Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2018 - 11

SCIENCE OF LEARNING
SRINI PILLAY, M.D.

WHY LEARNING EFFORTS
ARE LOST IN TRANSLATION
TO WORK ENGAGEMENT
There are a lot of theories about how
to engage employees in learning: tell
stories, make the class interactive,
connect the learning to purpose, use
graphics, etc. Yet, despite these new
trends in learning, only 13 percent of
employees worldwide are engaged in
their work. From this, we might conclude
that formal and informal learning is not
translating into workplace engagement.
If we are to go back to basics, we need
to examine why this translation is not
occurring. Below are suggestions of
basic learning strategies that could help
learning leaders translate their work
more successfully.
Integration of learning: When learning
leaders operate outside of the C-suite,
they compromise the relevance of what
they are offering. Also, if you view the
organization as a collection of brains, it
does not work well when the strategic
powerhouse has an agenda that is
separate from the people who will
execute on this mission.
Potential solution: Explore whether
learning should be a separate function
from "human resources" and educate
senior leaders on why learning matters.
Ensure that all learning is tied to
organizational goals and design a
strategic flow that is coherent for the
entire organization. Also, organizations
should allocate resources for this
mission, or they risk recycling ineffective
content and approaches.
Address the dreariness of work tasks:
Even when work is "okay" or "do-able," it
can be very tiresome. When the brain
responds in this way to work, work will
not get proper attention. In the many

requests I have received, among them
being workshops on managing change
or burnout, or building resilience or
creativity, I have not encountered
learning leaders asking for "how
to deal with work when it is dreary
and unrewarding."

LEARNING IS NOT
TRANSLATING INTO
WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT.
Potential solution: For many leaders, the
work can be engaging and interesting,
so they expect everyone else will feel the
same. Also, leaders do not understand
that the psychological dynamics around
authority also translate into decreased
work efficiency when employees feel
that their dreary lives are not recognized.
Having a workshop that addresses this
topic with a view to finding solutions
may start to address the issue.
Set a separate learning agenda that
addresses the subconscious: Learning
leaders often leave subconscious
interventions to therapists, not realizing
that being a learning leader means that
you have to also master subconscious
obstacles that impact the organization.
In fact, in the human brain, factors
outside of conscious awareness play a
major role.
Potential solution: Hold workshops
and design interventions that address
subconscious factors that impact
workplace engagement. Ask questions
like, "What are the subconscious factors
impacting engagement?" or "What are
the subconscious factors impacting
team alignment?" By asking these
questions and tying the content to

realistic outcomes, learning leaders can
develop a culture that is less obsessed
by conscious factors and more engaged
in understanding the underlying
psychological and functional drivers
within an organization.
Connect learning to employee
health: Depression and anxiety are
highly prevalent within organizations,
yet learning leaders often ignore this.
Both of these factors impact brain
function and productivity, so being in
denial of these factors can impact the
effectiveness of learning interventions.
Potential solutions: Work with employee
health to design screening events and
educational tools for mental health.
Include this in the overall design.
Use video resources such as LinkedIn
Learning to learn the basics about
depression, anxiety, stress and burnout.
And expose employees to these tools
so that learning does not occur in a
psychological vacuum.
When learning exists in a vacuum, it's
difficult to tie this to organizational goals.
When learning is tied to organizational
goals structurally (through the C-suite),
realistically (by addressing boring
work), psychologically (by addressing
the subconscious), and humanely (by
addressing psychological issues), the
learning design will be more relevant
and impactful.
Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO of NeuroBusiness
Group. He is also assistant professor (parttime) at Harvard Medical School and
teaches in the executive education programs
at Harvard Business School and Duke CE.
Email Srini.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - BACK TO BASICS 2018 I W WW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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