Learning executives' growing optimism and confidence about the outlook and expectations for the learning function reached a new record high, according to the latest measurement by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). The current Learning Executives Confidence Index (LXCI) surveyed 354 learning executives about their expectations in four areas: impact on corporate performance; ability to meet learning needs; status as a key strategic component; and availability of resources. It is modeled on the CEO Confidence Indices reported by Chief Executive Magazine and The Conference Board.
The ASTD LXCI for the first quarter of 2011 was 67.3, an increase of more than four points from the previous high of 62.9 recorded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. This increase demonstrates that collectively, learning executives (LXs) expect their learning functions to improve over the next six months. The LXCI is measured by a 100-point scale.
Highlights from the LXCI for the first quarter of 2011 include:
- More than 71 percent of executives expect the learning function to have a positive impact on corporate performance.
- Sixty-one percent of LXs expect improvement in their ability to meet their organization's learning needs in the next six months.
- More than 69 percent of LXs foresee increases in learning's status as a key strategic component.
- Eighty-one percent of LXs anticipate resource availability to remain the same or improve in the next six months.
- Nearly 42 percent of LXs anticipate increased expenditures on outsourced or external services to aid in the learning function.
ASTD's Learning Executives Confidence Index was launched in August 2008 and is designed to assess the outlooks and expectations of learning executives for the next six months. Visit www.astd.org/content/research/LXCI.htm to read the full report.
