SCORM objects are the de-facto technical building blocks of learning and talent development. That said, buying and selling SCORM files are slowly falling out of favor in the content provider and corporate training ecosystems because neither no longer satisfies the mandate placed on learning leaders.

At NovoEd we interface with every side of the learning and training provider ecosystem:

• L&D departments across the Fortune 1000

• Executive education providers

• Coaching organizations

• Training firms

• HCM, LMS, and LXP solutions providers

As a social and collaborative learning platform focused on enabling organizations’ highest value custom and strategic learning initiatives—whether they’re building them in-house or through specialized vendors or consultants—we work with many partner organizations. We’ve seen content itself as the core value proposition of much of the vendor ecosystem: proprietary intellectual property or some easy way to buy and deploy content at scale through an asynchronous e-learning modality.

In today’s workplaces, that’s quickly changing. Content discovery is easy and cheap. L&D is being elevated to help organizations acclimate to the new world of work, and adapting learning content into novel modalities and delivery strategies that drive higher-order knowledge acquisition is becoming paramount to a program’s success. Unfortunately, matching learners to the right SCORM objects does not move the ball far enough down the court, and engagement and completion do not take it over the goal line.

According to the LinkedIn 2022 Workplace Learning Report, 72 percent of learning leaders report that their roles have taken on more influential and strategic positions at their organizations, and 87 percent say they were involved in helping their groups adapt to transformation.

Now more than ever, all eyes are on these pros to develop learning programs that move the needle for their employees and their companies, putting L&D at the forefront of change management across industries.

In response to these demands, L&D leaders are expecting a new type of product offering from their vendors.

The Evolving State of Learning Vendors

L&D leaders are hyper-aware of the opportunities and challenges created by the fourth Industrial Revolution (technologies that bridge the physical and digital worlds). They are racing to keep up with continual disruption and change. With this revolution comes the democratization of available learning content at their fingertips. But with greater ubiquity comes a cost. How can one mine what’s accessible to get to the gold?

The answer is uncompromising: Blend unique and valuable intellectual property with learning experience design that drives behavior change. All the traditional participants are coalescing around a new normal of social and collaborative digital learning as an answer to this market need:

1. Instructor-led training firms are innovating by creating digital, social, and collaborative learning journeys to reach more cohorts with fewer resources.

2. Traditional content vendors are developing “white glove” content and services offerings that take ownership of the intellectual property and the learning experience design.

3. Coaching and executive education providers are evolving their businesses to service larger communities with lighter-touch learning that doesn’t sacrifice effectiveness.

The shared goal is to blend high-quality content with platform technologies that enable high-touch learning experiences. These experiences replicate the effectiveness of classroom instruction through socialization and collaboration without the inherent scaling limits. In addition, vendors are configuring and contextualizing content to make it relevant to their customers and enhancing delivery by leveraging solutions purpose-built around learning science and learning experience design.

From Skills to Capabilities

Take the implementation of leadership development initiatives as one top-of-mind example. The leaders of today and tomorrow need new skills to tackle the rapid transformation they are collectively undergoing, but many professionals feel unprepared. DDI’s Global Leadership Trends 2021 report revealed that today’s current leaders could fill only 47 percent of critical roles. As McKinsey & Co. reported, companies that invest in developing leaders during significant transformations are 2.4 times more likely to hit their performance targets.

As the developer of one of the most successful and widely adopted leadership training models available, the Center for Leadership Studies has been at the forefront of leadership training and organizational development for more than 50 years. CLS provides influence-focused courses and research-backed content that enable leaders to engage in effective performance conversations that build trust, increase productivity, and drive behavior change.

CLS is evolving beyond its traditional role as a content provider to L&D teams. A recent partnership between CLS and NovoEd enabled them to transform their best-in-class leadership development content digitally. This extension, Situational Leadership Essentials for Managers, allows the modern learner to access world-class content through an impact-focused learning modality. They’re a leading player in the convergence between traditional e-learning providers and instructor-led training firms at an economically accessible modality that doesn’t compromise on scale or effectiveness.

This is just one example, but the market imperative is clear: Buyers are demanding content providers evolve to become solutions providers who take ownership of the learning modality and quality of delivery—or at the very least put their thumb on the scale in favor of quality. Through these meaningful, highly resonant learning experiences, capability building becomes a continual and impactful part of peoples’ lives.