When it comes to learning and development programs within an organisation, there are many different trains of thought as to what's the most effective. There's a general consensus, however, that the 70-20-10 Model for Learning and Development is amongst the best.
Having been used for decades now, this framework remains popular to this day, and when something's generally been in practice that long, there tends to be a good reason why. But what exactly is this model? And why has it had such enduring success? In this article, we'll be answering those questions and more.
What is the 70-20-10 model in learning and development?
The 70-20-10 learning model was first developed in the mid-1990s by Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo in their book, The Career Development Architect Planner. In it, they described how the most effective learning, and the most knowledge obtained, comes about when people spend 70% of their time engaging in directly job-related activities, 20% of their time interacting with mentors, coaches, peers or any other individual, and improving developmental relationships, whilst only 10% of knowledge is thought should stem from formal training or education.
A note on how to apply the 70-20-10 model
It's important to note at this point that the percentages outlined in the 70-20-10 model should serve as a guideline, and each organisation will find that slightly higher percentages for one aspect, and lower percentages for another, work best.
The strength of this learning management system lies in its holistic approach to learning. In other words, its comprehensive scope, utilising various different learning aspects. But clearly, all companies are individual and unique, so if you think that your employees would benefit from even more social interaction, then that's what you should implement.
HR professionals should treat the 70-20-10 model as a dependable framework or reference model - a rough skeleton on top of which you can layer your organisation's own particular working tissue.
The benefits of the 70-20-10 learning model
This emphasis on 'on-the-job' learning is an understandably attractive proposition to HR professionals, for several reasons. Firstly, it's less resource-intensive than other L&D methods that rely more heavily on formal education and coaching.
Less resource-intensive
Formal training methods are often costly; they're both financially expensive and time-intensive. Let's say you utilise a Learning and Development program for your employees which heavily features formal learning - let's say 75% as an example. That figure is going to comprise courses, examinable coursework and time away at educational events that could otherwise be spent on more immediate job-related experiences.
That's not to say that prescriptive, more formalised learning doesn't still have its place within a learning strategy, as clearly, there are some things that just have to be learned in a more academic/traditional context. However, the notion that structured learning should form the backbone of a workplace's training programs is not only outdated but less effective than you might think.
Address challenges head-on
Another benefit of informal learning, that's to say, learning conducted primarily through on-the-job experience, is that it enables employees to immediately gain experience with the kinds of practical, hands-on challenges they'll face as part of their job.
Being able to address and work through issues practically, rather than just in theory, enables employees to get both immediate feedback and a real-world example of the kinds of pressures and strains that such a challenge might pose, rather than some structured facsimile written down on a whiteboard.
Blended training suits many people's learning styles better
What's more, not everybody learns well through traditional means; whilst some might thrive given academic materials to swot up on, for others it's a real struggle. Experiential learning, by contrast - learning achieved by doing rather than reading or writing - can significantly bolster an employee's knowledge intake, and can help employees settle into a work environment more easily than would be possible were they to be doing all their learning in a classroom-like setting.
Improved retention rates
In fact, it's thought that experiential learning can lead to retention rates of as much as 90%, whilst more traditional learning methods are thought to achieve retention rates of between only 8-10%. This kind of employee engagement and hands-on experience will give employers a more accurate indication of employee performance, as well as being able to more immediately provide feedback.
Social interaction means learning for both employees and employers
Another benefit of the 70-20-10 learning model is that not only do employees learn, but executives learn, too. Even though this model places the majority of learning on job-related activities, the element of social interaction shouldn't be overlooked.
That 20% figure, whether it comprises peer-to-peer mentoring sessions, more informal conversations between employer and employee, or anything else, provides invaluable insights to the employee, but also lets an employer know how their employees are performing, where they can improve, as well as showcasing to employees that they're valued members of the team, no matter how new they are. If you inject social interaction into your learning model, you provide the platform for more effective knowledge sharing.
Developmental relationships facilitate both individual and collective growth within the workplace and help foster a more positive, trusting environment overall. In turn, that safe working space that social learning helps create can lead to greater productivity and more creative insights, because employees feel both more trusted to get on with their workload, as well as more confident to push suggestions they might otherwise not.
More immediate talent development
By setting employees tasks to carry out at work and assessing their learning that way, HR professionals can more easily identify talent, and in which areas. Trying to ascertain the proficiency of employees through academic performance alone risks missing out on some talent, and overestimating the worth of other employees (those who perform well on a written assignment, for example, put perform poorly under real-world, pressurised situations).
Again, this isn't to completely wipe out the value of formal learning as part of your organisation's overall learning strategy; after all, that's why it still retains 10% in this model, it's just that when it comes to spotting talent, it's easier to do "on the factory floor", so to speak, than automatically through an impressive test score, for example.
For formal coursework, utilise e-learning
For the pieces of training that do require a more formalised context - the 10% of the model - then HR professionals might consider implementing online learning. It's thought that e-learning yields retention rates of up to 60%, which is significantly higher than the 8-10% retention rate referenced earlier when referring to traditional teaching/learning methods.
Final thoughts
The 70-20-10 model prioritises on-the-job experiences over formal coursework; challenging assignments in the workplace over career development classes. It doesn't make formal learning opportunities irrelevant but instead utilises them only when necessary, placing their importance beneath that of social learning, of fostering strong developmental relationships between colleagues and employers/employees.
If you want to find out more about the enterprise learning Plus UTS offers, then get in touch. Whether you're looking for something formal or more blended, we've got the right tools to help you upskill your employees to the level you're after.
