5 Surprising Results from The State of L&D 2016 Report

This spring, Mimeo and InSync Training paired up to create a report on the State of L&D 2016, including what challenges learning professionals face, the strengths and weaknesses of learning technology, and opportunities for moving forward.

After gathering survey responses from 425 L&D professionals, we rolled up our sleeves to do some in-depth analysis, breaking down responses by industry, company size, and internal or external training. For the full 40-page report, click here.

We were surprised by a few of the responses we got:

1. The majority of L&D teams are staffed with fewer than 10 people.

Okay, so it’s no surprise that L&D professionals are responsible for a lot. Since Mimeo is on the receiving side of training logistics every day, we’re pretty familiar with the stress that goes into putting together courses. What was surprising to see it written so clearly in the data: 59% of L&D teams are only 1-10 people.

2. 63% of L&D professionals use learning tech for content library and distribution purposes

Considering 70% of the L&D world is entrenched in learning management systems (LMS), we expected to see that training teams were taking advantage of more advanced tech features such as grading, testing, role-playing, etc. But it turns out that most teams use learning tech simply to help them organize and distribute their content.

3. The #1 Complaint with LMS is Limited Social Learning Capabilities

There has been plenty of chatter around the industry about the pain points of LMS, including the poor customer service and clunky interfaces. However, our research shows that what is really causing headaches for L&D teams is the inability to move forward due to lack of social and collaboration capabilities.

4. 86% of Training is Already Blended

It turns out that only 11% of L&D teams offer purely “traditional” methods such as face-to-face classroom training, on-the-job learning, and mentoring while a scant 3% offer purely virtual training. This reflects a consistent theme throughout the report: L&D teams are ready to innovate, if only they had the resources for it.

5. L&D Still Lacks a Standard Evaluation Method

When looking at the evaluation methods of respondents who self-reported their 2015 learning program as “very successful” or “exceeds expectations,” we were surprised by the lack of methodology behind course evaluation practices. Only 9% of respondents mentioned any industry standard, and several respondents had no evaluation practice in place at all.

For the full analysis, download the report here. Plus, hear what Jennifer Hofmann (InSync Training) and Brad Thurber (Mimeo) have to say about the report on Thursday, June 9th at 1 pm ET for our State of Corporate L&D 2016 webinar.

Which of these results most surprises you?