any skills gaps identified.
3. Create Social Learning Opportunities (20%)
Fostering strong collaboration between peers is what makes a successful organisation thrive.
After all, an organisation’s goals cannot be achieved if people don’t collaborate.
Creating social learning opportunities is a great way to foster engagement, promote interaction and acquire information. ℹ️
Below are a few ways that you can promote social learning opportunities within your organisation:
- Mentorship and coaching programs: encourage experienced employees to mentor newer or less experienced employees
- Peer-to-peer learning: host lunch and learn sessions or role-specific training between colleagues 👩🏫
- Practice communities: bringing individuals with shared interests together to exchange knowledge and best practices
- Team-based learning: collaborating with other members of a team to complete tasks, solve problems, promoting knowledge sharing 🗣️
- Leadership roundtables: events which encourage managers and leaders to get together and share experiences with one another
Be sure to select opportunities which benefit learners, bolstering their understanding whilst addressing any shortcomings. For instance, a well-established team, one with good relationships with their peers, may benefit from lunch and learn sessions.
4. Formal Learning Programs (10%)
When most of us think of learning, we think of school classrooms. Formal and stuffy. Boring, unless you happen to be good at, or love what’s being taught.
Thankfully, learning and development have evolved exponentially, with platforms, like Thirst spearheading a new generation of A-driven digital L&D. 🖥️
But that doesn’t mean that formal learning does not have its place. In fact, it can be highly beneficial to some learners in select circumstances.
More than that, formal learning has evolved too. Today’s learners have a range of options, including:
- Instructor-led training, in-person or virtually🖱️
- Online learning, such as e-learning courses or webinars
- Sector-specific qualifications 🎓
When used as part of the 70:20:10 learning model, formal learning can be a welcome L&D experience and encourage people to re-visit foundational learning experiences and, hopefully, retain more information.
5. Measure ROI to Uncover Success
L&D is only as effective as how much your employees have learned.
How else are senior decision-makers in the organisation going to know if the L&D has been a success?
Shrewd organisations adopt relevant metrics to track employee development and performance improvement over time. These vary, depending on the roles, of course However, some of the more commonplace metrics include:
- Individual progress towards specific goals measured through assessments or evaluations
- Performance metrics ascertaining how competent they are at their job, including sales figures, project success or customer satisfaction 📊
- Employee retention rates uncovering how long people stay with the organisation based on how much they feel valued
- Return on investment calculations calculated by comparing the cost of employee development vs. the value of the employee to the organisation 💸
Should You Use the 70:20:10 Model for Your L&D?
So, now you’ve read what the 70:20:10 model is and how to use it in L&D, the big question is should you use it for all your learning and development?
The short answer is yes. It has worked for decades! But before you dive in headfirst, consider adapting the model to suit the specific needs of your workplace and L&D goals.
Maybe try a fresh approach. Formal learning can reap great rewards. So too can social learning.
But are those rewards the same for every diverse workplace? Probably not. People are different. Workplaces are different. Roles are different. How people learn is different.
What’s for sure is that adopting the 70:20:10 model allows organisations to explore a range of L&D options, catering to a range of learning styles, tailoring the learning experience, whilst allowing them to uncover in-depth information about how individuals learn and broaden professional and personal skills on-the-job. 🙌
And when it’s put like that, why not adopt a tailored version of the 70:20:10 model to promote L&D throughout your organisation?
Thirst’s AI-fuelled learning experience platform supports organisations looking to implement the 70:20:10 learning model, helping them to empower everyone with the resources and environment they need to learn, grow, and succeed.
Interested in learning how you can kick off 2025 with a bang with the help of Thirst and the 70:20:10 learning model?
Contact us today and start your journey!
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