SAN DIEGO, CA—December 1, 2021—The Ken Blanchard Companies®, a global leader in management training, consulting, and coaching, released its 2022 L&D Trends Survey. Its purpose was to gain real-time insight from L&D (learning & development) professionals and help them learn from peers as they plan their 2022 L&D initiatives.
This is Blanchard’s third year conducting the survey. Polling was carried out via email October 21 through November 5, 2021. More than 800 L&D professionals participated. Respondents came from a variety of backgrounds: learning & development, human resources, organizational development, leadership development, and others. They work at small (1–499 employees) to large companies (10,000+ employees) around the world (48% are US-based, 52% are outside the US).
The Blanchard survey included many structured and unstructured questions. The survey started by asking HR/L&D professionals to share, in their own words, “What is the biggest challenge your L&D team is currently facing?” For the 2022 survey, respondents were asked to identify the challenges of the physical/hybrid work environment.
Jay Campbell, senior vice president of product development, and David Witt, program director, analyzed the responses and identified three key insights:
- Insight #1: People are overloaded, tired, and “too busy to learn.” Respondents indicated that the hybrid work environment was having a negative impact on perceptions of wellbeing, with burned-out leaders struggling to manage hybrid teams effectively.
- Insight #2: The level of connection between employees is dropping. Respondents feel more isolated from work colleagues and teammates, and it’s becoming problematic. Interpersonal connection and cohesion are dropping, reducing trust and collaboration. The hybrid environment continues to be a barrier to seeing others, preventing spontaneous exchanges of ideas and feelings.
- Insight #3: L&D is stretched and dissatisfied with recently converted digital and virtual training offerings. As one respondent described it, “We need to make online training more engaging, so learners don’t just click through it.” Other survey participants described feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious, undermining L&D’s ability to stay focused on the learning that is most needed, and how best to apply it.
Other noteworthy findings include:
- 53% of respondents believe their virtual and digital offerings are less effective than their face-to-face versions
- The top things on L&D’s wish list are higher quality learning experiences and more resources
- 47% would funnel new resources toward focusing more on reinforcing learning and holding learners accountable
“The Blanchard 2022 L&D Trends Survey provides a unique perspective into the L&D industry. It reveals a world in flux, an industry fatigued by the pandemic, and workers that feel too depleted to learn. We face many challenges, but they also serve as a road map for the coming year,” said Jay Campbell.
Campbell shared the survey results in a November webinar. A free e-book that summarizes the complete survey findings is available here.
About The Ken Blanchard Companies
The Ken Blanchard Companies is a global leader in management training, consulting, and coaching. For more than 40 years, Blanchard® has been helping organizations develop inspired leaders at all levels and create cultures of connection that unleash talent and deliver extraordinary results. Blanchard’s SLII® powers inspired leaders and is the leadership model of choice for more than 10,000 organizations worldwide. Blanchard also offers a suite of other award-winning leadership development solutions through flexible delivery modalities to meet the specific needs of its clients.
Media Contact
The Ken Blanchard Companies
Stefanie Hincks
Director of Marketing Communications
[email protected]
1.800.728.6000