The 70:20:10 Model For Learning

Lately there is increasing endorsement by large companies and organizations for what’s become known as the 70:20:10 model for learning. This model, backed by significant research, clearly identifies how people actually learn what they need to know to do their jobs within a large organization.

Organization workers tend to learn about 70% informally, 20% through coaching, mentoring and development assisted by others within the organization, and 10% formally, such as through classroom-based instruction.

The traditional way we’ve trained workers in the past is simply not sustainable going forward. The modern business environment is either unwilling or unable to properly train its workforce, and even if it was willing and able, the mechanisms by which it’s done so in the past, formal training, tends to be a lousy way to train except in very specific instances when the content is most effectively and efficiently delivered to learners by those means.

I’ll write more about the 70:20:10 model in the future, but there’s a great video narrated by Charles Jennings that explains the 70:20:10 model well and makes a strong case for why companies and organizations should embrace it if they wish to develop and retain a knowledgeable and skilled workforce.

Does your company or organization embrace this learning approach? If so, please share your experience by adding a comment.