Myth #1: The 70:20:10 learning model is just a way to cut costs

• 2 min read

Why your company should adopt 70:20:10 for experiential learning (beyond saving money)

Most organizations that use the 70:20:10 learning model find that their learning solutions are less costly, but that’s not necessarily the main reason to use the approach, or the reason most organizations adopt 70:20:10 for experiential learning and social learning in the workplace.

In fact, the model helps deliver the right mix of information into more effective solutions – sometimes all that’s needed is a checklist (a ‘70’ solution), or a social learning community comprised of staffers and subject matter experts (a ‘20’ solution). Sometimes a short course or an elearning module on a learning management system (LMS) (‘10’ solutions) are enough. No matter which way the solution is built, it’s likely to be more efficient than a single-point solution. Therefore, increased efficiency invariably frees up budget by reducing waste.

70:20:10 is a movement, more than it is a solution. Its aim is to deploy more effective and efficient approaches for building high performance faster than the speed of business. By placing learning closer to the point of need and, for example, boosting the organization’s informal learning efforts, the learner saves time (by not having to hunt for information) and is more likely to be more engaged and, thus, retain more knowledge than if they’re forced to rely solely on prescribed courses that may or may not continue after on boarding.

What motivates staff to learn online?

  • 76% want to do their job faster and better
  • 75% learn for their own personal development
  • 60% want to increase their productivity
  • 47% want to keep up with new technology
  • 42% are motivated by working towards professional certification

Question for L&D: Do you know what motivates YOUR staff to learn?According to the report, recently published by Towards Maturity and Charles Jennings, top deck organizations are consistently high performers, considering that they tend to take a more holistic approach to improving learning in the workflow.

They are:

  • 3 times more likely to report benefits related to efficiency and business process improvement
  • 5 times more likely to report benefits related to productivity and business responsiveness
  • 8 times more likely to report benefits related to culture, such as learning engagement and experiential learning.

Compared to their lower-performing counterparts, top deck L&D leaders are also:

  • 3 times more likely to agree that their L&D staff consider the course as only one of the options for building skills and performance
  • They are also 4 times more likely to agree that their approach to learning is shaped by models such as 70:20:10 that support learning directly in the flow of work

For more in-depth data from the 2015 Towards Maturity Benchmark survey, download the complete report.