Transferring this to the business environment, it means that companies compete in an environment that is characterised by a continuous, fast, and unpredictable development. In such a world, learning is of central importance for effective operations. With technological advances, which focus on automation of numerous roles and jobs, the development of lifelong skills is important for individuals and businesses alike. Add to that the pandemic which has undoubtedly contributed to the need for flexible learning. Today, numerous sectors are experiencing a completely different world of working than a few months ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused organisations to treat digital learning as a necessity for continuing their operations or for their future success in the years to come. This has been corroborated by the findings established by Deloitte (2019), as 86% of companies have noted a need to improve learning and development. Companies, which have a modern and comprehensive approach to learning and which include it in its corporate culture, will be able to gain skills and build on core competencies that are needed to adapt to the changing business environment today and in the future. The transition to distance work has resulted in a steep learning curve. On-the-job learning has substantially increased and has required the transition from traditional learning in classrooms to virtual platforms for online learning.
The need for digital learning is increasing; however, numerous organisations are still dealing with on-the-job learning separately from employee experiences and the opportunities that they offer for everyday learning are few and far between. If they wish to tackle the challenges that they face, organisations need to focus on setting up a comprehensive emphasis on agile learning. Agile learning is strongly supported by digitalisation, technology, and networking, which do not only affect our work methods, as learning takes place following various principles and sometimes even in various forms.
Agile learning, as clear from its name, is a type of learning or training that focuses on speed and flexibility. Implementing agile learning shows that the organisation focuses on quickly adapting to change. In simpler terms, agile learning is the ability and readiness to learn from experience and to apply the new knowledge to new situations. It refers to the transfer of agile methods of project work, especially SCRUM, to learning processes. The main element of this method is that experiential development focuses on resilience, flexibility, and creativity. It takes place gradually with the phases of learning and working interchanging, i.e. development takes place in iterations following one another. This creates a smart learning environment whose objective is to effectively support the learners so that they can achieve or increase their performance. Agile learning is characterised by goal orientation, cooperation, self-control, and dynamics. In the broader sense, agile learning requires the right mindset (self-efficacy and the ability to develop), skills (e.g. learning skills), and an appropriate learning culture. (Graf and Schmitz, 2019). Agile learning forms focus on “what is effective” instead of focusing on rules and procedures.
The key components of agile learning are:
• Learning potential: the skills that make you successful in a specific role today, might not be enough tomorrow.
• Learning motivation: the learners must be included in and inspired by the learning process.
• Learning flexibility: instead of following routine, employees involved in agile learning can adapt to learning and consistently strive to improve their skills.
Characteristics of agile learners:
• They learn from new experiences
• They thrive in complex situations and challenges
• They love giving meaning to various experiences that they encounter
• They achieve better results, as they continually upgrade their skills
Our ability of continuous learning and adapting will determine the extent of our success in these turbulent times. This will not be affected only by who we are today but also by who we can become tomorrow. Companies need to be aware that the culture of lifelong learning must be encouraged, thus maintaining employee agility. Including learning in our everyday tasks is of key importance for increasing business performance.
DOBA Business School follows the changing trends in the business environment and our modern study programmes equip students with applicable knowledge and skills that are important for the development of their career in their field of work and for their successful performance in the upcoming decades, i.e. skills such as communication, management, change management, innovativeness, etc.
