2022 Workplace Learning Report

The
Transformation
of L&D
Learning leads the way
through the Great Reshuffle
 Welcome Contents

to the Introduction The Transformation of L&D 3

deep dive
Learning leads the way through the Great Reshuffle.

Chapter 1 L&D in Transition 6

L&D has become more central, strategic, cross-functional — and overworked.
Plus, how learning lights up company culture and a bright idea on experimentation.
If you’re reading this, you’ve most likely
already spent time with the report’s web Chapter 2 New Challenges 17
experience, and now you’re curious to L&D’s rapid rise spurs new pressure to deliver results.
absorb even more data and insights. Plus, L&D’s weighty role in DE&I; a bright idea on psychological safety; the critical
This version contains all the web headlines, importance of well-being; and a spotlight on L&D skills from RedThread Research.
plus a host of extras called out in bold.
Chapter 3 Rethinking Skill Building 29
Leaders can expand impact by connecting skills to internal mobility and retention.
Plus, stats showing most pros are just starting to build skills programs; what motivates
employees to learn; and a bright idea on internal mobility.

Chapter 4 How L&D Succeeds 37

L&D pros thrive by investing in relationships, political capital, resources —
and themselves
Plus, collaboration tips from a people analytics leader; helpful tactics for C-suite
influence; the power of managers; and inspiring thoughts from global voices.

Conclusion The Next Step Forward 52

Acknowledgments 53

Methodology 54

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 2

 Introduction

The
In the sixth year of the Workplace Learning Report, change is the only
constant. LinkedIn calls these times the “Great Reshuffle” — a period
unlike anything in the history of work.

Transformation Living and working through the pandemic and economic and social
tumult has prompted individuals to prioritize flexibility and fulfillment.
Organizations are reexamining business strategies, workforce models,

of L&D values, and culture — often steered by new demands from employees
themselves.

Amid this era of massive transformation, learning and development (L&D)

has a new mandate to become its best self. L&D leaders are answering
Learning leads the way employees’ renewed calls for growth and purpose, and they’re grappling
with the urgent challenge of future-proofing their organizations.
through the Great Reshuffle. The transformation of L&D means learning leaders are knocking down
traditional silos to collaborate on a more holistic vision for HR. They’re
reaching for fresh solutions to tie skill building to career paths, internal
mobility, and retention, while also bringing a new sense of care and
humanity to employee well-being, diversity, and inclusion.

Keeping pace with this rate of change is an enormous challenge. This

report is here to help. Success is built one step at a time, by capitalizing
on industry data, tapping the support and wisdom of colleagues, gleaning
advice from top thinkers, and — above all — championing a world-
changing notion: Learning is the foundation of any great endeavor.
Organizations that prize constant learning will lead the world as they
build the new normal.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 3

 The Great Reshuffle
is redefining
work and skills
81%
of executives are changing their
workplace policies to offer greater
flexibility to their workforce 1

25%
LinkedIn members’ skills for the same
occupation changed by about 25%
from 2015 to 2021. At this pace, we
expect members’ skills will change
by about 40% by 2025 2

+25%
Globally, the share of members
changing roles was up by 25% in
October 2021, compared with the pre-
pandemic period in October 2019 3

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 4

 3-minute takeaway
How can L&D leaders embrace transformation?

#1 #2 #3
Understand opportunities Add new thinking about the Unlock keys to success
and challenges convergence of HR disciplines
The pandemic sped up digital transformation Business volatility — especially employee • Collaborate with HR colleagues
and the ever-enlarging skills gap. attrition — amplifies the need for HR silos • Stay close to the stakeholders
to break down walls and think holistically.
L&D has a new hot seat at the center of • Budget wisely
adapting to change and a to-do list that has L&D innovators are focusing on the • Activate managers
never been longer. convergence of talent development,
• Listen to learners
skill-based planning, and internal
Skilling, employee retention, well-being, mobility to build work culture based • Never stop learning yourself
leadership, and DE&I are all urgent priorities. on continuous learning.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 5

 Chapter 1

L&D in Transition
L&D has become more central,
strategic, cross-functional —
and overworked.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 6

 “The responsibility of learning
has always been to help
organizations navigate uncertainty
and chaos in the world.”
Linda Cai
Vice President Talent Development, LinkedIn

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 7

 L&D’s star
is rocketing
Learning leaders lived up to high expectations in the past two years — helping people
pivot to pandemic protocols, remote work, and hybrid operations. They now have their
executive leaders’ ears and will continue influencing how their organizations adapt to
change and reimagine the future.

L&D leaders agree that L&D has become more influential over the past year.

74% 72%
agree that L&D has become agree that L&D has become a more
more cross-functional 4 strategic function at their organization 4

87% 62%
had some to a great deal of involvement in agree that L&D is focused on rebuilding
helping their organization adapt to change 4 or reshaping their organization in 2022 4

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 8

 Jobs and
promotions
are growing
+15%
L&D pros saw 15% more
promotions this year, compared
with their HR counterparts 5

+94%
Demand for L&D specialists
increased 94% in July –
September 2021, compared
with April – June 2021 5

“It’s unsurprising that we see more and

more progressive companies naming chief
learning officers — as was the case with
chief diversity officers when diversity became
recognized as a business advantage.”

Andrew Saidy
Vice President Global Talent,
Ubisoft International

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 9

 The percent of L&D pros who expect to have more
spending power has reached a six-year high.4

48%
43%

37%
35%
33%

More proof is 27%

in the budget 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022*

Is there any better indicator of priority than budget Asia-Pacific is going biggest with budget.
dollars? Nearly half of L&D pros expect their budgets Percent of L&D pros in each region who expect budgets to increase 4
to increase this year.4

40%
Europe, Middle East, Africa

51%
North America
57%
Asia-Pacific

*Note that past surveys included more granular categories of budget increases. This year’s question
simply asked whether L&D pros expect their budget to increase, decrease, or remain the same.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 10

 Learning lights up
company culture
Culture is having a watershed moment. According to Glint data, having
opportunities to learn and grow is now the number 1 factor that people say
defines an exceptional work environment.7 On top of that, employees who
rate their culture highly are 25% more likely to be happy at work and 31%
more likely to recommend working at their organization.7

The headline is clear: Learning powers culture, and culture powers engaged
employees who are energized to innovate, delight customers, and beat the
competition. Fortunately, almost two-thirds of L&D pros see their culture
moving in the right direction.

Top 5 drivers
of great work culture 7

64%
1. Opportunities to learn and grow*
2. Belonging
3. Organizational values
4. Support for well-being
of L&D pros saw their 5. Collaboration
organization’s culture of learning
grow stronger in the past year 4 * Previously ranked #9 in 2019 —
a significant change in only two years

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 11

 Leadership and upskilling
top L&D’s to-do list
While competing priorities are pulling L&D pros in many
directions, they’re still able to rank their focus areas.
When we combine the upskilling and reskilling priorities
with digital upskilling, skills emerges as the most pressing
concern across the world.

The primary focus areas of L&D programs in 2022 4

Percent who selected the focus area as one of their top three choices

Leadership and management training

49%

Upskilling and reskilling employees

46%
72%
Digital upskilling / digital transformation focused on skills
26%

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

26%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 12

 A regional look at L&D priorities
Leadership and management training tops the list in every region except
Asia-Pacific, where a whopping 60% are focused on upskilling and reskilling.4

The primary focus areas of L&D programs by region 4

Percent who selected the focus area as one of their top three choices

Asia-Pacific Europe, Middle East, Africa North America

Upskilling and reskilling employees Leadership and management training Leadership and management training
60% 49% 48%

Leadership and management training Upskilling and reskilling employees Upskilling and reskilling employees
49% 44% 39%

Digital upskilling / digital transformation Digital upskilling / digital transformation Diversity, equity, and inclusion
30% 33% 33%

Employee performance support Diversity, equity, and inclusion Employee performance support
24% 27% 28%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 13

 Being popular
has its downside
Even as L&D leaders focus on leadership and skills programs, they’ve also
become much, much busier. We asked L&D pros this year to select all the
programs they are planning to deploy in 2022. When we compared this
year’s results to last year’s, we found that the number of responses for every
single program we tracked year over year increased (either significantly or
directionally),4 illustrating just how full L&D’s plate really is and adding up to
significant growing pains, which we’ll explore in the next chapter.

L&D programs to be deployed in 2022 vs. 2021 4

2021 2022

45%
42% 41% 41%
37%
34%
29% 31% 29% 30%
28%
25% 25%
18% 18%
16% 16%
12% 13% 12%

Diversity, equity, Learning Leading through In-person Virtual Creativity Implicit-bias Large-scale Digital fluency or Data analysis /
and inclusion competitions change programs training lunch-and-learn programs trainings upskilling or transformation analytics training
programs programs programs reskilling programs programs programs

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 14

 Learning is becoming
central to everyday work
One way to reframe all this new pressure is to take a step back and
recognize that learning is rapidly becoming a critical part of many
peoples’ daily work, including the daily work of L&D pros themselves.
The trend shows up in one of the learning formats that L&D pros say
they’re likely to see more of this year: on-the-job learning through
projects and gigs.

“We are focusing on how to make Ketchum

a long-term, attractive career home, where folks
have many opportunities to move up and around
85% of L&D pros expect to see the same or more
on-the-job learning through projects or gigs 4 into different teams and projects. That starts
with embedding learning and skill building in
people’s actual day-to-day experiences.”

Amanda Kowal Kenyon

Chief Employee Experience Officer,
Ketchum

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 15

 A bright idea
Experiment with
innovative tools and formats

“In the past of couple of years, we’ve seen a

plethora of AI-enabled ed tech products entering
the market. Combined with other emerging
technologies such as virtual reality, augmented
reality, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things
(IoT), there are some rather innovative products
out there to support workplace learning.

“While the page-turner e-learning courses and the

utilitarian LMS are here to stay for the next little
while, there’s an opportunity to pilot more varied
L&D activities and tools: personalized learning
content using recommender systems, push content
via chatbots, peer-based knowledge sharing on
collaborative platforms, and the integration of
curated external content (third-party content)
with custom internal in-house content.”

Stella Lee, PhD

Director, Paradox Learning

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 16

 Chapter 2

New Challenges
L&D’s rapid rise spurs new
pressure to deliver results.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 17

 “Employees expect opportunities to
learn and grow without limitations,
managers who understand individual
working styles and environments,
and companies that offer flexibility
as a standard of employment.”
Gogi Anand
Senior People Science Consultant, LinkedIn

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 18

 Welcome to
the hot seat
L&D is still responsible for producing high-impact, high-quality learning
experiences, but it’s now also being handed bigger, meatier problems
to solve — like future-proofing entire organizations. This means L&D
pros need to develop new ways of working and constant prioritization.
They also need to develop some new skills themselves — like stress
management, given the increasing concern about the skills gap (the
distance between the skills employers need and the skills workers have).

L&D pros perceive a growing skills gap.

They also see that leaders are concerned. 4

46% +4 pts. vs. 2021

49% +9 pts. vs. 2021

say the skills gap is wider say executives are concerned that
at their organization employees do not have the right skills
to execute business strategy

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 19

 L&D plays a weighty
role in DE&I strategy
The entire planet has shared both the battle against COVID-19 and
a new awakening to the vast inequities in health, wealth, and opportunity.
The L&D response is strong. Learning teams are leading the educational
charge for diversity, equity, and inclusion, with some taking full ownership
of DE&I strategy. The trend is strongest in North America, where a social
justice movement accompanied the pandemic.

L&D responsibilities include combating systemic challenges 4

L&D has taken full responsibility for the DE&I strategy
12%
55% own or share
L&D shares responsibility for the DE&I strategy responsibility
43%

L&D does not play a role in our DE&I strategy

29%

We do not have a DE&I strategy, but we are creating one

7%

We do not have a DE&I strategy, and there are no plans to create one
8%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 20

 Emphasize psychological
safety in DE&I

A bright idea “Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are not

a cultural ‘one size fits all’ around the world. For
instance, lots of companies have started rolling
out DE&I training in Asia and found the Western
approach doesn’t work. Asking people to reveal
vulnerabilities openly, stressing politically correct
language, or having unskillfully facilitated
conversations can actually backfire, making
people feel anxious, resentful, and unsafe.

“Diversity and inclusion is the fundamental

foundation of psychological safety. But it helps
to pitch it as a path to higher performance.
People are not interested in remedial action
that’s going to shame them, but they are
interested in opportunities to become better
and more successful.”

Crystal Lim-Lange
CEO, Forest Wolf

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 21

 L&D can’t
forget about care
and well-being
With companies and employees rethinking what they want out of work,
care is moving to the center of conversations about reducing burnout
and boosting well-being.

The most critical factor in a caring employee experience is each

person’s manager. To that end, 49% of L&D pros put increased attention
on manager training and support this past year.4 But there’s room for
improvement: Only 25% say their organizations are prioritizing manager
training that’s focused on work-life balance and well-being.4

Glint data shows that employees

who feel cared about at work are

87%
3.2x more likely to report being happy
to work for their current company 8 Managers matter

3.7x
At companies that struggle with manager
of L&D pros have helped more likely to recommend care, employees are nearly 50% more
their organization become working for their company 8 likely to apply for a new job.9 Today’s
more adaptable to change 4 managers need supercharged soft skills
to attract and retain talent.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 22

 Busy L&D pros
have less time
to learn
Finding time to learn is not a new problem. But there is added urgency
around it. New challenges require tools outside the traditional L&D toolbox.
And while learning pros have developed bigger muscles in certain areas,
it’s clear there’s still some work to do. Unfortunately, L&D pros aren’t
keeping pace with others in the category of time spent learning.10

-23% Compared with other active learners on LinkedIn,

L&D learners spent 23% less time learning in 2021

-35% Compared to their HR colleagues, L&D learners

spent 35% less time learning in 2021

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 23

 “Make sure your learning is aligned with

Strategic thinking
business skills. Rather than looking at
hours of learning and course completion
rates, instead focus on identifying what

requires skills are lacking in your organization.

With that alignment and clarity, L&D can

strategic metrics create a skill-building program that’s in

lock-step with your business strategy.”

Lori Niles-Hofmann
Even as L&D programs become more strategic and cross-functional, many Senior EdTech Transformation,
L&D pros have not changed how they measure success. In 2022, the top way NilesNolen
learning leaders are gauging the success of their potentially highly impactful
upskilling and reskilling programs is the same way they’ve measured broader
online learning programs in the past: qualitative feedback.

Measurement methods are stagnant.

2021 2022
How do you measure the impact of How do you measure the impact of
online learning at your organization? skill-building programs at your organization?

#1 Qualitative feedback from employees using online courses #1 Qualitative feedback from employees using online courses

#2 Satisfaction of employees using online courses #2 Employee engagement survey scores

#3 Employee engagement survey scores #3 Manager feedback

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 24

 Top 10 skills more likely to be
Where L&D pros added to L&D pros’ LinkedIn
profiles in the past year
are investing their
11

Percent growth year over year

valuable time now Operations

54%

Corporate training
38%
When L&D pros do find time to expand their skills, a few trends pop.
Operations — the key to getting things done at scale — tops the list HR management
of skills most likely to be added to L&D pros’ LinkedIn profiles. They’re 29%
also adding HR management and people development, pointing to
an amplified demand for leadership abilities. And the rise of analytical People development
skills and data analysis shows a focus on numbers and business impact. 24%

Training and development

23%

Presentation skills
22%

Learning management systems

19%

Analytical skills
14%

Engineering
13%

Finance
13%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 25

 RedThread Research data insights exclusively for the 2022 Workplace Learning Report

Where L&D Technology

use

pros see they

Leading
others
Tech
strategy DEIB
Coaching

need to grow
Agility
Motivation /
Resilience
engagement Consulting

in the future
Productivity /
efficiency Influencing
Technology
Strategic alignment skills
Adaptability /
flexibility Leadership
Personal Storytelling

RedThread Research’s recent readiness

Collab/
survey of more than 300 teamwork

L&D professionals revealed Communication

7 categories and 39 skills they
Empathy
feel L&D will need for the future.* Managing Data analysis
As L&D’s role becomes more relationships
Data &
strategic, it isn’t surprising that Relationship-
building /
decision-making
several categories besides networking
traditional L&D made a showing. Research

Business
*This model was created coding L&D professionals’ Marketing Problem
responses to the open-ended question: What 3 skills
core Literacy
solving

do you feel L&D functions will need for the future? L&D core Assertiveness
Responses were categorized into 39 skills, and then Personal
Business
dev Strategic
categorized into groups of skills, as shown in the chart. planning
acumen thinking
External
Change environment
Content
mgt curation analysis
Creativity /
innovation Project Ability to
mgt Human- upskill
centered
design
Content Learning
creation science Needs
analysis /
evaluation
skills
Learning
Training
exp design
delivery
LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 26
 RedThread Research data insights exclusively for the 2022 Workplace Learning Report

Key skills for

L&D pros at
high-performing
organizations
Interestingly, L&D professionals in organizations with high L&D pros in orgs with high performance
performance* feel that leadership skills are most important focus on leadership, core business skills.
for the future (18%). L&D functions are being asked to
take the lead on several key organization-wide initiatives, Leadership
including upskilling the workforce and internal mobility. 18%
This is a change for L&D professionals who have often
L&D core
fought the stereotype of being order takers.
16%
Additionally, L&D professionals in these high-performing Business core
organizations view business core skills to be as important as 16%
L&D core skills (16%), as they are likely being asked to apply
their expertise in people development to some of those Data and decision-making
more strategic discussions. 15%

Managing relationships
*Organization performance was found using a combination of four business
outcomes: (1) org met or exceeded its business goals for the last three years; 14%
(2) org responds quickly to marketplace changes; (3) org innovates faster
than its competitors do; and (4) org’s customers are more satisfied than its Personal readiness
competitors’ customers. High-performing orgs are those in the top 25%.
12%

Technology
8%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 27

 RedThread Research data insights exclusively for the 2022 Workplace Learning Report

“L&D is having a bit of an ‘oh @#&%’

moment. L&D functions are being expected
to lead some pretty high-level initiatives,
like mobility and upskilling. Our data
indicates that L&D pros may feel
underprepared, and they’re actively seeking
leadership, business, and data skills as much
as, if not more than, traditional L&D skills.”
Dani Johnson
Co-Founder and Principal Analyst, RedThread Research

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 28

 Chapter 3

Rethinking
Skill Building
Leaders can expand impact
by connecting skills to internal
mobility and retention.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 29

 “If you want to be
leading the world, you
have to be learning.”
David Perring
Director of Research, Fosway Group

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 30

 Turn the skills crisis
into opportunity
10x
Amid 2022’s storm of urgent priorities, skill building and skills-based Employees who feel that their skills
planning stand out as the most impactful places to make progress. are not being put to good use in
While it’s natural to feel anxious that, for example, only 10% of HR and their current job are 10 times more
business executives say their organizations have a skills database likely to be looking for a new job
with profiles for all employees, there’s a light in the dark clouds. than those who feel that their skills
are being put to good use 12
Organizations that shift to skills-based planning have a unique chance
to catalyze learning culture and capitalize on emerging trends —
especially the convergence of learning, talent acquisition,

79%
talent development, and the red-hot rise of internal mobility. of L&D pros agree: It’s less
expensive to reskill a current
employee​than to hire a new one 4

54%
of L&D pros agree that internal
mobility has become a higher
priority at their organization
since COVID-19 4

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 31

 Just getting started?
You’re not alone
Many upskilling and reskilling programs are off to a strong start, but start is the operative
word. Only 15% of L&D pros say they have active upskilling and reskilling programs, and
only 5% have made it to the stage where they’re measuring and assessing results.4

Where learning leaders are in starting upskilling and reskilling programs

Ideation / Brainstorming
19%

Pitch / Sell-in to key stakeholders

9% 39% in early stages

Identifying / Assembling a core working team

11%

Program development (identifying skill gaps, skill defining)

37%

Activation (piloting a program with a team)

15%

Post-activation measurement / Assessment

5%

We have not begun development

4%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 32

 Internal mobility
helps employees
grow — and stay
While the topsy-turvy economy can make it harder to predict
the future, one trend is clear: businesses are embracing internal
mobility. Cultivating a culture of internal mobility means giving
employees access to on-the-job learning opportunities, such
as mentorships, gigs, shadowing, and new jobs. The benefits
are increasingly obvious — retention, engagement, and agility,
as well as reduced costs and hiring time.

Nearly 2x
Companies that excel at internal mobility are able to
retain employees for an average of 5.4 years. That’s
nearly 2x as long as companies that struggle with it,
where the average retention span is 2.9 years.13

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 33

 A bright idea
Foster internal mobility
by starting with
an honest conversation

“Right now we are looking into modernizing our employee

value proposition, particularly around career opportunity.
However long you’re part of our agency, whether it’s two
years or 30, you will have an enriching career journey that
will provide opportunity and growth.

“This starts with open and intentional conversations about

where you are now, what comes next, and how we can
co-create a journey that’s very bespoke for you. That
might mean assigning you to a three-month project that
closely aligns to your interests or giving you opportunities
to work with clients in different industries. While we can’t
always promise a change tomorrow, we can co-create a
career trajectory that gets you to where you want to grow.”

Amanda Kowal Kenyon

Chief Employee Experience Officer, Ketchum

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 34

 Connect the dots Retention and internal mobility aren’t
at the top of L&D’s to-do list.
Top 10 focus areas of 2022 L&D programs

between skills, 1. Leadership and management training

mobility, and retention

2. Upskilling or reskilling employees

3. Digital upskilling / digital transformation

4. Diversity, equity, and inclusion

In the context of the Great Reshuffle, organizations must
prioritize enabling employees’ personal success through 5. Employee performance support
career development. Learning leaders can create more robust,
sustainable programs by connecting skill building to career
6. Implementing learning tools and analytics
pathing, internal mobility, and retention.

However, many L&D pros haven’t made this connection yet. 7. Leading through change
While 46% of L&D pros said upskilling and reskilling was a
top focus area this year, internal mobility and career pathing 8. Employee well-being
as well as employee retention fell toward the bottom.4
9. Employee retention

10. Supporting internal mobility ​and career pathing

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 35

 Employees
crave skills, too
L&D pros should remember the old adage “If I don’t care about
it, I won’t remember it, and if I don’t remember it, I’m certainly not
going to apply it.” Internal mobility, career pathing, and retention are
crucial programs that provide a consistent and reliable reason for
employees to care about, remember, and apply their new skills.

Employees’ top three motivations to learn are

all connected to careers.4

#1 If it helps me stay up to date in my field

If it is personalized specifically for my interests

#2 and career goals

If it helps me get another job internally, be promoted,

#3 or get closer to reaching my career goals

People managers + L&D = impact

The number 1 reason people managers recommend learning
opportunities for direct reports is “to grow their career.” 14 Just as
telling: Employees without an L&D department are significantly
more likely to find it more difficult to change roles internally than to
get a new role outside the company.15

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 36

 Chapter 4

How L&D Succeeds

L&D pros thrive by investing in
relationships, political capital,
resources — and themselves.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022

 “Our top opportunity is to quantify
the impact and ensure it is
enterprise-wide, so that learning
can help lead the way forward.”
Sean Hudson
Vice President, Digital and Global Head of Learning and Development,
Pfizer

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 38

 Transformation
starts today
Today’s successful L&D function will need to break out
of its vertical silo and instead spread itself horizontally
across its organization. That means working closely with
HR counterparts, executive leadership, and department
heads alike to craft learning strategy. While the journey
to this ideal may be one of a thousand miles, many
L&D leaders have already taken that first step.

Read on for a combination of data points

and advice to propel L&D forward.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 39

 Get help “In a unique moment in time, when
organizations can rethink their
approach to many aspects of HR,

from your friends the collaboration between L&D and

people analytics is resulting in more
effective, fact-based, and impactful
learning experiences.”
Many L&D pros said they’ve gotten more cross-functional this year,4 but there
is room to grow in terms of HR partners they’re working with. Talent acquisition
is a big area of opportunity this coming year, as skills-based hiring becomes Nigel Dias
more important, and people analytics could become a strong partner to Managing Director, 3n Strategy
illuminate the business impact of skill-building programs.

L&D’s cross-functional partnerships 32%

33% 34%

have grown year over year. 30%

29%
28%
Percent of L&D partners working more closely 25%
or somewhat more closely with cross-functional 22% 22%
peers since last year 4

More closely Somewhat more closely 15% 15%

13%

Diversity, equity, Employee Talent management / Executive Talent People

and inclusion engagement development leadership / C-suite acquisition analytics

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 40

 Collaboration #1

tips from Paypal’s

Start early.
Don’t underestimate the amount of work you need to
do up front to set up measurement for L&D programs.

Global Head of
Specifically, it takes time for programs to impact the
business, and data-cleaning efforts often take longer
than anticipated.

People Analytics
#2
Create experiments.
Design measurement programs that are like clinical
trials. For instance, use two separate course-delivery
formats (such as online and in-person) and then test
“Too often, I see the people analytics knowledge retention after a given timeframe.
team get pulled in too late. We miss
the opportunity to help design the
right type of experiment up front.”
#3
Serena Huang, PhD Use nudges.
Head of People Analytics, Paypal
Consider working with organizational psychologists
to design nudges (encouraging reminders) that
prompt learning. Design tests to find out which
nudges are most effective.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 41

 Stay close
to stakeholders
Significantly more L&D pros say they have a seat at
the C-suite table now than they did pre-pandemic.4
Tying learning programs to business impact based
on key organizational priorities, like internal mobility,
will be crucial in keeping this seat secure.

Percent of L&D pros who agree that

L&D has a seat at the executive table 4

53%
24%

2020 2022

Room to grow
While 59% of L&D pros say their CEO is
a champion for L&D, that still leaves 41%
of CEOs with an opportunity to become
better advocates.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 42

 Helpful tactics #1 Know the audience
Align L&D with the overall business strategy, but also
learn about the CEO’s personal priorities and passion

for C-suite projects and demonstrate the contribution that

learning can make.

influence #2 Speak C-suite

The C-suite is time-poor by definition. They measure
the value of ideas not necessarily by how much detail
you include but by how quickly they can grasp them.
Keep pitches brief, top-level, and framed in priorities,
performance, and profits.

#3 Don’t forget the CFO

Capitalize on any opportunity to demonstrate how
learning contributes to the bottom line.

#4 Cultivate C-level functional partners

Every skills gap that you help close is an opportunity
to recruit another senior advocate. Capture success
stories and give a key role to department heads when
promoting them across the business.

#5 Be the visible C-suite priority

Learning can be the most visible aspect of business
strategy — which spurs CEOs to lead from the front. Take
the time to involve your CEO in flagship learning initiatives.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 43

 Go big with budget
As mentioned earlier in the report, the percentage of L&D pros who
expect to have more spending power has reached a six-year high.4
Even more impressive? Only 8% expect their budget to decrease.4
This is great news given the amount of work L&D is being asked to do.
Now L&D leaders need to be smart about how they use the money.
They should consider outsourcing more manual and administrative
tasks, freeing up time to dig into the areas that drive business impact.

“Top L&D leaders are meticulous

planners who build their learning
budgets from several different sources.
They stay up to speed on what’s
happening in different teams and
different regions, and identify where
L&D can support wider local initiatives.”
Adapted from LinkedIn Learning’s Handbook of L&D Pioneers

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 44

 Activate managers
Last year’s report declared managers the “secret skill-building weapon.” This year
the importance of managers has only grown — especially for remote and hybrid
businesses where employees have fewer serendipitous meetups to build their
networks and increase their sense of company culture.

“Now more than ever, my manager is equated with my experience in an

organization,” says Danny Guillory, vice president and chief diversity officer at
Dropbox, which has launched quarterly summits to support managers. While the
data shows many L&D pros leaning in to activate the power of managers, a word of
caution: Managers have shown higher burnout levels recently, when compared with
individual contributors, so be wary of over-relying on these in-demand heroes.

L&D is tapping the power of managers.

How are you helping your organization

learn to be more adaptable and resilient? 4

Delivering learning programs to managers about

leading through change / change management

29%

Increasing number of trainings and support for managers

29%

Focusing on strengthening managers’ coaching skills

33%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 45

 Listen to learners
A lasting lesson of transformative times: The best source
for understanding what employees want and need is
employees themselves. In the past year more businesses
kept an active ear on employee sentiment by deploying
more frequent surveys, and L&D pros increasingly turned
to employee engagement surveys to gauge the impact
of their programs.

At the same time, this year’s Workplace Learning Report

survey uncovered an uncomfortable truth: Only 20%
of learners agree that their “organization’s leadership
values learning more now than ever before.” 4 Now is
the time to make sure learning is front and center in
workplace conversations.

of L&D pros use employee

50% engagement survey scores

to assess the impact of
skill-building programs 4

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 46

 Never stop
learning yourself
Don’t forget to invest in yourself. While L&D pros preach the Here are the top five LinkedIn Learning courses
power of learning every day, many forget to make time for their L&D pros took this year to get you started. 16
own development. There has never been a more important time
for L&D pros to invest in their own skill building.

Unconscious Bias
by Stacey Gordon​

Project Management Foundations

by Bonnie Biafore

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

by Pat Wadors

Speaking Confidently and Effectively

by Pete Mockaitis

Organizational Learning and Development

by Britt Andreatta

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 47

 Leadership Skills

Influencing Others
by John Ullmen

More
recommended
Personal Readiness

Learning Agility

courses by Gary Bolles

Business Core Skills

We’ve also compiled our own list of recommended courses we
think L&D leaders should take this year. These course selections
Change Management Foundations
are based on data from both LinkedIn and RedThread Research,
and they focus on skills we believe learning leaders will need to by Scott Mautz
succeed as the future of L&D unfolds.

Data and Decision-Making

Data-Driven Learning Design

by Lori Niles

Managing Relationships

Building Business Relationships

by Simon T. Bailey

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 48

 Make sure you’re a proactive partner
“Don’t wait for the business or client to tell you what they need.
Proactively identify what’s happening externally and how
that impacts your business and people. L&D should focus on
anticipating the skills of the future, recommending learning
technology, and sharing the value of learning with leaders.”

Nikhil Shahane
Vice President, Talent and Engagement, TechnipFMC

Remember that UX reigns supreme

“In this over-digitized hybrid/remote workplace, if the learning
experience is not intuitive and exciting, it won’t capture the
attention of learners.”

Andrew Saidy
Vice President, Global Talent, Ubisoft International

Tips, tactics, and Make learning a shared experience

inspiring words “Encourage continuous development and prompt people

to regularly share what they’re learning. Set up ‘learning

from global voices

circles,’ where people can gain new perspectives and drive
unexpected innovation.”

Jodi Atkinson
Senior Director, Global Learning, Deltek

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 49

 Think about how to enable personal transformation
“Traditional L&D metrics like ease of access to learning content and
course completions were meant to remove hurdles for employees. These
should be table stakes. Companies should be moving in the direction
of enabling employees’ personal transformations — defined by each
Lean on employee individually. In other words, leaders need to say, ‘We believe
that as long as our people are successful, our business will thrive.’ ”

people analytics Linda Cai

Vice President of Talent Development, LinkedIn

“L&D teams have always been strong consumers

of data, using HR data to answer operational Harness the power of data and tech
questions about attendance and delivery. “A lot of the transformation is being enabled by digital technology. We
However, in the last 12 months, many L&D are leveraging predictive and advanced analytics, as well as digital tools,
to not only make learning more quantifiable in its impact and more engaging
functions are embracing a more mature
in the experience, but also truly transformational.”
approach, asking their people analytics
Sean Hudson
functions to thoroughly explore and answer Vice President, Digital and Global Head of Learning and Development, Pfizer
questions such as, ‘Is our training impacting
everyone equally?’ Or, ‘Does our training build
Consider digital mentorships to enhance learning connections
critical skills for the future?’ Or, ‘Is training
“Remember when mentorship was a phone call or a brief meeting at
positively contributing to employee retention?’ ” Starbucks? To re-create those experiences in our hybrid way of working,
we’ve leaned in to a digital-mentorship program. Our platform is mentee
driven, meaning that the mentees choose their mentor from algorithm-based
Nigel Dias recommendations. Many have opted for mentors in an entirely different
Managing Director, 3n Strategy division or geographic region. We are thrilled to see that people want to
leverage and build relationships across the globe.”

Jeff Hahn
Senior Director of Global Talent Development, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 50

 Look to sports for a winning analogy

Move from “Challenge business partners with this thought: ‘Show me a

sports team that is not committed to learning and development,

learning design to
and I’ll show you a team that will lose.’ ”

Torrance L. Ford

learning journey Vice President, Talent Management, Shaw Industries

“L&D can learn a lot from their friends in marketing. Skilling programs need to work for employers —
and employees
It starts with taking a systematic approach to the
“An effective upskill and reskill plan needs to be employee-
business problem you’re trying to solve. Then build
centered, context-specific, and personalized. It needs to be
out stakeholder personas and their goals. Set based on the balance between the learners’ professional goals
numbers and KPIs before your intervention, so you and the employers’ needs.”

are ready to monitor, collect, and analyze data. Stella Lee, PhD
Director, Paradox Learning
When you’re ready to structure the learning journey,
think strategically about how often to communicate
with your stakeholders, how to get them to click and Embrace the chance to tie it all together
view their learning module, and ultimately to provide “L&D is primed to evolve as the connector of people, resources,
and experiences that provide continuous growth and success
the valuable feedback that will help you fuel and
for the employee. From onboarding to career development to
iterate on your learning strategy.” exit, L&D will merge business needs with employee needs and
create relevant ways for employees to stretch themselves daily
throughout their entire career.”
David Perring
Alyson DeMaso
Director of Research, Fosway Group
Founder and CEO, Raising Beauty

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 51

 Conclusion

The Next Step Forward

The truly strategic L&D leader has

pulled up a chair and finally sat down
to stay awhile at the executive table.
They’ve transformed their organization from a siloed, vertical function into one that
sits horizontally across HR. Their team works hand in hand with HR and business
colleagues, laying skills-based talent development and learning side by side with
mutual workforce objectives.

They empower individuals to own their career development, ensuring everyone has
access to the tools and motivation they need to become lifelong, continuous learners.

They also know that no matter where they are on the journey, progress starts today.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 52

 Acknowledgments

This report was informed by contributions from people

around the world, to whom we owe our sincere thanks.

Jodi Atkinson of Deltek LinkedIn Voices Creative

Rabah Bu Hamdan of National Aviation Services Gogi Anand Andrew DeBenedictis
Alyson DeMaso of Raising Beauty Melissa Barry David Dodge
Nigel Dias of 3n Strategy Linda Cai Tim Dolen
Torrance L. Ford of Shaw Industries, Inc. Kenji Matsumoto Kevin Frank
Danny Guillory of Dropbox Ryan Roslansky Jared Freeden
Jeff Hahn of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Kaelin McGill
Serena Huang, PhD, of Paypal Rachel Mui
Sean Hudson of Pfizer Chase Stevens
Dani Johnson of RedThread Research
Amanda Kowal Kenyon of Ketchum
Research and Insights Editorial and Thought Leadership
Stella Lee, PhD, of Paradox Learning
Eric Knudsen Laurie Moot, lead editor
Crystal Lim-Lange of Forest Wolf
Gopika Maya Santhosh Anne McSilver, PDF report
Lori Niles-Hofmann of NilesNolen
Stephanie Scalice Ellen Gomes
David Perring of Fosway Group
Kai Stritter Kris Kitto
Andrew Saidy of Ubisoft International
Anthony Santa Maria
Nikhil Shahane of TechnipFMC
Stacia Sherman Garr of RedThread Research
Johanna Bolin Tingvall of Spotify

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 53

 Methodology
1. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-great-reshuffle-ryan-roslansky
2. https://linkedin.github.io/future-of-skills/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/job-transitions-across-globe-up-25-great-reshuffle-labor-kimbrough/
4. Workplace Learning Report survey: Using an internal LinkedIn sample, we surveyed 1,444 L&D Professionals and 610 Learners in
November 2021 in English, French, German, and Portuguese. The full list of places we surveyed includes the US, Canada, Brazil,
the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark,
Australia, New Zealand, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
5. To compare promotion rates between L&D specialists and the broader set of all HR professionals, we compared what proportion
of all job transitions from these roles were promotions between December 2020 and November 2021.
6. Demand for roles is measures by the number of job posts for that given role on LinkedIn. Demand for L&D specialists increased
94% in July – September 2021, compared with April – June 2021.
7. https://www.glintinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Glint-May-2021-Employee-Well-Being-Report.pdf
8. https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/glint/pdf/Employee-Well-Being-Report-LinkedIn-Glint.pdf
9. https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/stressed-employees-browse-unsupported-employee-apply
10. To compare learning times, the average time that active L&D specialists spent watching LinkedIn Learning courses was compared
with the average time spent among all HR professionals and all active learners between December 2020 and November 2021.
11. Top skills added to L&D professions’ LinkedIn profiles are those that saw the greatest year-over-year growth (2021 vs. 2020) and
were added by at least 7,000 professionals in 2021.
12. These insights were derived from self-reported data collected from a LinkedIn sample of 2,036 members during September 2021.
13. https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/where-internal-mobility-is-most-common
14. This self-reported data was collected from an internal LinkedIn sample of 2,869 LinkedIn members during November 2021.
Among this survey sample, 1,849 employed members provided data for these questions.
15. This self-reported data was collected from an internal LinkedIn sample of 2,626 LinkedIn members during December 2021.
16. The most popular courses for L&D specialists are based on global data from the LinkedIn Learning platform between
December 2020 and November 2021. Top courses are based on the number of unique learners within the L&D cohort.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2022 54

 Explore how
LinkedIn Learning
can help your team
Get in touch with us to schedule a free demo and discuss how LinkedIn
Learning can help you navigate transformation while employees learn
relevant skills, achieve their goals, and make a greater impact.

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LinkedIn Learning Workplace Learning Report 2021