LinkedIn Ramps up Remote Learning in APAC

LinkedIn, as a brand, strives to connect people to opportunity; LinkedIn, as an employer, is no different. It strives to equip, engage, and inspire its people to do the best work of their career. For the Learning & Development (L&D) team in Asia Pacific, this means creating an environment of continuous learning through transformational learning experiences. 

However, ‘transformational’ took on a new meaning when COVID-19 struck.

“It was a big and sudden shift, and it demanded an immediate response,” recounted Ann Ann Low, LinkedIn’s Senior Director of L&D in Asia Pacific. With the entire workforce switching to remote work, the team had to quickly rethink their L&D approach.

Closing the Distance

With limited in-person interaction, LinkedIn’s blended learning approach has taken a backseat to online learning. LinkedIn relies on LinkedIn Learning for this, as its wide variety of courses and bite-sized content supports flexible, anytime learning that fits easily into the new workday routine.

Ann Ann shares that her team uses three LinkedIn Learning features in particular to ensure that employees’ learning momentum continues even at home:

• The Recommend feature: When managers are granted sub-admin access to LinkedIn Learning, they can suggest courses for their team. The L&D team trialled this in APAC and usage shot up by 4x! This backs up an earlier LinkedIn research finding where 54% of employees said they would spend more time learning if their manager recommended a course to them.
• Customised learning paths: LinkedIn Learning enables the L&D team to quickly customise Learning Paths in direct response to employees’ needs. For example, as employees may struggle to adapt to remote working arrangements and find a new work-life balance during this period, learning paths around productivity and mental wellness can help. In fact, there are now free learning paths on LinkedIn Learning tackling these very topics. 
• Goal setting: LinkedIn Learning encourages users to set and track a weekly learning goal. Ann Ann reveals that LinkedIn uses a combination of goal setting and gamification to get employees excited and motivated about their learning. For the 2019 edition of the annual LinkedIn Learning Challenge, for example, when each employee’s learning goal was doubled from 15 to 30 minutes, engagement levels rose by 44%. 

Re-Learning for the Future

With the post-COVID-19 work expected to look vastly different from before, LinkedIn’s APAC L&D team is preparing for the future by staying agile and adaptable.

“As a team, we’ve had to temporarily let go of what we know. We’re constantly experimenting, adapting, and listening. That’s really the only way to tell whether something is generating value for our people and helping them grow. If it’s the right fit, we keep it; otherwise, we move on,” said Ann Ann.

“Engaged learners are engaged employees, so L&D carries a heavy responsibility in ensuring that our people remain grounded and supported during uncertain times. While the current situation is challenging, it offers us a valuable opportunity to reassess our L&D approach because, now more than ever, learning has to be accessible and engaging. The good news is that the learning momentum that we are building now will carry into the future.”

For a deeper look at how LinkedIn uses LinkedIn Learning, download the full case study now.