The Learning and Performance Institute has recently released data on the top 10 challenges of learning leaders, there were two in particular that caught my eye:
- Supporting Learning in a Hybrid Workforce (number 4 in the ranking)
- Lack of Time (number 5 in the ranking)
The CIPD’s Festival of Work event this June, was alight with talk of a 4-day working week.
Take these two things together, and on the surface of it, L&D professionals could be forgiven for hibernating until further notice.
But is the rising popularity of a shorter week only doom and gloom for learning, or is there a glimmer of hope? If people are taking fewer sick days, and are more engaged and motivated, is there a chance that quality over quantity learning becomes the way and is better for everyone?
And could compulsory activities, like volunteering, on the ‘day off’, be part of the answer?
Let’s get into it.
Lack of Time (squared)
What happens when you take already squeezed time and squeeze it a tad more? Even less time!
This isn’t just a challenge for L&D departments when a business is deliberating downshifting from five days to four, but for every department. As I paraphrased Simon Ursell (Managing Director, Tyler Grange) in this blog, the quest is to become 20% more efficient. In other words, not what can we simply cut out, but how can we cut the faff and the fluff surrounding it? It’s hunting down the slack; the meetings that never really arrive at the point, the duplication, the manual processes which take forever and a day.
L&D can step away and look at this as an operational problem, but removing the learning provision from the conversation and rolling out the same expectations, just won’t cut the mustard. I predict that learners will very quickly come knocking:
‘I really want to complete this course/eLearning/simulation but I’m really struggling to find the time – can you help me to figure it out?’
Sure, this question exists in a utopia of eager learners, but you get the idea. If time for learning was an issue before, moving to a 4-day week is going to add serious fuel to the fire.
We have a choice: stick our heads in the sand or adapt. Wait until the problem lands on our doorstep, or proactively scrutinise our offering for ineffectiveness and inefficiencies.
Maybe this is the nudge we needed to really shake things up.
High-impact post-it notes
We’ve all (just me?) got caught up in the aesthetic packaging of learning before. We’ve got carried away with the bells and whistles, the possibility, let the excitement of the idea carry us a little too far away from the objective.
Sometimes, a scribbled post-it note solves the problem. Sometimes, it’s a quickly drafted infographic, or one-page PDF. It’s not always a full-blown course, an hour of further reading or intense group discussion.
Where are we really having impact in L&D, where are we falling short, and how do we know?
What’s nice to have, what’s need to have and how do we know?
The ‘how do we know’ is always data, evidence, and relevant metrics – the good stuff which demonstrates a true correlation.
This is no easy task. So here are three ideas to help you get started:
- If every single department in your business is going through this exercise – can you form a cross-section panel to share approaches, best practices and pitfalls? It’s all connected after all; the domino effect of changes – positive for L&D or otherwise. If a panel isn’t possible, how can you become a fly on the wall in some of the conversations where this stuff is being fleshed out? Even if you can’t take part, you can certainly take note.
- Get up close and personal with the business strategy and future direction. We get caught up in the here and now of learning. It’s time to become forward-focused – where is the business trying to get to and how can L&D enable that vision? Take the business goals and objectives and align L&Ds – what crucial aspects of the learning provision support them?
- Spend quality time with your stakeholders to partner on learning solutions which evolve in step. What will the 4-day week mean for them and their teams? I bet there are new or fiercer pain points now – the conversation might move rapidly and it’s important that we keep pace and ensure the effect on learning is part of the agenda.
Venturing into the unknown
This fifth day, wherever in the week it falls, is not lost to learning. Some people will use it for new qualifications, to willingly mooch around the LMS, or to develop skills they’re personally interested in which enhance them professionally. Some people will try to complete Netflix, forget they have a job, or land somewhere in between. That’s their prerogative.
But perhaps there’s an opportunity for us to bridge the two worlds – incentivise people to take advantage of learning which leverages part of their free day. A partnership of sorts. Perhaps it’s a company-run volunteering programme in the local community. A team-building morning in the wilderness, or a business-funded MBA.
I can see increased demand for certain types of learning – seen as mutually beneficial – things people really want to pursue; they just didn’t have the time before.
Making any of this compulsory likely encroaches on dodgy terrain (I’m no HR expert – perhaps it depends on contracts), but I’m talking about making it optional and attractive. Can we help connect individuals to left-field development? Is this something they’d want? We could find out.
Even if L&D is not involved whatsoever with the day off, what’s to say individuals aren’t developing great behaviours and capabilities informally? I’d certainly be interested in data illuminating what people thought they’d use the time for, and the reality three months in.
Let’s lean into the possibility of a blurred line between life and work that isn’t overtime and burnout, but instead, a symbiotic relationship.
A question of management
A lot of the success of a 4-day working week rests on pre-planning and smart considerations – it requires an overhaul of organisational design. If change management is mostly wishful thinking and the onus to make it work falls on the individual, we’re going to have very tired people and /or work will ultimately seep into the time off. A classic over-promise, under-deliver situation.
There are multiple consequences of screwing this up long-term. Experimenting, taking people along for the journey, transparent communication – this can work, but a bing bang bosh 4-day week left to its own devices is bad news for learning, and…everything else.
What can L&D do about that?
Ask hard-hitting, important questions early and highlight the impact of any deliberations on learning in the workplace. In order to know what to ask and make informed predictions on the future state, now’s the time to really understand:
- Is time for learning currently a problem?
- Are learners concerned about finding time for learning if working time is reduced?
- Can any of the mandatory training undergo a renovation – taking less time to compete without sacrificing its effectiveness?
- Is it worth fighting the corner for a trial or A/B testing before a 4-day week is established?
- What data will you need to demonstrate risks for/impact on learning – and how can you mitigate the risks?
A golden moment
In UK trials, 7 in 10 businesses reported lower levels of burn out and employees claimed they were drastically less likely to quit than before the trial.
If L&D is currently heavily focused on onboarding, helping new joiners get up to speed, or working out how to retain and replace the lost intellectual capital from high turnover, moving to a 4-day week could be part of the answer.
That is of course, if the change management process is top-notch and addresses the root causes of attrition, as opposed to exacerbating issues. In that case, L&D might be able to shift focus from firefighting to driving business performance.
A 4-day week could increase mental capacity. It could help to rebrand learning (if it has an image problem). It could prompt a reimagined learning offering that under the pressure of a high-impact low-time call to action, is more powerful than ever.
Summing up
I think the answer to the question, is the 4-day week a threat or an opportunity for L&D, can only be found within your business. For me, it predominately rests on three areas:
- L&D’s proactive involvement and influence in the conversation
- A thorough understanding of current learning challenges
- An evidence-based prediction for the impact on L&D and a plan to manage it
It’s all down to the execution.
If this is something your organisation is pondering, and you’d like an informal chat and some support, please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going.
Gemma Glover
Head of People
