How to Move Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Learning Solutions

As an HR executive, there’s a good chance you don’t just know the stats about the global skills gap. You’re probably living them, too. According to the World Economic Forum, 60% of global businesses say they are facing skills gaps in their local markets, potentially holding back their companies.

Your function as an HR leader has never been more important to organizational agility and employee readiness. At the same time, meeting the constant demands of today’s workplace dynamics has never been more challenging—from adapting to generative AI and hybrid work models, to fulfilling the needs for the new generations rising in the workforce.

In the face of these challenges, it’s easy to fall back on a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. But learning science teaches us that not all people learn the same way. Whereas one type of learning delivery may engage certain employees, others may become bored or disengaged. To successfully upskill employees, companies need to understand the myriad types of learners at their organization. If CHROs can understand what creates intrinsic value for different learners, they can help employees become more invested in learning.

The 5 Learner Profiles

At Udemy, we conducted research to identify the five common learner profiles. Understanding these profiles can help you and your organization design learning strategies that meet each learner’s distinctive needs.

Remember: Every individual learner is unique, so you should view these profiles as archetypes. Learners may fit into multiple profile types, and learning profiles may shift across different contexts or environments.

The five learner profiles are: 

1. Confident Learners: 24% of learners want more autonomy and control over deciding the direction of their own learning. They are seeking learning challenges to help them grow professionally and are willing to stretch beyond their comfort zone to do so. 
2. Social Learners: 23% of learners are motivated by external factors, such as career advancement or wanting others to see them as successful. They are less driven by an innate love of learning and more by the promise of success.
3. Emerging Learners: 19% of learners are less sure of their learning abilities and prefer learning guidance. These could be early-career learners, career changers, or growth-focused learners who are looking to acquire skills in an entirely new topic or area.
4. Devoted Learners: 18% of learners are self-motivated and see learning as its own reward and motivation. They learn both for fun and exploration, as well as in support of their careers. 
5. Practical Learners: 16% of learners are more introverted and show less interest in learning for professional success. For this group, learning is a serious and practical pursuit rather than one undertaken for fun. They are driven largely by specific learning outcomes as opposed to exploratory learning.

How To Support Diverse Groups of Learners

Companies can meet the needs of all five learning profiles with the following tactics:

• Deliver learning content through different methods.  
  CHROs need to ensure learners have different options for accessing and engaging with learning content to support various preferences. For example, offer opportunities for hands-on experiences, such as practice tests or interactive workshops, for Devoted Learners, who process information best when they can see it in action. Other learning profiles, such as Emerging Learners, will prefer learning content with instructor-led pacing and course materials.  

• Facilitate multimodal approaches for group and individual learning.  
  CHROs must consider whether co-learning or self-paced learning will better suit their company culture. While Devoted, Confident, and Practical Learners prefer to learn independently, Social Learners like to learn in groups. To address these differences, consider implementing cohort-based programs that explore learning in various ways. Udemy Business Leadership Academy’s testing has shown cohort sizes of 35-50 people generate the highest levels of interactivity and connection. These cohorts can include self-paced micro-learning modules, as well as discussion groups to foster community and collective problem-solving. 

• Speak to different learner motivations.  
  CHROs need to engage inherent learner motivations to gain employee buy-in for learning programs. Different learning profiles have various motivations that drive intrinsic value for employees to participate in learning programs. This can include outlining the specific outcomes that learners will achieve (which appeals to Practical Learners) while underscoring that employees are always encouraged to learn for learning’s sake (which interests Dedicated Learners).  

• Consider generational differences.  
  CHROs must take stock of the generational breakdown at their company to optimize engagement. Members of different generations in the workforce have varied perspectives on learning, diverse motivations, and other priorities. For example, Gen Z learners are more likely to be externally motivated, with many fitting the Social and Emerging Learners profiles. At the other end of the spectrum, Baby Boomers are more likely to be Confident Learners.  
   
  If a company skews toward one generation versus another, it should focus on developing learning programs that meet the needs of its specific workforce population. For example, if an organization predominantly has Gen Z employees, consider offering most learning programs with external motivations. As generational demographics in the workforce continue to shift, CHROs must evolve their strategic plan to include divergent mindsets and meet growing expectations.  

Despite differences across learner profiles, HR executives can empower all employees to upskill and reskill with a thoughtful, tailored learning strategy. Developing programs that engage learners’ distinct motivations and address their challenges is key to meeting the skills needs of today’s workplace, as well as tomorrow’s.