Linked in learning-workplace-learning-report-2021-en

Workplace
Learning
Report
LinkedIn Learning’s 5th Annual
2021 / Skill Building in the New World of Work
https://quatang.acabiz.vn/baocaotv

LinkedIn Learning Workplace Learning Report 2021 2
Introduction from the editor
Top 10 takeaways from this report
The L&D Connect community asked
and we answered
The state of the L&D industry
L&D keeps their seat at the C-suite table
L&D pros expect budgets to grow
and continue to shift to online learning
A smart way to measure the impact
of learning: employee surveys
L&D’s learning playlist of 2020
Power skills for the new world of work
Talent as a renewable resource: the age of rapid
upskilling, reskilling, and internal mobility
The power skills of 2021: resilience, digital fluency,
and making a case for creativity
Diversity & inclusion: L&D’s critical role
to help create a more equitable workplace
Don’t fall behind: the fastest-growing skills
in business, sales, IT, and engineering
Learner engagement in hybrid workplaces
Want to win the hearts and minds of Gen Z
learners? Two words: career growth
People learn better together: 30x lift in learner
engagement
Pop quiz: how well do you know your managers?
Top 10 L&D tactics that drive engagement
in hybrid workplaces
Give it a go: learning for good
Looking ahead: what you need to know
Parting thoughts: learnings and advice
from L&D pros around the world
Acknowledgements
Methodology
44
47
49
51
55
58
62
63
Content
4
5
11
14
17
20
22
25
33
38
42

Let’s dive in

Introduction
from the Editor
Michelangelo is quoted as having said, “The sculpture is already
complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is
already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
That is exactly the way I felt writing this report. The survey data,
LinkedIn Learning insights, and customer stories all felt like they
were speaking to me, sharing truths that I now have the honor
to share with you to help elevate the #AlwaysBeLearning mindset
in your organization and around the world.
According to the World Economic Forum report published
in October of last year, the rapid acceleration of automation
and economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic will shift
the division of labor between humans and machines, causing
85 million jobs to be displaced and 97 million new ones to be
created by 2025. It’s a truth that signals an enormous opportunity
for us in the learning and development (L&D) and HR disciplines.
We now have the opportunity to create a true culture of continuous
learning to build a more equitable workplace, and innovate in
ways we can hardly imagine — all in service of creating economic
opportunity for every member of the global workforce, our vision
at LinkedIn.
It all starts with skills. We need to help our teams build the skills
that will inspire learners, managers, and executives to co-create
a culture of learning that rewards what employees already know
and the pace at which learn new, high-demand skills.
This is the fifth year of the Workplace Learning Report. We have
seen learning move from a relatively new discipline within HR
to taking center stage and becoming a must-have strategic role
that will help shape the new world of work. To that point, two-thirds
(66%) of L&D pros globally now agree that they are focused on
rebuilding and reshaping their organizations this year. And, we’ve
seen a big surge in learner engagement on LinkedIn Learning.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of enterprise learners more than
doubled, and the amount of learning has also increase by 58%
more hours per learner.
That doesn’t feel like a step change — it’s a monumental leap.
Leena Nair, the CHRO of Unilever, said it best at our virtual
summit in October: “This is the time to ask those big questions and
create change — and to disrupt and pioneer and take risks; you
need to have that confidence. You need to have that swagger that
says, ‘I know my function and I can make that difference.’ That
is why my biggest advice is: lead! Don’t wait for someone else to tell
you to lead. Lead! Lead proactively! Grab the spotlight! If not now,
then when? If not us, then who? This is our time. Let’s make a big
impact.”
In true Michelangelo style, the excess marble has been cleared
away, and the report is ready for you to explore. At LinkedIn
Learning, we hope that the insights, tips, and inspiration in this
report will help guide your learning programs and inspire
skill building.
Amanda Van Nuys
Group Manager, Marketing Communications
LinkedIn Learning

Top 10
takeaways
from this
report

60%
80%
100%
40%
20%
L&D in the strategic driver’s
seat as change makers
L&D’s seat at the C-suite
table is secure in 2021
% of L&D pros globally who agree that L&D has a seat
at the executive table
March 2020 June 2020 March 2021
62%
24%
63%
#1 #2
66%
of L&D pros globally agree Learning and Development is
focused on rebuilding or reshaping your organization this year
64%
of L&D pros globally who agree that L&D shifted from
a “nice to have” to a “need to have” in 2021

Start with yourself.
L&D pros should invest
in themselves, too.
Check out the five most uniquely popular courses among L&D
pros for free and sign up for the LinkedIn Learning Course Club
to get a new list of unlocked courses every quarter1
22%
#4
1. Instructional Design Essentials: Models of ID
by Joe Pulichino
2. Articulate Storyline Essential Training
by Daniel Brigham
3. Instructional Design: Storyboarding
by Daniel Brigham
4. Converting Face-to-Face Training into Digital Learning
by Daniel Brigham
5. Measuring Learning Effectiveness
by Jeff Toister
60%
80%
100%
40%
20%
2017 2018 2019 June
2020
March
2021
March
2020
37%
27%
35%
43%
#3
The big bounceback:
L&D pros bullish
on budget increases
% of L&D pros globally surveyed at these times
who expect their budget to increase
33%

A majority of L&D pros
agree that internal mobility
is more of a priority now
than before COVID-19
Since COVID-19, internal hires
make up a greater share of all
hires.
Employees at companies
with internal mobility stay
almost 2x longer.
Median employee tenure
for companies with high and
low internal mobility (top and
bottom quartile)
Internal mobility rates
(share of all job changes that
were movements within the
same company)
#6
#5
Upskilling and reskilling
is the top priority for L&D
pros globally
The top three areas of focus for L&D programs in 2021,
in rank order:
1. Upskilling and reskilling
2. Leadership and management
3. Virtual onboarding
% of L&D pros globally who identified these programs as their top
priority in 2021
15% increase
since June 2020
59%
53%
33%
April–August
2019
Low internal
mobility
April–August
2020
High internal
mobility
16.5%
2.9 years
5.4 years
19.6%
+19% lift
51%
of L&D pros say that internal mobility is more of a
priority now than before COVID-19

We have entered the
era of building resilience
and digital fluency
L&D is helping to create
a more diverse, inclusive,
and equitable workplace
According to L&D leaders globally, resilience and
digital fluency were cited as the #1 or #2 most important
skills across every country we surveyed.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of L&D pros globally — and nearly
three-quarters (73%) in North America — report that their
executives have made Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) programs
a priority.
#7
#8

Gen Z is learning more
than ever and focused
on career growth
Learning together
increases engagement
Gen Z learners watched 50% more hours per learner
of learning content in 2020 vs. 2019.
Learners who use social features — Q&A, course shares,
and learning groups — watch 30x more hours of learning
content than learners who don’t.
#9
#10
76%
of Gen Z learners believe learning
is the key to a successful career

The L&D
Connect
community
asked
and we
answered
A few months ago, we asked talent developers in the
LinkedIn Learning L&D Connect group to share the questions
that were top of mind around their 2021 learning programs.
Insightful posts quickly rolled in.
“How do L&D professionals learn and develop
themselves? How do they grow in their careers?”
Irina Ketkin,
Founder and Learning Development Coach, Learning Adventures in Sofia, Bulgaria
We were curious about the same thing. So, we asked our
incredible insights team to look at LinkedIn Learning data to find
out. Take a look at page 23 to see what your peers are learning
to upskill themselves. And, we recently published a report called
the Handbook of L&D Pioneers that also might be helpful.
“How do you measure the impact of learning
on the company bottom line?”
Alessandro Alessandrini,
IM Make or Buy Footprint Evolution Manager, Airbus in Hamburg Germany
This has always been a tough one to tackle. Check out
page 20 to find out how talent developers are measuring
the impact of learning.

“With the rapid
shift to remote online
work, how are
L&D professionals
supporting workers
who are less
digitally literate?”
Joshua Egan,
Learning & Development Manager,
Anglicare WA in Perth, Australia
“How can L&D support, develop, and lead employees
at all levels to be effective allies and more inclusive?”
Rochelle Livingstone,
Learning Designer & Facilitator, Upskill Digital in London, England
This is top of mind for us at LinkedIn Learning, too. Not only have
we unlocked many Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) courses on these
topics, but we also asked several D&I questions in the Workplace
Learning Survey this year. Take a look at page 39 to learn more.
“How will less-skilled workers find new jobs in a
post-COVID world that may no longer need them?
Will companies see it as their responsibility to upskill
their workforce post-pandemic, as many service-
oriented jobs are predicted to go away? If the
government won’t — or can’t — step in and provide
training and education, will employers large and
small take it upon themselves to fill that gap to better
our society (and ultimately their businesses)?”
Tracy Cote,
Chief People Officer, Zenefits in San Francisco, California
This is one of the most important business questions of the new
decade. We share our point of view on who will help close the
digital divide on page 37. (Spoiler alert: companies and countries
will both play a role.)
Congratulations for posting the comment
with the most thumbs-up! It turns out that digital
transformation is the #1 priority in Australia and is either
the #1 or #2 priority in every other region we surveyed
globally. Check out page 35 to read more.

The state
of the L&D
industry

L&D keeps
their seat at the
C-suite table
“2020 has been an incredible year — lots of challenges
but lots of opportunity, too. In fact, this year learning has
really moved to the forefront. It is now in the spotlight. There’s
so much opportunity for us,” said Kevin Delaney, LinkedIn’s
VP of L&D, kicking off the LinkedIn Learning Virtual Summit
in October of last year. “People have recognized that
learning is no longer a nice to have; it’s a must have because
learning is essential for success. In this changing world,
we need to keep growing just to keep up, and for many of the
challenges that we are all facing, learning is the answer.”
Kevin eloquently captured the tectonic shift in the
learning industry that happened in 2020. As we reported
in the Leading with Learning Report (June 2020), learning
hours spiked, L&D pros finally had a seat at the C-suite table,
and executive championship was at an all-time high.
That was certainly good news for learning leaders globally,
but we wondered: Would the rise of learning in 2020 be a
fleeting moment or would it lead to a more permanent shift?

LinkedIn Learning Workplace Learning Report 2021
Not a blip: L&D has
secured a long-term,
elevated role in their
organizations
It’s remarkable how much change can happen to an entire
industry in just 12 months. In last year’s Workplace Learning
Report (March 2020), we reported that “Only 27% of L&D
pros report that their CEOs are active champions of learning.”
We know that when top leadership actively champions learning,
it drives higher learner engagement and impact.
Then the pandemic struck. And that’s when executives
really took notice of the positive impact that learning can have.
L&D leaders moved at lightning speed to deliver learning
programs to help employees manage through the crisis and
stay productive from home; 64% of L&D pros globally agree that
this was the moment learning shifted from a “nice to have”
to a “need to have.”
“To get execs engaged, don’t do a one-size-fits-all approach,
do a one-size-fits-one approach,” says Naphtali Bryant, Director,
Learning & Organization Development, at Netflix. He partnered
with HRBPs and Executives to determine the three habits leaders
need to effectively lead in a virtual environment and used a
blended online learning model to deliver training with pre- and
post-work. What started as a customized approach ended up
translating to other groups within the organization and added
“extreme value”: over a six-week period, they took 188 leaders
through a one-hour conversation.
L&D’s seat at the C-suite table is secure in 2021
% of L&D pros globally who agree that L&D has a seat at the
executive table
% of L&D pros globally who agree that L&D shifted
from a “nice to have” to a “need to have” in 2021
64%
60%
80%
100%
40%
20%
62%
24%
63%

Nearly two-thirds
of L&D pros said
that they still
have a seat at the
C-suite table.
CEOs are continuing to prioritize learning
in their organizations
% of L&D pros globally who agree that CEOs are active champions
of learning
% of L&D pros in these countries who agree that CEOs are active
champions of learning
66%
United States
68%
Canada
70%
France
67%
Southeast Asia
Avient secured executive support for a “month of learning”
campaign last May, and learner engagement went through
the roof. The executive team sent out email communication
to explain the purpose of the campaign and set the expectation
that employees take at least one course by the end of May.
L&D followed up each executive communication with twice-weekly
emails and posts on their intranet, featuring new topics for the
week and recommended courses. It worked. During the campaign,
activation of LinkedIn Learning licenses increased from 40%
to 95%, and engagement hit 95% (and is still going strong).
“We were excited that our leadership team took such a prominent
role in this effort and empowered us to do what we were already
doing behind the scenes and bring it to the forefront,” said Renita
Jefferson, Senior HR Manager at Avient in Cleveland, Ohio.
Where does L&D stand now? We’re happy
to report that nearly two-thirds (63%) of L&D
pros said that they still have a seat at the
C-suite table — almost exactly the same
amount we reported back in June (62%), and
a big lift (39%) from what they reported at
the beginning of 2020. This is a huge shift in
the span of just a year. When taken together,
these data points tell us that learning leaders have truly elevated
the L&D function and proven the value of their programs.
Although there was an 8% dip in CEO championship — from
70% in June 2020 to 62% in March 2021 — it’s still much higher
than it was in March 2020 (at only 27%). But that’s not the whole
story. There are many areas of the world where L&D pros reported
that executive championship is now essentially on par with June
2020 levels, including the United States, Southeast Asia, Canada,
and France.
60%
80%
100%
40%
20%
70%
27%
62%

L&D pros
expect budgets
to grow and
continue to
shift to online
learning
The big 2021 budget
bounceback: L&D pros
are bullish on their
budgets, back to
pre-pandemic levels
Although executive attention is an important factor to fuel
winning learning programs, they can’t run without ample budgets.
This is particularly true this year, now that executives have
higher expectations for the learning function, and organizations
are likely to face more business disruption ahead.
At the beginning of 2020, 37% of L&D pros expected their
budgets to grow, but that number tumbled to 22% when we asked
them again in the middle of the year. At that time, there were
so many uncertainties related to the pandemic — particularly
economic ones — that caused many organizations to freeze their
budgets and scrutinize spending. Now that we have more or less
settled into the new world of work, L&D budget growth is nearly
back to pre-pandemic levels: 33% of L&D pros report that they
expect their budgets to increase, and only 19% expect a decrease.
Keep your eyes on India, where over two-thirds of L&D budgets
are expected to rise this year.
% of L&D pros in India who expect their
budgets to increase in 2021
64%

The number of L&D pros who expect budget increases
are at pre-pandemic levels
% of L&D pros globally surveyed at these times who expect their budget
to increase
Far fewer L&D pros expect
their budgets to go down this
year than they did last year
% of L&D pros globally who expect their
budgets to decrease
22%
34%
60%
60%
80%
80%
100%
100%
40%
40%
20%
20%
2017 2018 2019 June
2020
June
2020
March
2021
March
2021
March
2020
37%
27%
35%
43%
33%
19%
Blended online learning
is here to stay: less ILT
and more online learning
Hybrid workplaces — organizations that function with
some employees working remotely and some in a traditional
office environment — are going to be the way we work for
the foreseeable future. Over the last six months, many
organizations announced that they will continue to operate
in a completely remote environment, while some, including
LinkedIn, will continue to offer employees the flexibility
to work at home or in the office.
That means that the pivot L&D made from instructor-led
training (ILT) to blended online learning — learning
experiences with a mix of virtual instructor-led training
(VILT) and online learning — will remain the status quo.
“Compared to instructor-led training, a robust online learning
solution would provide far superior coverage in terms of reach,
accessibility, and learning content. We wanted a solution that
would open new doors and help ensure that every employee
has the opportunity to learn,” explained Samit Deb, CHRO
at Airtel, based in India.
From a budget perspective, the trend away from ILT, which
is typically the most expensive line item in an L&D budget,
and toward online learning was already happening before
the pandemic hit.

In early 2020, 38% of L&D pros expected to spend less
on ILT and 57% expected to spend more on online learning.
Today, those numbers are significantly higher: 73% of L&D
pros expect to spend less on ILT and 79% expect to spend
more on online learning.
L&D pros have everything they need — a strategic position
in the organization, C-level support, the budget, and the online
learning resources — to make this year their most impactful
one yet. Let’s get going!
Less Instructor-Led
Training
More Online
Learning
79%
73%
38%
57%
2020 2021
Most organizations will
continue to shift budgets
away from ILT and to
online learning
% of L&D pros who expect
the investment in these types
of training will change

A smart way
to measure the
impact of learning:
employee surveys
Quantifying the
value of learning is not
straightforward
Learning leaders have to rely on a wide spectrum of measures
to gauge success and identify areas to improve. Gathering
qualitative feedback from learners topped the list again, but
a few quantitative measures — including the number of learners
who keep coming back to online learning solutions and how
many courses they complete — moved further up this year.

This is the year that
employee surveys enter the
learning measurement mix
What really surprised us was the 11-point rise in the use
of employee engagement survey scores to measure the impact
of learning — in just one year. Given that many organizations
had fully remote workforces or were managing the new territory
of a hybrid workforce, staying close to employee sentiment and
needs was more critical this year than ever before. Globally,
27% of L&D pros said that they are now using survey tools
to measure program effectiveness; in the UK, a whopping 43%
of respondents are using them to gauge how satisfied employees
are with learning programs.
Jacqueline Gay, L&D Manager at TomTom, based in Amsterdam,
shared with us that her team spends time really listening.
“We’re talking to our internal customers more about what they
want to learn and what the best format will be. We’ve been joining
our software development teams’ virtual stand-ups every week
and using Glint surveys to identify focus areas like collaboration
tools. We’re able to go back to them with the right, relevant solution
rather than just the programs we think they want.”
One thing is for sure. Measuring the value that learning brings
to your organization will be a major factor in L&D pros keeping
their spot at the C-suite table.
Top 10 ways L&D pros measure the impact
of learning, in rank order
Increasingly, savvy L&D pros
are using employee surveys
to solicit feedback and learner
satisfaction scores
% of L&D pros globally who report using
employee survey scores to measure the impact
of learning
Qualitative feedback from employees using online courses
Satisfaction of employees using online courses
The number of employees that consistently engage
with learning content
Employee engagement survey scores
Qualitative feedback about behavioral changes
that learning was intended to drive
The number of online courses completed
An increase in the number of skills employees are developing
Team/organization/business metrics (deals closed,
customer satisfaction) before and after training
Time saved/productivity increase
Ability to retain talent within your organization
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2020 2021
27%
16%
% of L&D pros in the UK who report using employee
survey scores to measure the impact of learning
43%

L&D’s learning
playlist of 2020
Carve out time to upskill
yourself in 2021
When you’re so busy helping others learn, it’s easy
to forget to make time for yourself to learn.
Make 2021 the year that you focus on you and let Pamay
Bassey, Chief Learning and Diversity Officer at Kraft Heinz,
be your inspiration. She made a commitment to learn
something new every day for a year.
“There is power in making a commitment to start a new
habit — even if you start with a few minutes a day,” she
said in a LinkedIn post. “And, most importantly, there is joy
as others join you, making their own commitments and
sharing what they are learning, and powering the creation
of an exciting learning culture — a culture of creativity,
generosity, and curiosity.”
5 courses most uniquely
popular among L&D pros
globally in 2020
Check out these unlocked courses and sign up for the
LinkedIn Learning Course Club to get a new list of unlocked
courses every quarter.1
Instructional Design Essentials:
Models of ID
by Joe Pulichino
Converting Face-to-Face Training
into Digital Learning
by Daniel Brigham
Articulate Storyline Essential Training
by Daniel Brigham
Instructional Design: Storyboarding
by Daniel Brigham
Measuring Learning Effectiveness
by Jeff Toister

What do your peers
want to learn this year?
We asked your peers in the L&D Connect group
on LinkedIn what they wanted to learn this year. We’ve
included responses here to inspire you to continue to learn
and grow. Thank you Sonia, Mike, and Diana for sharing
your learning goals with us.
“People analytics, data visualization,
creative writing, and search optimization.”
Sonia Malik,
Alliances Manager, IBM Training and Skills in Boston, Massachusetts
“A coaching mindset. I predict that the
biggest challenge in 2021 will be well-being,
particularly around mental health, stress,
anxiety, and loneliness. Leaders and people
managers need to be equipped to coach and
support people through the year ahead —
and build in resilience — as it’s likely to be
a bumpy ride.”
Mike Bedford,
People Development and Wellbeing Lead, Education and
Skills Funding Agency in Leeds, UK
“Leading and managing in a hybrid
work environment, resilient leadership,
and psychological safety.”
Diana Antwiwaa Amoako,
Managing Consultant, Ideas & Update in Ghana
Your turn. What’s on your
2021 learning playlist?
Share your learning goals and exchange helpful content
with your peers around the world in the L&D Connect group
on LinkedIn, the official LinkedIn Learning community.

Power skills
for the new
world of work

Talent as
a renewable
resource:
the age of
rapid upskilling,
reskilling,
and internal
mobility
Sit down for this one. According to the World Economic
Forum report published in October of last year, the rapid
acceleration of automation and economic uncertainty caused
by the pandemic will shift the division of labor between humans
and machines, leading to 85 million jobs being displaced
and 97 million new ones created by 2025.
Some of the largest enterprises globally have seen this shift
coming for the last few years and have invested millions —
even billions — in “future proofing” their employees, arming
them with the skills needed for the new world of work. For
example, JPMorgan Chase added the tidy sum of $350M to
their $250M plan to upskill their workforce. Amazon is investing
over $700M to provide upskilling training to their employees.
And, PwC is spending $3B to upskill all of its 275,000 employees
over the next three to four years; the mantra of the program
is “New World, New Skills.”
The top three areas of focus for L&D
programs in 2021
% of L&D pros globally who identified these programs as their top
priority in 2021
1. Upskilling and reskilling
2. Leadership and management
3. Virtual onboarding
59%
53%
33%

Today, it’s not just large organizations that are prioritizing
skill building. We asked L&D pros globally what their primary
focus was for their L&D programs in 2021, and their #1 priority
(59%) is upskilling and reskilling —that’s a 15% increase since
June 2020.
Interestingly, L&D pros at small businesses were prioritizing
it more (64%) than large enterprises (56%). That could
be because so many large enterprises already have robust
programs in place.
More L&D pros in small- and medium-size
organizations are planning to upskill and reskill
their employees this year
% of L&D pros globally in organizations of different sizes who
reported that the focus of their L&D programs in 2021 is upskilling
and reskilling
Small businesses
Medium businesses
Large enterprises
64%
62%
56%
Infineon is helping their manufacturing
workers build their digital skills. Jessica
Richter, Senior Director of People and
Leadership Development at Infineon said:
“When it comes to building digital skills, we need to
support the entire workforce in all countries — from
production through to the back office.” This is why
Infineon provided access to all of their employees,
including more than 31,000 manufacturing workers.
By setting up special learning facilities and aligning
closely with their leadership team, Infineon is helping
their entire workforce grow and learn.
Read more

From tapping into the power of managers to gathering
usage data, there’s a wide variety of ways L&D pros
help learners build skills
% of L&D pros globally who indicated that they are using these tactics
to upskill and reskill their employees
Who is your secret
skill-building weapon?
The manager.
Reskilling and upskilling programs are relatively new for most
talent teams, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach in terms
of how to strategically plan, resource, and execute them. As
learning professionals, we’re all figuring out this new world of work
together. That’s why we wanted to find out some of the tactics that
they are using to move the skill-building needle.
We found that nearly half (49%) of L&D pros are working with
people managers to drive learner engagement and skill building.
That makes perfect sense because managers are responsible
for the performance and growth of their teams. More specifically,
we have heard from our customers that they are focusing
on upskilling managers to have
higher-quality, meaningful career
conversations with their direct reports.
As a learning leader, you have your
work cut out for you. Only 40% of
learners report that their managers
challenged them to learn new skills in
the last six months, even though over
half (53%) do feel that their managers
support their career goals.
of L&D pros
are working with
managers to drive
learner engagement
and skill building
of learners said that
their managers are
challenging them
to learn a new skill
of learners report that
their boss supports their
career goals
Including people managers in driving employees learning
and skill development
Setting up feedback loops to understand what skills to build or courses to
recommend to the organization
Working closely with your organization’s executive team to align skilling
programs to a revised business strategy, in response to COVID
Working with talent acquisition and/or HR departments to identify skills
needed for workforce planning
Leveraging skill assessments to validate skills in the current workforce
Using external data resources and tools to identify skills gaps
in the industry
Creating large-scale reskilling programs to fill positions that are new or
difficult to hire for
Creating career paths with course recommendations and skills needed
Using internal data and tools to identify skills gaps in the organization
49%
36%
36%
32%
30%
19%
17%
41%
41%
49%
40%
53%

How Nationwide’s “Future of Work” program
is reskilling and upskilling employees to prepare
for the digital future
In January 2020, Nationwide made a
significant commitment to their people
and a major commitment to learning.
A $160 million investment in the Future
of Work focused on enhanced benefits
and incentives, and a five-year program to
reskill and upskill 28,000 associates across the
US with personalized learning curriculums. The
goal is to help associates explore new learning
focused on the skills of the future, and career
progression opportunities, while also building
digital literacy skills so they can keep pace with
the technological change that’s reshaping all
industries.
Gale King, Chief Administrative Officer at
Nationwide, said, “Upskilling is the investment
we are making in ensuring that every associate
is developing the new skills we believe are
necessary for the future. This includes digital
literacy and future capabilities (lead, innovate,
and adapt). Each associate will receive
eight hours of time annually to invest in their
development with a personalized learning plan
that’s level specific.”
If internal mobility isn’t
on your 2021 L&D program
list, then it should be
You have probably heard a lot about internal mobility lately.
No, it’s not about mobile phones. It is when a current employee
moves from one job to another at the same company. More than
half (51%) of L&D pros globally report internal mobility is even
more of a priority since the pandemic struck, and that trend has
shown up in LinkedIn data. We’re seeing a sizable rise in internal
mobility; from April through August 2020 the internal hiring rate
was nearly 20% higher than it was during the same time in 2019.
And internal mobility is happening all over the world, with the
highest rate in Germany, where the focus on digital transformation
is front and center of German learning programs.
of L&D pros say that their internal
mobility programs are centralized
to one team or person
Most organizations don’t have an “internal mobility department”
or designated person; that tells us that it’s a distributed, cross-
functional effort. However, L&D is already playing a critical role
in internal mobility efforts. Over a third of L&D pros globally (39%)
say that they are responsible for helping leaders identify current
and future skills gaps, developing tools to help build internal
mobility programs (33%), and helping to identify skills adjacencies
(31%) — skill sets that are related to new skills that the organization
wants to build.
of L&D pros say that internal
mobility is more of a priority now
than before COVID-19
51% 13%

Countries with the highest internal mobility rates
since COVID-19
% of internal mobility rates April–August 2020
Global average 5-year average
L&D plays a critical role in
internal mobility programs
% of L&D pros globally who are doing
these tasks as part of their organization’s
internal mobility programs
40%
Germany Indonesia Canada Singapore
New Zealand
Since COVID-19, internal
hires make up a greater share
of all hires
Internal mobility rates (share of all job
changes that were movements within
the same company)
40%
Apr–Aug 2019 Apr–Aug 2020
16.5%
24.6% 24% 22.5% 21.7% 20.8%
19.6%
19% lift
Helps identify skills gaps
Builds internal mobility tools
Helps identify skills adjacencies
39%
33%
31%
19.6%
“We want people to see that learning these
skills, especially digital competencies, are
just as important as learning about their job
responsibilities,” said Tishia Damschroder,
Associate Vice President of Enterprise Learning
and Development at Nationwide.
To help learners feel in control of their learning,
the L&D team provides curated resources tied to
the core skills, while also allowing for a flexible,
“self-directed” experience. “We couldn’t be more
pleased with how the associates embraced it,”
said Tishia. “Many people are going well beyond
their eight hours. Some completed it in the first
week and immediately wanted more.”
Laura Mierzejewski, Director of Learning
Excellence, agrees: “Associates have shared with
me that once they get into LinkedIn Learning,
they find all this amazing content that goes well
beyond what we’ve curated for the Future of Work.”
Rebecca Schoepfer, SVP of Talent & Organization
Effectiveness at Nationwide, is thrilled with
how associates are embracing the Future
of Work. “The Future of Work center is bringing
a continuous learning culture to life, and it’s
clear that associates are taking advantage of it
to ensure they are developing the skills needed for
a rapidly changing world.”
Read more

Learners without
obvious skills adjacencies
are making the leap
into emerging roles
It’s a commonly held belief that talent with “skills adjacencies” —
or skills that are similar to other skills — are the people who can
most easily make the leap from one role to another. But, we’ve
found that’s not entirely true. An analysis by LinkedIn’s data
science team conducted for the World Economic Forum showed
that many employees who have moved into “emerging roles” over
the past five years came from entirely different occupations.
For example, half of the employees who moved into data science
and artificial intelligence (AI) roles were coming from unrelated
industries. That number jumps when we look at engineering roles
(67%), content roles (72%), and sales (75%). What is even more
interesting is that the people who transitioned into data and AI
had the largest variation in skill profiles, with half of them
possessing skills with low similarity.
The most inspiring takeaway from these insights is that people
are much more capable of learning new skills and moving into
higher-priority positions than traditionally thought. This will
be critical given the acceleration of technological change and
the increasingly pressing need to retrain and redeploy talent
for the new world of work, as the World Economic Forum
prediction tells us.

Internal mobility has an
ROI that’s easy to quantify:
higher engagement and
retention
Quantifying the ROI of learning is a very tough nut to crack,
as we discussed in the first section of this report, but doing the
same for internal mobility programs is much easier (finally, right?).
According to LinkedIn data, employees at companies with high
internal mobility stay almost two times longer than those who
don’t. That’s extraordinary considering the impact of losing an
employee in terms of both productivity and expense.
Not only are learners more likely to stay longer, but they are also
much more engaged. Recent Glint data tells us that employees
who have found new roles internally are three and a half times
more likely to be engaged than those who haven’t. It’s a virtuous
circle: 82% of L&D pros report that engaged learners are also more
likely to participate in internal mobility programs. That’s a win-
win-win for you, your learners, and your organization.
2.9 years
5.4 years
Low internal
mobility
High internal
mobility
Employees at companies
with internal mobility stay
almost 2x longer
Median employee tenure for
companies with high and low internal
mobility (top and bottom quartile)
of L&D pros agree that engaged learners are
more likely to find new roles in their organization
82%
Employees are already
learning to move into
new roles, and managers
approve
What do learners think about internal mobility? It turns out
that they are already engaged in upskilling or reskilling to make
the job change. Over a third (35%) of employees globally have used
learning programs to help them find new opportunities in their
organizations, though the number varies quite a bit from country
to country. One thing that doesn’t vary is the overwhelming number
of managers (91%) who are supportive of helping their direct reports
find new opportunities at their companies and who believe that
learning can help close skills gaps on their teams.
Employees who move into new jobs internally are
3.5x more likely to be engaged employees than those
who stay in their current jobs.

of managers are supportive of their
team finding other opportunities within
their organizations
of managers agree that learning can
help close skills gaps on their teams
91%
84%
% of learners who have spent time learning to help them perform a different
function internally
31%
United States
38% Globally
36%
United
Kingdom
49%
India
48%
Southeast Asia
Skill building and internal
mobility programs make
talent a renewable resource
As talent developers and business leaders now living in the new
world of work, we have a responsibility to our people to help them
thrive and do work that is both engaging and makes a positive
impact. When employees who are in roles that are no longer
strategic can build the skills to successfully move into high-value
roles that the organization needs, talent becomes a renewable
resource that can quickly retool for whatever comes next.

The power
skills of 2021:
resilience,
digital fluency,
and making
a case for
creativity
There are definitely two things — among too many
to count — that 2020’s challenging circumstances helped
us learn. First, we needed to build our resilience muscle
to help us adapt to rapid-fire change. Second, we needed
to learn new ways of working and collaborating in a virtual
world. The good news is that resilience and digital fluency
are exactly what we’ll need to thrive in 2021.
What is resilience, and
do learners understand
the value?
In her LinkedIn Learning course Enhancing Resilience,
Gemma Leigh Roberts defines resilience as a skill or mindset you
can develop that will help you to navigate the new working world.
“Enhancing resilience is all about creating your edge at work,”
she explains. “It’s not just about learning to cope exceptionally
well with challenges, but also learning how to thrive and reach
your peak.” It’s about a mindset that helps employees perform well
at work regardless of what changes and challenges come their way.
So, what do learners think? Nearly two-thirds (60%) agree that
learning makes them more adaptable.
“A period of unprecedented disruption calls for transformation
and learning agility. Now, more than ever, management
acknowledges our employees need to be more agile and innovative.
They also recognize the strategic role that L&D plays in preparing
our organization for the changes that lie ahead.” Read more
Cheryll Ruth Lat-Agsaoay,
Vice President of Human Resources, SM Supermalls in Manila, Philippines
% of employees globally believe that learning makes
them more capable of adapting to change
60%

“The UK Ministry of Defense needed to keep up with the evolving
technical needs for soldiers and personnel. We identified a
technical skills gap in our middle management layer. Accessible
digital learning equipped the new ‘technical soldier’ with the
understanding and qualifications needed for modern, data-driven
warfare.” Read more
Captain Neil Donaghy, Strategy Development & Change Manager,
UK Ministry of Defense in Chichester, England
Learning Path
Master Digital Transformation
What is the difference
between digital fluency
and digital transformation?
According to Wikipedia, digital transformation is “the adoption
of digital technology to transform services or businesses.” In other
words, it’s how organizations use technology, talent, and processes
to innovate and impact performance.
From an L&D perspective, digital transformation is a learning
program, while being digitally fluent means that a learner has
the technology skills to effectively operate in an increasingly digital
world. It includes everything from understanding how to use the
Microsoft Office suite to advanced artificial intelligence.
If you are a LinkedIn Learning customer, then we have a digital
transformation learning path with over 40 hours of content to help
your employees build their digital skills.

What’s more important —
resilience or digital fluency?
It depends where you are.
When we asked L&D pros globally to share which skills were
most important to be successful in the new world of work, we gave
them many options to choose from — from time management
to communication across remote teams. The results that came
back were loud and clear: resilience landed the number one slot,
and digital fluency came in second.
Even more interesting was the discovery that resilience and digital
fluency landed the #1 or #2 spots across every country we surveyed.
Resilience was #1 in the US, Canada, France, the UK, Australia,
and New Zealand, with technology skills coming in second.
In Germany, DACH, Southeast Asia, and India, the results were
flipped, with technology skills ranking #1 and resilience #2.
Top 2 skills across countries surveyed:
#1 Resilience | #2 Digital Fluency
#1 Digital Fluency | #2 Resilience
L&D pros globally cited these skills as being
most important this year, in rank order
Resilience and adaptability
Technology skills/
digital fluency
Communication across
remote or distributed teams
Emotional intelligence
Cross-functional
collaboration
Leading through change
Change management
Dealing with stress/
being more mindful
Time management
Creativity
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Making the case
for creativity
In 2019 and 2020, creativity took the top spot on the list of most
in-demand soft skills that companies need. While it’s always
interesting to see what tops a list, it’s equally important to see what
lands at the bottom. This year, when we asked L&D pros which
skills employees would need most in 2021, creativity was dead last.
In their recent book The Curious Advantage, Paul Ashcroft,
Simon Brown, and Garrick Jones state that, “Curiosity is the
greatest driver of value in the new digital age. Curiosity is at the
heart of the skills required to successfully navigate our digital lives
when all futures are uncertain.”
Word to the wise — don’t write off creativity. To help navigate
our changing economic landscape, you need people on your team
who can ideate on creative solutions to your biggest problems.
Creativity will help us collectively adapt — even thrive — in the
new world of work.
Case in point:
Johnson & Johnson Foundation & Sigma’s
LinkedIn Learning pilot helped nurses build
resilience and advocate for PPE
Results from a two-month-long pilot of LinkedIn Learning
courses for early career/bedside nurses overwhelmingly
affirmed that fundamental personal leadership and
resilience skills traditionally not provided in preclinical
academic learning are critical to their professional success.
Despite the pilot running concurrent to the COVID-19
pandemic, there was an 80% completion rate, and 100%
of nurses surveyed noted that the program was worth
their time, with some noting that a few courses provided
them with “just-in-time” skills to advocate for PPE or other
COVID-19-related training.
“The goal of this program is to build on the natural
leadership skills of nurses early in their career,” said Julie
A. Cornell, Senior Manager, Johnson & Johnson Global
Community Impact. “We believe nurses are agents
of change, and they need to be part of a new, diverse
generation of leaders leading and shaping health systems
at all levels — from the bedside to the boardroom.”
Read more

Food for thought:
Will companies or governments take
the digital transformation lead?
Every wave of technology innovation creates more
jobs than are eliminated. The same is true with the one
we’re in now. As we mentioned in the introduction, the
World Economic Forum expects that 85 million jobs will
be gone and 97 million jobs will be created by 2025 —
many of them technology jobs requiring skills in artificial
intelligence, blockchain, data security, emerging coding
languages, and many more.
Both companies and governments are stepping up
to help retrain millions of people for the digital economy.
Last year, Microsoft announced that they will upskill 25
million people with LinkedIn Learning.
Countries are also investing in skill building to give
their citizens access to opportunity and to set themselves
up for future success in a digital world. For example,
Colombia gave 500,000 Colombian students, teachers,
and employees access to LinkedIn Learning to help
them build both their technical and soft skills.
In 2021, we expect to see many more of these
learning initiatives — from both the private and public
sectors — as technological change accelerates at
an exponential rate.

Diversity
& Inclusion:
L&D’s critical
role to help
create a more
equitable
workplace
“At a time when the world is focused on racial justice, compounded
by a pandemic that has disproportionately upended Black,
Latino, and underserved communities, it is critical for companies —
as the engines of economic opportunity and prosperity —
to play a leading role in building a more equitable future for all.
And as individuals, the importance of looking inward, as well as
at the world around you to ensure you’re demonstrating the change
you want to see, is the marker for initiating equitable change,”
said Rosanna Durruthy, Vice President, Global Diversity, Inclusion,
and Belonging at LinkedIn in a blog post announcing new
LinkedIn research on the topic last October.
The challenges that Black employees face are profound. In the
study, we found that one in four Black professionals feel they have
been overlooked for career advancement opportunities because
of their skin color, and a third feel they have missed out on career
advancement opportunities due to a lack of internal mentorship
and sponsorship programs. Black professionals also feel that
they lack an ally at work — a person who stands up for others to
proactively build inclusion in the workplace. Active allyship is a key
driver to an inclusive culture, yet our research found that almost
half of Black professionals (48%) do not know someone who they
consider to be an ally at their place of work. This lack of allyship
has consequences — over one in four (26%) Black professionals
feel isolated at work, and one in three (33%) have experienced
discrimination and/or microaggressions in their workplace.

Diversity & Inclusion is the
right thing for people and
the right thing for business
Investment in D&I programs are proven to have measurable
impact, across many dimensions. Reports from McKinsey,
Deloitte, the Corporate Executive Board, Gartner, Harvard
Business Review, and others have overwhelmingly found
that organizations with D&I programs see an enormous impact,
including increased revenue and stock price. Other benefits
include higher levels of creativity, performance, and productivity.
Diversity & Inclusion
is a top talent development
priority in 2021
We clearly have a long way to go to create a more inclusive
and equitable business culture (and world), but we’re seeing some
steps in the right direction. D&I is now top of mind for a majority
of executives globally. According to our survey results, nearly two-
thirds (64%) of L&D pros globally — and nearly three-quarters (73%)
in North America — report that their executives have made D&I
programs a priority. And talent developers are creating programs
to support these initiatives; when we asked L&D pros about the
programs they plan to run in 2021, D&I ranked #2 globally (behind
“leading through change” programs) and #1 in North America.
22%
more likely to be seen as an industry
leader with high-caliber talent
12%
more likely to be seen as an inclusive
workplace for people of diverse backgrounds
Based on global LinkedIn data
Companies with Diversity & Inclusion
programs are: Programs that L&D pros globally will
deploy in 2021, in rank order:
Leading through change
1
Diversity and inclusion
2
Large-scale upskilling
or reskilling
3
Digital transformation
4
Virtual lunch and learns
5
64% of L&D pros globally and
73% of L&D pros in North America
report that D&I programs are a
priority in 2021

Most often, D&I and L&D
partner to deliver joint
strategies and programs
As organizations realize that D&I needs to be infused across
all learning programs to drive lasting change and foster a culture
of inclusion, the lines are blurring between L&D and D&I teams.
When we asked L&D pros globally how they work with their
organization’s D&I strategy, the responses ran the gamut — from
D&I teams (24%) or L&D teams (12%) responsible for diversity
and inclusion, to both teams partnering to deliver these programs
together (28%). While this tells us that there is no single way
to approach D&I, we can say that D&I will be a higher priority
for the majority of L&D organizations in 2021: 71% currently have
a D&I program or are interested in starting one this year.
MediaKind’s D&I program involved
their CEO, a competition, and sensitivity
to regional and cultural differences
MediaKind, a 1,200-person Ericsson
spinoff operating in 29 countries, was
ready with learning content and
programs to support employees when the call for
social justice rang across the globe last summer.
MediaKind’s CEO immediately sent a note out
to the organization reiterating his commitment to
D&I, which was then followed by an email from
MediaKind’s Chief People Officer Dave Medrano
with recommended D&I learning content from
LinkedIn Learning.
“We have a lot of diversity in our organization —
national, country of origin, language — and we
worked hard to be sensitive to that and ensure
that our learning programs and communications
weren’t US-centric. After all, only 20% of our
employees are based in the US,” said Dave.
To help address regional and cultural differences,
MediaKind’s CEO asked his direct reports to
facilitate live discussions with their teams about
D&I. Dave also focused on promoting Diversity,
Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs) courses that
are applicable globally. “Unconscious bias is
a universal challenge and a connective tissue
when words and jargon fall down,” he said. “If you
focus on equality, then you won’t miss the mark.
We offered a wide spectrum of courses during a
learning competition, and DIBs courses naturally
rose to the top.”
Read more
What is the role of L&D
in your organization’s
diversity and inclusion
(D&I) strategy?
28%
24%
17%
15%
12%
4%
L&D and D&I teams work
closely together on a joint D&I
strategy and programs
D&I team is primarily
responsible for D&I programs
My organization does not have
a D&I program, and there are
no plans to create one
My organization does not have
a D&I program, but has just
started one or would like to start
one soon
No D&I team, L&D team is
primarily responsible for D&I
Other
% of L&D pros globally who responded affirmative to this question

Your go-to resource
guide for D&I
Creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace is an
ongoing process and continuing to learn about D&I is a lifelong
commitment. In that spirit, we’d like to share some D&I resources
to help you craft your program this year. It is by no means
exhaustive, but it is a good place to start.
Confronting Bias: Thriving across
Our Differences
by Verna Myers and
Arianna Huffington
Skills for Inclusive Conversations
by Mary-Frances Winters
Diversity, Inclusion,
and Belonging
by Pat Wadors
Rolling Out a DIBs Training
Program in Your Company
by Dereca Blackmon
Unconscious Bias
by Stacey Gordon
Communicating about Culturally
Sensitive Issues
by Daisy Lovelace
Bystander Training:
From Bystander to Upstander
by Catherine Mattice Zundel
Communicating
across Cultures
by Tatiana Kolovou
Creating diverse and inclusive workspaces
Understanding and confronting
unconscious bias
Having inclusive conversations
and communicating across cultures

Don’t fall behind:
the fastest-growing
skills in business,
sales, IT, and
engineering
It’s a commonly held belief that the average life span of a skill —
particularly a hard skill — is five years. Today, it seems like that
life span is shortening, with new skills emerging at a more rapid
pace than in years past. As a talent developer, it makes your
job tougher to stay up to speed on the latest trends, let alone be
ahead of the curve.
We’re here to help.
Here are the fastest-growing skills in business, sales, IT, and
engineering to incorporate into your 2021 planning cycles — we’ve
also included links to blog posts listing courses you can share with
your employees to help them build these essential skills.2
LinkedIn data that helped us determine the fastest-growing
skills: 722M+ members in over 200 countries • 55M companies
• 14M jobs • 115,000 schools • 16,700 courses • 36,000 skills
Business Sales
Information
Technology Engineering
1. Customer Experience
2. Digital Marketing
3. Data Analysis
4. Financial Statements
and Forecasting
5. Analytical Skills
Read more
1. Data Analysis
2. Technical Support
3. Customer Relationship
Management
4. Sales Process
5. Consulting
Read more
1. Cybersecurity
2. Network Engineering
3. Analytical Skills
4. Scrum
5. Information Security
Read more
1. React.js
2. Docker
3. AWS
4. Node.js
5. MongoDB
Read more

Learner
engagement
in hybrid
workplaces

Want to win
the hearts and
minds of Gen Z
learners?
Two words:
Career growth.
Gen Zers are learning
more now than ever before
When the pandemic hit, Gen Z flocked to learning resources
and continued to learn at higher levels throughout the year —
more than any other age group. In fact, 67% of Gen Z learners
said that they spent more time learning in 2020 than they did
the previous year. The data we gathered from the LinkedIn
Learning platform bears that out. The number of Gen Z learners
on LinkedIn Learning increased by two and a half times
in 2020, compared to 2019, representing the highest increase
of any generation. Once they found the online learning platform,
they stayed to learn more. In fact, Gen Z learners watched
50% more hours per learner in 2020, compared to 2019. We also
saw the upward trend in learning time in our survey data, with
69% reporting that they are carving out more time to learn.
The number of Gen Z learners
increased by 2.5x last year.3
Gen Z watched 50% more hours
per learner in 2020.4
of Gen Z learners reported
that they are making more
time to learn
69%
What happens when a completely digital generation —
one that didn’t know life before the smartphone and social
media — all of a sudden needs to learn and work in a
completely virtual environment? It turns out that they are
in their element, and they mean business. We asked Gen
Z learners (ages 18–24 years old) how they like to learn
and why. Then, we asked our Insights team about Gen Z
learning habits on LinkedIn Learning. Taken together,
we have a more complete picture of the Gen Z learner
to help fuel your learning programs.

Gen Z: 1997–2012 (ages 9–24) Gen Y (Millennials): 1981–1996 (ages 25–40)
Gen X: 1965–1980 (ages 41–56) Boomer: 1946–1964 (ages 57–75)
The key to Gen Z’s heart is career growth
% of learners globally who agreed with the statements below
Learning is helping me
expand my current role
I wanted to learn
new skills to perform in
a different function
Learning is the key
to success in my career
Learning is helping me
find new opportunities
at my organization
They are career-minded
to the core
Many of us have spent time learning how to work remotely,
manage stress, build more resilience, or create a more equitable
workplace. Gen Z spent time doing those things, too. But if you
really want to motivate a younger employee, then focus
on career growth.
Gen Z learners will spend time learning if it can help them perform
well in their current jobs (69%), build the skills needed to work in
a different function (47%), or find new roles internally (hello, internal
mobility) — more than any other generation in the workforce.
And, over three-quarters (76%) of Gen Z employees believe that
learning is the key to a successful career. Music to our ears, right?
60%
60%
80%
80%
100%
100%
40%
40%
20%
20%
Gen Y wants to learn
new skills to move into a
different function (slightly
more than Gen Z)
76%
47%
69%
47%
61%
38%
54%
51%
48%
31%
57%
23%
56%
34%
55%
28%
Gen Z learners are building
their hard skill foundations
Older generations of learners are focused more on developing
their soft skills, like communication and leadership. But Gen
Z employees are spending their time learning how to be more
productive (who isn’t?), and on business and technology basics
— from learning how to code Python to understanding online
marketing foundations. In the list of top courses that Gen Z took
last year, you’ll notice that a majority of them are hard skills.
Fun fact: Gen Z spends 12% more of their time on LinkedIn
Learning building their hard skills when compared to the
average learner.

They turn to online
learning to sharpen their
hard skills and satisfy
their curiosity
When it comes to online learning, Gen Z is a bit of a dichotomy.
On the one hand, they want to learn new skills to uplevel their
performance (83%), and on the other, they want to explore topics
that they’re curious about (73%). These numbers ranked higher
than any other generation when we asked them the
same questions.
Work
Personal
Pro tip:
Make sure that course
recommendations are highly
personalized to their role and
career goals. This was also
the most important product
feature that Gen Z values.
Pro tip:
Find out what they are
personally passionate about
or sprinkle in a few course
recommendations on
photography or playing an
instrument. Gen Z learners
will thank you for it.
want to learn
skills to perform
better in their
current role
want to learn
about a topic they
are personally
interested in
83%
73%
4. Strategic Thinking
by Dorie Clark
5. Learning Data Analytics
by Robin Hunt
6. Time Management:
Working from Home
by Dave Crenshaw
7. Online Marketing
Foundations
by Brad Batesole
Top courses taken by Gen Z
on LinkedIn Learning in 2020:
1.
3.
2.
The Six Morning Habits
of High Performers
by Pete Mockaitis
Excel Essential Training
(Office 365/Microsoft 365)
by Dennis Taylor
Learning Python
by Joe Marini
8. Learning Excel 2019
by David Rivers
9. Project Management
Foundations
by Bonnie Biafore
10. Programming Foundations:
Fundamentals
by Annyce Davis
% of Gen Z learners globally who said that they used online learning
programs in the last six months

People learn
better together:
30x lift in learner
engagement
Many of us spent the last year being physically distant from
friends and family, and sometimes it can be…lonely. Humans
are social creatures by nature, and recent circumstances have
us creating community in new and innovative ways. Think about
all of the new ways of connecting that have emerged over the
last year. A stationary bike is nice, but when it’s connected to a
Peloton community, it’s incredibly powerful. Zoom and Teams are
now household names, with many of us spending an equal amount
of time on personal video conference calls as on professional ones.
You can bet on it — your learners are more lonely now than they
were a year ago. According to a Glint-designed survey of 2,393
LinkedIn members, employees experienced less connection
to leaders (31% of respondents), teammates (37%), and even their
friends (40%). As a way to combat this isolation, we’re seeing
our social features explode.
31% of employees feel less
connected to their leaders
connected to their teammates
connected to their friends
Compared to their lives
before the pandemic:

With the dramatic decrease of ILT, we were curious if community-
based learning was having an impact on engagement. When we
looked at the data from LinkedIn Learning, we found that learners
who use social features on average watched 30 times more hours
of learning content. Hello, higher learner engagement! L&D pros
globally deeply understand the power of community and
the benefits of learning together beyond pure engagement. They
believe that learning is more engaging when people learn together
(86%), that employees who learn together are more successful (91%),
and that it helps create a sense of belonging (92%). Even better,
employees who feel a sense of belonging are 5.2 times more likely
to be engaged. The data clearly demonstrates a beautiful virtuous
circle of learning, belonging, and engagement.
Community-based learning connects learners to colleagues,
peers, and experts to drive higher engagement and inspire
skill building. It uses blended online learning (VILT plus online
learning), supported by social features — such as course
recommendations from managers or administrators, sharing
learnings on chat software, participating in online groups,
or asking questions (and receiving answers) from instructors or
influencers. Since the pandemic struck, we’ve seen an enormous
increase in usage of all of these features. For example, there’s
been a 1,100% increase in people joining Learning Groups, with
joins from younger generations much higher than their older
colleagues. There was also a 225% increase in courses shared with
a learner’s professional network, and a 121% increase in activity
— that includes both learners and instructors — in course Q&As.
By infusing more community-based learning programs and
technologies, your employees will not only feel more connected,
they’ll spend more time learning. Boom.
“There’s a social learning element
to LinkedIn Learning that makes it quite
engaging. Being able to connect with
instructors and fellow learners, for example,
and having the opportunity to learn from
one another via the Q&A feature helps make
learning more sticky. It also ingrains a habit
of learning in moments of need, which is
fundamental to developing a self-directed
learning attitude.”
David Hendrick,
Director of People Development, Centre for
Healthcare Innovation at Tan Tock Seng Hospital
in Singapore
L&D pros globally believe in the power
of community-based learning:
agree that teams that
learn new skills together
are more successful
agree that community-
based learning helps foster
a sense of belonging
Learners who used social features spent
30x more hours learning than those who didn’t.5
There was a
massive increase
in the use of social
features in 2020:6
Course shares
+225%
Contributions
to course Q&As
+121%
All generations:
+1,100%
Growth in learners joining
Learning Groups:7
Gen Y: +1,023%
Gen Z: +1,379%
Gen X: +975%
Boomer: +853%
91%
92%

Pop Quiz:
How well do
you know your
managers?
Unlocking the power of managers to inspire learning on
their teams is the perennial challenge for L&D pros globally.
As the world of work has changed, so too has the role of the
manager. Cover up the answer key on the right side of the
page to test how well you know your managers.
What do managers spend more time learning?
Choose one.
a. Hard skills
b. Soft skills
c. An equal mix of hard and soft skills
d. Personal hobbies
Answer: b, more soft skills
Compared to the average learner, managers focus
24% more of their learning on soft skills.
Source: LinkedIn Learning data
True or false?
Managers who have the room to learn and grow will be
2.5x more likely to be happy and engaged and 2.3x more
likely to say that they will probably be with their company
in two years.
Answer: false
Both stats are much higher. They are actually 3.5x more
likely to be happy and engaged and 3.3x more likely to
want to stay at their organization for two years. Talk about
measuring the impact of learning!
Source: Glint data
1.
2.
What skills do most managers want to learn?
Choose one.
a. How to lead through change
b. How to manage a virtual team
c. Both a and b
d. Neither a nor b
Answer: c, both a and b
An astounding 80% of managers want to learn more about
leading through change, and two-thirds (66%) want to learn
about how to manage a team virtually. That’s good news
because those skills will definitely come in handy this year.
Source: % of managers surveyed who indicated they wanted to learn these skills
3.

What is the biggest factor in manager burnout?
Choose one.
a. Feeling disconnected from colleagues
b. Unclear job responsibilities
c. Conflict between demands at home and work
d. Overwhelming workload
Answer: d, overwhelming workload
All of these pressures contribute to burnout, but trying
to shoulder an overwhelming workload (40%) is the biggest
one, followed by feeling disconnected from colleagues
(37%), and trying to balance home and work responsibilities
(34%), with unclear job responsibilities coming in at 30%.
Source: Sept 2020 LinkedIn omnibus survey
True or false?
70% of managers agreed that their direct reports
who spend more time learning have higher employee
satisfaction scores.
Answer: true
As learning leaders and HR pros, we’ve always known that
learning usually correlates to higher employee satisfaction,
but it turns out that nearly three-quarters (70%) of managers
do, too.
Source: % of managers surveyed who agreed with this statement
4.
5.

Top 10 L&D
tactics that drive
engagement in
hybrid workplaces
Learner engagement has always been a tough nut to crack.
Add the challenge of a hybrid workplace, where you have some
employees working remotely and some in the office, and it
may feel daunting. But know this: you’re prepared. Every step
you’ve taken toward blended learning in 2020, however big
or small, is essential for getting and keeping learners engaged
— no matter what comes next.
Use these 10 tactics from your L&D peers to drive learner
engagement to new levels in 2021.
Especially at a time when everyone is feeling decision fatigue,
make it easy for your employees to find, follow, and focus on
a learning path they’re interested in. Create your own or tap into
some of the LinkedIn Learning paths that learners have loved
this year, like staying productive at home, diversity and inclusion,
and well-being. Throw in a ukulele lesson. Why not?
At LinkedIn, we have four that helped us transition
to meet learner needs in 2020:
1) Great content
2) Great delivery of that content
3) Operational excellence
4) Delivery of a great learning experience
Sundt created roughly 70 learning paths to support every
operational position within the company. They sent out
announcements about what was surging to get employees
excited about the resource. Read more
“If you nail all four, regardless of whether people are
in a virtual or in-person setting, then the learning will
stick.” Read more
Kevin Delaney,
VP of Learning & Development, LinkedIn in San Jose, California
#1
#2
Create relevant learning paths.
Let your guiding principles lead the way.

It doesn’t have to be lengthy; it just needs to be something to get
the juices flowing. Whether you’re focusing on helping employees
build technology skills or raising awareness about unconscious
bias, assigning learners prework with online learning content can
help make virtual live conversations richer and more impactful.
Just like this tip.
“I had two training courses for new graduates planned, and we had
to quickly pivot and make them virtual courses. We assigned online
courses before the real-time session — so learners didn’t go in cold,
and we had content to discuss — and then after as a follow-up.
It worked really well.” Read more
Lenny Deverill-West,
Learning & Development Manager, CDK Global in Totton, England
“Someone wise once said that your mind can only absorb what
your butt can endure. In this environment, less is more. I’m thinking
about 60–90 minutes of live interaction a quarter.” Read more
Kevin Delaney,
Assign “pre-watch” online
learning before a VILT session.
Less is more.
Include links to daily offerings, such as VILT courses, an online
course of the day (or week), and even in-person training if still
applicable. You can also enable learners to sign up for a VILT
course right from the LinkedIn Learning platform.
Being prescriptive about learning and adding “learning times”
in calendars can go a long way to helping employees make time
for learning.
Set up a digital training calendar.
#5
#4
#3

In 2020, we were forced to take social events online, from happy
hours and book clubs, to watch parties and weddings. Now it’s
time to apply that same creativity to learning, like using Microsoft
Teams to keep people connected. Employees can take a course
together, then discuss what they’ve learned through chat.
Don’t just convert in-person training into a video conference
environment. Start fresh and bring a new perspective to
building for live virtual: Can you drop the slides and just have
a conversation? Is the content sufficiently modular? Is it too long
for online consumption? Should we have virtual breakouts?
Chat is where learners are hanging out these days, so make it
a home for learning, too. Many organizations use Microsoft Teams
as their primary chat collaboration and communication tool.
“Blending these online learning experiences helps keep learning
social, and can help build a community centered around
learning,” Read more
Kirsten Dale,
HR Director, Global Talent and Capability, Treasury Wine Estates
in Melbourne, Australia
“We can’t just port classroom training onto an online platform
and expect it to work with the same level of effectiveness.”
Read more
Ann Ann Low,
Senior Director of L&D in APAC, LinkedIn in Singapore
“One of the first things that we did is set up a quick portal with
content about how to use Microsoft Teams more effectively, as that
was our primary chat collaboration and communication tool. The
technology may be new, but many of the techniques are the same.”
Watch more
Simon Brown,
Chief Learning Officer, Novartis in Basel, Switzerland
Make learning social.
Reimagine how to deliver live virtual.
Tap into chat.
#7
#6
#8
To deliver learning that’s engaging, you have to understand what
employees want. Reach out, ask, listen, and check in — again and
again and again.
“Spend as much time understanding the needs of your learners
as you do understanding the needs of the business and you’re going
to have a breakthrough program where everyone is engaged.”
Watch more
Alyson DeMaso,
CEO, Raising Beauty and former VP of Learning and Capability Building
at the Estée Lauder Companies in New York City
Get close to learner needs.
#9

Give learners space for self-directed learning and access to a
breadth of content to help them find what inspires them. Also help
them find their purpose — when people can tie their learning
to a bigger purpose, they’ll be more engaged in the experience
and more motivated to keep their learning journey going.
“We believe that people learn better when they know what they’re
truly, truly passionate about. What is it that gives people meaning?
When they discover what they’re truly passionate and purposeful
about, they learn much more easily — 92% of employees who
have been through our Discover Your Purpose workshop have higher
engagement levels, feel more well at work, and feel more ready
to learn.” Watch more
Leena Nair,
CHRO, Unilever in London, England
Help learners find their purpose.
#10

Give it a go:
learning for good
When we asked L&D pros globally about the learning programs
they were planning to deploy this year, “learning for good”
came in dead last. We can take some guesses as to why: In a year
like 2020, when you’re doing everything you can to remake your
programs and meet increasing (and changing) learner demands
in this new world — all while your budgets are under constant
scrutiny — philanthropy may not be the top priority.
But we’re going to challenge you on this one. Especially in this
tumultuous moment, giving back feels like the right thing to do.
It’s also good for business. We walk, run, and bike for charity —
why not learn for charity?
The Campaign
Avnet’s Learning for
a Cause — COVID-19
The Call
If employees reached
the goal of 9,000 hours of
learning in May 2020, Avnet
would donate $30,000 to the
“COVID-19 Solidary Response
Fund” supporting the WHO.
The Goal
Support the communities
they live in and foster a culture
of self-directed learning.
Winning Strategies
• Clear learning goal
• Course recommendations
from execs
• Internal partners
• Regional alignment
“The LinkedIn Learning challenge was a perfect way to engage
employees in supporting those most impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic while improving their own skills through LinkedIn classes.
The effort was a big success and brought employees together from
all over the globe to focus on learning while doing good.”
Jeanne Forbis,
Avnet Cares Coordinator
“When asked who won the challenge, the answer was simple —
the charity won.”
Sumy Joy,
Learning and Development Partner at Avnet
Mission Accomplished
• 9,843 hours
of learning from global
employees in the month of May
• $30,000 donation
to the COVID-19
response fund
• ~60% increase
in LinkedIn Learning
activation
• Increased use of LinkedIn
Learning by managers

Are you up for
the challenge?
Make 2021 the year
that learning gives
back — and tell
us all about it in the
L&D Connect group.
The Campaign
Allianz Technology’s
Learning for a Good
Cause
The Call
For every hour that employees
spent on LinkedIn Learning
in a three-month period,
Allianz Technology would
donate one euro.
The Goal
Inspire employees to use
LinkedIn Learning to develop
their professional skills and
support animal protection and
environmental conservation.
Winning Strategies
• Alignment with company’s
core values
• Enthusiastic execs
• Extensive internal
promotion plan
• Gamification
“This is definitely one of the most exciting projects I have worked
on at Allianz so far. We’ve done something positive, motivated our
employees to learn, and had a lot of fun implementing this initiative.”
Linja Fraenz,
L&D Expert, Allianz Technology SE
“Learning for a Good Cause allows us to offer employees
an additional incentive to make use of the opportunities for
development, while at the same time raising money to help save
our planet. It’s an initiative that really benefits everyone.”
Alessia Vecchio,
former Group Head of Inclusion & Employee Experience at Allianz
Mission Accomplished
• 26,003 hours
of learning completed
• €26,003 donated
to “Frankfurt Zoological
Society” and “Sea Shepherd”
• 5% increase in LinkedIn
Learning registrations
• Reached donation target
in just three weeks
As Allianz Technology and Avnet have proven,
when you create “learning for good” initiatives that
tie hours of learning to donations, it can help you
drive engagement, motivate employees to upskill,
and foster a culture of continuous learning.
Get more details about how the L&D teams
achieved this success in the Avnet blog post
and Allianz case study.

Looking ahead:
What you
need to know

Parting thoughts:
Learnings
and advice
from L&D
pros around
the world
Keep showing up
“I’m convinced that if we as learning professionals show up day
in, day out, week in, week out, and bring inspiring programs
that communicate effectively with people, then we can raise
the bar and help people do the very best work in their career.”
Watch keynote at virtual summit
Kevin Delaney,
Adopt a “blank sheet of paper” mentality
“Go in every day and say ‘How might I do my job today if I were
starting right now with the resources that I have available to
me today? How might I be more efficient? How might I connect
in a more impactful way?’”
Carla Harris,
Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
in Montclair, New Jersey
We’ll leave you with some inspiration and
guidance from your peers in talent development.
Cultivate your “inner game”
“A pandemic requires a different set of skills: a combination
of both ‘outer game’ (e.g., high performance, industry domain
expertise, etc.) and ‘inner game’ (a sense of purpose, service,
personal resilience and mastery, and agility). If you have the
foundations of a great inner game, you can learn new skills
and manage the outer game of leadership.”
Leena Nair,
CHRO, Unilever in London, England

Encourage employees to #LearnLikeAnOwner
“As soon as new employees walk in the door, we tell them that
learning is a way we expect them to be engaged and encourage
everyone in the company to commit to learning something new
every day. We’re creating a movement that ignites a learning
passion. That’s the foundation of a learning culture transformation.”
Watch panel at virtual summit
Pamay Bassey,
Chief Learning & Diversity Officer, the Kraft Heinz Company
in Chicago, Illinois
Pay attention to the “4 Ps”
“I use the ‘4Ps’ to align learning programs with what learners need
most. What are the patterns you’re seeing with leaders and teams?
What are the problems that your teams and leaders are facing
when they’re trying to achieve their objectives? What are the
priorities of the business moving forward? And, what are the pain
points that your HR leaders are experiencing the most?”
Watch panel at virtual summit
Naphtali Bryant,
Director, Learning & Organization Development Netflix in Los Angeles, California
Don’t forget to inventory cross-functional skills
“Skills are the currency of the future. We are working to identify
through our systems and through the data, the skills the
organization needs, especially the functional and cross-functional
strategic skills.” Watch panel at virtual summit
Laura Krsnik,
Head of Global Learning, Merck in Darmstadt, Germany
Encourage students
to become teachers
“In China, we developed
a peer-to-peer learning approach,
where learners present what
they’ve learned to their wider team.
Having discussions about how
you can apply learning to your
working environment is a critical
part of changing behaviour.”
Read case study
Dorna Eriksson Shafiei,
VP of Talent Management at Atlas Copco
Stockholm, Sweden

Involve your “business sounding board” early on
“Our ‘business sounding board’ — a group of more than 30
GMs and VPs — has been with us from the very early stages of
the design and piloting of our Group Leadership Portfolio module.
We do this to better understand their needs, opportunities, and
challenges around the specific skill that we’re going to help them
build. We also use this group as our sponsors to promote the
program.” Watch panel at virtual summit
Dorna Eriksson Shafiei,
VP of Talent Management at Atlas Copco in Stockholm, Sweden
Listen to your
internal customers
“We’re talking to our internal customers
more about what they want to learn
and what the best format will be.
We’ve also been joining our software
development teams’ virtual stand-ups
every week and using Glint surveys
to identify focus areas like collaboration
tools. Then, we’re able to go back
to them with the right, relevant solution
rather than just the programs we think
they want.” Read blog post
Jacqueline Gay,
L&D Manager at TomTom
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Be intentional when setting personal
and professional goals
“When we’re intentional about what we want in our personal lives
and can apply that same level of personal commitment
to our professional development, this can show up as being more
deliberate about setting goals for ourselves and our teams. With
so much out of our control, something you can control is setting an
intention that you can use to be successful in your personal and
work life.” Read blog post
Jodi Atkinson,
Senior Director of Global Learning, Deltek in Boston, Massachusetts
Measure your organization’s cultural competence
“Use the Intercultural Development Inventory to measure
behavioral change. We have people take it, we do some education
and learning plans, and then nine months or a year later we
have them take it again. Most of the time they have moved along
this continuum, so we can measure that they’re more culturally
competent.” Watch webcast
Mary-Frances Winters,
President and CEO of the Winters Group and a LinkedIn Learning Instructor
in Charlotte, North Carolina

Incorporate learning into individual development plans
“We take developing people very seriously, and we intensively
use individual development plans (IDPs) to map an employee’s
performance, and then carefully handpick courses to help them
reach their highest potential, based on their role and required
skills.” Read blog post
Gauri Butti,
Senior Manager of Learning & Organizational Development, CDK Global
in Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Stay close to who is defining the new normal
“Now that most CEOs are prioritizing learning, it’s more important
than ever to stay close to whoever is defining what the new normal
looks like. L&D needs to be part of those conversations and address
the reskilling and upskilling needs that will inevitably come up.
That is the way to not only keep L&D’s seat at the table, but also
continue to be a strategic partner shaping how work will happen
in the future.” Read blog post
Simon Brown,
Chief Learning Officer, Novartis in Basel, Switzerland
Track the impact of learning with employee
survey responses
“We’ll be looking at the response to questions in our employee
surveys about whether our people have good opportunities to
learn and develop and whether they actively seek out development
opportunities. Those are our most important KPIs, and we’re
looking forward to tracking progress against them.”
Read case study
Johannes Lystbæk,
Learning & Development Manager, LEGO Group in Billund, Denmark

Acknowledgements
Editor-in-Chief
Amanda Van Nuys
LinkedIn
Learning Editorial
Peter Wilson-Tobin
Tara Kusumoto
Laurie Moot
Paul Petrone
Rachel Lefkowitz
Liz Maples
Blake Buisson
Glint Editorial
Ellen Gomes
Research
and Insights
Colleen Dye
Josh Hawthorne
Sophie Smith
Valeria Gallina
Localization
Shih-Chi Chang
Wendy Savin
Elisabeth Wohofsky
Growth and Web
Emi Agg
Savanah Barry
Colleen Rombach
Neha Ajmani
Christine Hoang
Alyssa Retallick
Alan Kavanagh
Renee Balgobin
Lucy Frye
Karl Boehringer
Rajni Sharma
Jonathan Pettingill
R.J. Fox
Creative
Kaelin McGill
Elli Matejka
Pora Rith
Jared Freeden
Olawale Oladunni
Andrew DeBenedictis
Doug Kohnen
Peter Wilson-Tobin
Kevin Frank
International
Marketing
Christina O’Connor
Alexandra Huber
Kate Mallord
Shuxian Li
Namrata Murlindhar
Public Relations
Marisa Ayyer
Lucy Davies
Bhairavi Shirish Jhaveri
Customer Marketing
Mary Healy
Orlaith Cruise
Product Marketing
Courtney Brooks
Sascha Noll
Executive
Engagements
Jonathan Kilroy
Máire Cronin
Event Marketing
Laura Parkinson
Lizzy Hearne
Chuck Jones
Heidi Olson
LinkedIn Media
Productions
Karen Ordaz
Jesus Cruz
Paul Lynch
Brad Davis
Tom Jordan
Keith Cheng
Emanuel (EJ) Magat
Jeff Milnes
Chris Orfitelli
Ryan Galvan
Stephanie Elrod
Andy Ta
Josue Cruz
Gabriel Lomeli Jr.
Agencies
910Zen
Amp
Shoosta
ShinyDay
Amdian

Methodology
We surveyed 1,260 L&D Professionals and 814 Learners
in November 2020 in English, French, and German. The full
list of countries we surveyed include: US, UK, India, Canada,
Australia, Germany, Singapore, Ireland, Netherlands, New
Zealand, France, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong,
Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Iceland, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Austria,
and Switzerland. We also surveyed 3,080 people managers
in English who self-identified as having direct reports globally
in November and December 2020.
1. We looked at the top 100 courses watched by L&D
professionals between Jan 1, 2020, and Nov 30, 2020.
We then compared the popularity of these courses among
L&D pros to their popularity among all learners, to identify
the courses where L&D pros most “over-index.” The courses
highlighted here are the courses that L&D pros are more
likely to watch than the average learner.
2. Among the top 100 skills added by LinkedIn members to their
profiles, we identified the skills that had the greatest growth in
the number of professionals with the skill from August 2019 to
August 2020. We excluded common skills which are possessed
by a majority of members.
3. We compared the number of Gen Z learners on LinkedIn
Learning in 2020 with 2019.
4. We looked at the number of hours per learner watched by
Gen Z in 2020 compared to 2019.
5. Compared learners who engaged with social features
(course shares, Q&A, learning groups) at some point
in a 12-month period (Oct 2019–Oct 2020) with those who
did not.
6. Percent (%) growth of learners sharing courses and engaging
with Q&A, comparing the first five months of the pandemic
(March–July 2020) with the previous five months (Oct 2019–
Feb 2020).
7. Percent (%) growth of learners joining Learning Groups
comparing the first five months of the pandemic (March–July
2020) with the previous five months (Oct 2019–Feb 2020).

How can
LinkedIn Learning
prepare your
team for what’s
ahead?
Get in touch with us to schedule a free demo and
discuss how LinkedIn Learning can help your employees
learn relevant skills, achieve their goals, and make
a greater impact.
Let’s chat
Request a demo or contact sales at 1-844-587-5735.

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