Blended learning and learning using Web 2.0 methods have made gains against a background of contracting training provision, while one global organisation has started offering non-critical training as a reward for good performance.

The roundtable discussions were held recently at the European Training and Development Summit in Barcelona, an event attended by over 100 HR and learning and development specialists from large organisations across Europe.

LINE delivered a case study on the intelligent use of technologies to enhance learning within organisations and improve business results. The session concluded with the convening of three research focus groups, which examined how organisations of different sizes and from varying sectors were dealing with training and development issues in these recessionary times.

Key findings from the focus groups were:

• Some organisations have stopped providing any training beyond statutory minimums.
• Many are embracing new ways of providing learning interventions, including the use of social media and other Web 2.0 technologies.
• Blended learning in a wide range of formats was widely cited as gaining far more popularity.
• Organisations have difficulty providing meaningful measurement of the impact of training.
• One global organisation reported that beyond the minimum training required to achieve job competence, all other training was made available only as a reward for exceptional performance.

Steve Ash, Director of Sales and Marketing at LINE, says, "The focus groups provided a valuable snapshot of what is happening in large businesses across Europe. Many HR and learning and development teams remain transactional within their organisations and are unclear as to how they can become truly transformational."

"This repositioning of the HR and learning and development functions within business is vital to ensure that learning interventions in whatever form they may take are fully aligned to business goals and are able to generate business results that are quantifiable against these goals."