Learning Technologies in the Workplace: How to Successfully Implement Learning Technologies in Organizations

Knowledge was once power - difficult to find, slow to transmit and coveted. Now we can access almost the sum total of human information with a swipe of our thumbs. The impact on the knowledge economy has been vast, leaving learning and development (L&D) professionals wondering how to keep pace. Many organizations naturally turn to technology to ensure workplace learning at scale and at speed, but stumble when it comes to successfully deploying and using it. Learning Technologies in the Workplace examines 16 years of learning technology implementations to find the secrets behind the most successful.

Examples in the book from the Hershey Company and BP, airlines, tech companies and manufacturers point to four common factors. Successful learning technology teams all have APPA: a clear aim, a people focus, a wide perspective and a pragmatic, can-do attitude. Learning Technologies in the Workplace gives readers practical pointers for each of these four points, helping them implement and use learning technologies well, with particular emphasis on the essential skill of identifying stakeholders and winning their support.

Donald H Taylor began his career in technology and training in the early 1980s. His experience since then ranges from training design and delivery to managing director and vice-president positions. Now based in London, he travels regularly internationally to consult and speak about workplace learning and associated technologies.

Donald believes effective workplace learning is best supported by understanding business needs and by engaging with employees, and that it should not be driven by the feature sets of tools and technologies.

He is Chairman of both the Learning Technologies Conference and the Learning and Performance Institute, sits on several editorial boards, and is editor of Inside Learning Technologies magazine.

The 2007 recipient of the Colin Corder award for services to training, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University in recognition of his contribution towards the professionalization of workplace learning and development.