ATLANTA, April 18, 2023 -- Intellum, the leader in EdTech for Business, today announced the results of a study it conducted to measure the economy’s impact on learning professionals, and revealed best practices that deliver positive business outcomes. The survey was conducted in the winter of 2023 (December 2022 - January 2023) and had a sample size of 445 full-time U.S. employees involved in delivering workplace education.

Key findings include:

Companies that centralize education ownership are more likely to see better business performance – While 66% of education professionals say ownership of employee, customer, and partner education should be shared across teams, those who advocate for one owner are more likely to work for companies that exceed their business goals. Companies with education initiatives that have a dedicated executive sponsor are also 19 percentage points more likely to exceed their business goals.
Layoffs and budget reductions negatively impact learning professionals – Over the past 12 months, 33% of respondents saw their team’s budget reduced; 15% lost team members due to a reduction in force. Learning professionals with budget reductions are 11% less likely to enjoy their work, and 11% more likely to say “We are not good at helping our paying customers achieve their desired outcomes.”
Learning professionals feel under-skilled – 12% of respondents feel they are capable of making a greater impact, but lack the knowledge and training to succeed. Among the respondent pool, HR professionals are twice as likely (16%) to say they “lack the knowledge and training I need to succeed,” as compared to education professionals (8%). 10% of executives and directors surveyed say a skills gap is holding them back from greatness.

The data showcases an industry-agnostic occurrence; workplace education professionals are doing their best to drive positive business outcomes, despite volatile economic and employment conditions. To note, research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that there are 10.5 million open roles and 5.7 million unemployed Americans looking for work. Organizations are left with two options: hire under-qualified candidates and train them up, or re-skill existing staff. It’s evident that employee education is critical in addressing the skills gap.

"With the current economic environment, talent and customer retention have never been a more critical success metric. The best way to meet that metric is by ensuring customers, employees, and partners are educated on how to best use your products," said Robyn Hazelton, VP of Growth at Intellum. "Our survey shows what those education initiatives—and the learning professionals responsible for them need to drive results in today’s volatile environment.”

Learnings that Driving Positive Business Outcomes

Adopt simpler working methods and better technology to improve efficiency.
Survey education professionals to gauge whether they feel equipped to succeed.
Streamline education initiative ownership as your organization matures.
Ensure your education initiative has the resources—and skill sets—it needs to succeed.
Your education initiative needs an executive sponsor to ensure initiatives have the necessary resources to succeed and drive business results.

Methodology

The results in this report are from an online survey that was fielded first on December 23, 2022, and most recently on January 3, 2023, by Intellum in partnership with Researchscape. There were 445 respondents to the survey. The survey results were not weighted. Researchscape International is a market research consultancy specializing in custom surveys.

For more information, visit: https://www.intellum.com/reports/state-of-education-initiative-ownership-2023

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