Every year, organizations invest billions in corporate learning. Over the past few years, e-learning has become a preferred method for employee development. As a result, more competitors have entered the market, and according to Statista (2022), the global market is forecasted to reach almost $400 billion by 2026, a significant increase from $200 billion in 2019.
Yet, the return on that investment remains elusive. Despite relying on long-standing models like Kirkpatrick and Phillips to track impact, HR and L&D professionals are caught in a loop, constantly defending their budgets, justifying their programs, and watching learning be the first line item cut when pressure mounts. If learning is truly essential, why is it always first on the chopping block?
The economic history is clear: during the 2007–2009 recession, 63% of companies slashed their L&D budgets. By 2011, most had to ramp up investments again—often at a premium—to address the skill deficits those cuts created. Today, we’re poised to make the same short-sighted decisions, even as talent scarcity intensifies and innovation becomes non-negotiable.
This contradiction points to a deeper, systemic flaw: We are still clinging to an outdated view of learning and how it works.
We continue to design for learning as an isolated event, when the real need is for learning that is continuous, contextual, and embedded in the flow of work. We treat learning like content consumption, as if more videos, courses, or workshops automatically lead to better performance. But modern learning is not about how much information you absorb. It’s about how effectively you apply that knowledge when it matters most.
In a world of constant change, one-off learning programs are no longer sufficient. We must evolve from periodic, standalone initiatives to always-on, adaptive learning ecosystems that enable just-in-time knowledge acquisition. Learning should be frictionless, accessible at the point of need, and integrated into daily work, not something that sits apart from it.
Part of the problem lies in what we choose to measure. We fixate on completion rates, attendance, and satisfaction scores. These metrics tell us little about whether learning improved capability or changed behavior. These outdated KPIs reinforce flawed assumptions and give leaders a false sense of learning effectiveness, even as skills gaps widen and performance stagnates.
We don’t just need more learning. We need better, smarter, and more embedded learning, designed for how people grow and work in the modern world. That requires unlearning the myths we’ve long held about corporate development, and reframing learning as a strategic, real-time performance enabler, not an event, not a perk, and not a luxury.
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