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Marcia Hughes

Learning executives remain highly optimistic about the health of learning in Spring 2015, according to the Learning Executive Confidence Index (LXCI). The LXCI, which is sponsored by College for America at Southern New Hampshire University, is ATD’s quarterly assessment of learning executives’ short-term (six-month) expectations for the health of learning in organizations. In fact, the current level of optimism is the second-highest ever seen since ATD began calculating the LXCI in 2008. For Q1 2015, the LXCI reads 68.8, compared to 68.2 in Q4 2014 and 66.9 in Q3 2014; the higher the score is, the more optimistic learning executives are. The strong performance of the LXCI echoes the low unemployment rate and healthy job growth seen in early 2015. Why Do We Survey Learning Leaders on Their Optimism for Learning? The LXCI is a tool that can help learning leaders compare views on learning over time and identify trends, as well as see where their own views are relative to those of their peers. It can also aid learning executives in demonstrating the need for resources for learning to their organization’s leadership. What Can We Learn by Comparing the LXCI to Unemployment? Each quarter, the LXCI report includes for reference information on the overall state of the economy. For example, it includes information on unemployment because as unemployment drops, the LXCI rises.  Recall that the LXCI reflects learning executives’ outlooks for the next six months. Not surprising, if a large number of work-seekers have recently been hired, learning will play a critical role in the next six months and beyond as these new employees move into and acquire the skills necessary to succeed their new jobs. In March 2015, the unemployment rate was a low 5.5 percent, unchanged from February and slightly down from 5.6 percent in December 2014 and 5.8 percent in November 2014. The LXCI report also analyzes other economic indicators that are related to the LXCI, such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and the Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which rates CEOs’ short-term outlooks for the economy. Knowing the extent to which changes in the economy affect the health of learning, and knowing the timeframe in which an economic change impacts learning, can help learning and business leaders better predict the future state of learning in organizations and be better prepared for potential challenges faced by learning functions. Learn About the LXCI and More in a Webcast on April 23 Want to learn more about the LXCI, as well as gain more insights into how the learning executive community views issues and trends in learning? Register online now for ATD Research’s webcast on April 23, “A View From the Top: The Learning Executive’s Take on Learning Strategy and the Future of Learning.” In addition to discussing trends from the LXCI and how learning executives use its findings, the webcast will also cover ATD’s ongoing research on how learning leaders can develop an effective learning strategy that is aligned with business strategy. The LXCI report is available for free at www.td.org/lxci. If you’re a learning executive interested in participating in a brief online survey for the LXCI, please email research@td.org.

Learning Executives are Highly Optimistic in Q1 2015

Did you know that ATD Research polls learning executives on a quarterly basis about how optimistic they are about the health of learning and releases the results in a free online report? The Learning Executive Confidence Index is released four times a year: in January (for Q4 of the previous year), April (Q1 of the current year), July (Q2 of the current year), and October (Q3 of the current year).The LXCI Is a Valuable Resource for Learning ProfessionalsLearning professionals at all levels turn to the LXCI as a valuable source of information on where organizational learning is headed in the short-term. The report not only provides statistics based on the survey data, but also analyzes various economic trends that affect learning.The Big Number: What Is the LXCI Score?Each quarter, the “Big Number,” or the LXCI Score, is calculated. This number provides a measure of learning executives’ optimism.The LXCI is measured on a 100-point scale, in which a higher index score reflects a more optimistic outlook for the learning function in organizations and a lower index score reflects greater negativity. An index score of more than 50 indicates more positive than negative responses (meaning most learning executives feel that the health of learning will improve over the next six months).The LXCI score is based on learning executives' six-month forecasts for four key indicators: the ability of learning executives to meet organizations’ learning needsthe impact of learning on corporate performancethe perception of the value of learning within organizationsthe availability of resources needed to meet learning needs. To provide some context, since 2008, when ATD first began calculating the LXCI, the lowest LXCI score was 55.1 in Q1 2009 and the highest was 69.9 in Q4 2013. In almost every quarter, the score has been between 60 and 70. Between 2010 and 2014, the average score was between 65 and 66.What Does the Latest LXCI Score Tell Us?The latest LXCI, for Q4 2014, was released in January. Learning executives were generally very positive, and the score continued to show an upward trend—it was 68.2 in Q4 2014, which is more than a point higher than Q3’s score of 66.9 and more than two points higher than Q2’s (65.7).The sunny outlook shown by learning executives reflected the healthy growth of the U.S. economy in the second half of 2014. Of particular importance to learning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 321,000 new jobs were created in November, a number that exceeded projections and job creation from the previous month. In addition, consumer spending and GDP growth were healthy. As workers adapted to frequent changes in technology and markets, the importance of learning stood out.The Q1 2015 LXCI will be released in April. Although it is difficult to predict what it will read, economists expect strong economic growth in 2015.I’m a Learning Executive—How Can I Make the LXCI Better?If you are a learning executive interested in participating in very brief, online surveys, please email us at research@td.org. Additionally, if you have suggestions or feedback on the LXCI, please email us.Keep Up on the LXCI and Download Past ReportsThe next report will be released in April. It will be available for free at www.td.org/lxci, where past reports are also available for download. You can also follow us on twitter @atdresearch to get the latest updates on new research, including the LXCI.

Spotlight on the LXCI: How Optimistic Are Learning Leaders?

How optimistic are learning executives about the health of the learning function in organizations as we head into 2015?To answer this question, we can turn to ATD’s Learning Executive Confidence Index (LXCI), a report that provides a wealth of information on what learning leaders feel the importance of learning and the amount of investment in the learning function will be six months down the road. Every quarter since 2008, ATD Research has surveyed over 300 learning executives on their level of optimism regarding the state of learning in organizations and published our findings in the LXCI.As the current year draws to a close, we can look at the LXCI for the third quarter (published in October) to see how optimistic learning executives are about the health of learning into early 2015.The good news is that learning executives generally have an optimistic six-month outlook for the learning function, echoing the optimism about the economy as a whole, which has seen increasing business investments and dropping unemployment in the United States in recent months, as well as continued global recovery. The LXCI is measured on a 100-point scale, in which a higher index score reflects a more optimistic outlook for the learning function in organizations and a lower index score reflects greater negativity. For the third quarter of 2014, the LXCI is at 66.9, which is over a point higher than it was in the previous quarter, when it was 65.7, indicating a more positive outlook.  To put the current score into context, it is only three points lower than the highest score recorded since ATD began calculating the LXCI over six years ago, and nearly 12 points above the historic low score.The LXCI score is based on learning executives' six-month forecasts for four key indicators: the ability of learning executives to meet organizations’ learning needsthe impact of learning on corporate performancethe perception of the value of learning within organizationsthe availability of resources needed to meet learning needs. Taking a closer look at these four critical components of learning executives’ outlooks, learning executives have confidence in their ability to foresee and address the needs of learners into 2015, despite the number of new jobs being created, the rapid pace of change, and ever-evolving technology. In fact, they are more positive than they were three months ago about their ability to meet key learning needs.Leaders in the learning field also have an extremely positive view of their ability to influence corporate performance in the next six months and the perceived value of learning in organizations, suggesting that learning objectives are aligned with business performance goals.A dim spot is that the majority of learning executives do not have a positive six-month view for the availability of resources needed to meet learning needs, and learning executives are more pessimistic in this area than they were a quarter ago. One possible explanation is that learning executives feel that, even as new jobs are being created and employees’ responsibilities and the knowledge they are required to have change, organizations aren’t increasing the amount of resources for learning (such as funding, staff, and technology), or they aren’t increasing it enough to meet the growth in demand for learning.The LXCI relies on survey responses submitted by learning executives, and ATD Research is extremely grateful for the continued participation of many individuals. If you are a learning executive interested in participating in the future by completing brief online surveys, please email research@td.org.  ATD publishes the full report online each year in January (for Q4 of the previous year), April (Q1 of the current year), July (Q2 of the current year), and October (Q3 of the current year). The full report is free to everyone.