Every firm these days is looking for ways to hold on to talent and keep them happy and engaged. According to research from The Josh Bersin Company, the secret is for employees to spend more time learning. They found that employees who spend time at work learning are:
47% less likely to be stressed
39% more likely to feel productive and successful
23% more ready to take on additional responsibilities, and
21% more likely to feel confident and happy.
Developing talent from within is one way your Learning and Development function contributes to the strategic vision. So, let’s discuss how adults learn differently from children and teenagers and how L&D may adapt teaching to these differences.
By investing in employees’ professional development, fostering a positive and engaged work environment, and providing clear opportunities for growth and advancement, the Learning and Development function becomes a key player in reducing turnover and retaining top talent.
Neuroplasticity
Adults are better at strengthening existing neural pathways, the building blocks for learning and development. However, they require more effort and repetition because there is less brain “plasticity” compared to younger learners.
Imagine the difference in energy, time and necessary strength for shaping a length of aluminum foil into a swan for your restaurant leftovers compared to one made of sheet metal. Maybe this is where the term “stuck in our ways” comes from.
How to promote neuroplasticity in your firm: Leave time during training to practice new concepts and skills. Incorporate practice and repetition (and patience) into lesson plans.
Problem-solving and conceptualizing
Children are very good at acquiring new information unconsciously—so-called “implicit” learning. Adults rely more on conscious and deliberate effort, i.e., “explicit” learning.
Young learners use unconscious learning to acquire new language and motor skills. Adults use existing theories, concepts and knowledge about the world and excel at problem-solving. They also use this world view to “file” new information.
When adults can categorize information into existing concepts or rules, it may be easier to internalize the knowledge than independently presenting complex, unique facts.
If you ever took a French class, think back to the first time you learned how to conjugate verbs. It was much easier to conjugate regular verbs than irregular verbs because of the common ~e , ~es, ~e, ~ons ~ez, ~ent endings.
How to incorporate this into your L&D program: Provide examples to demonstrate learning objectives that fit into existing knowledge. Categorizing new information into familiar themes may be more effective than randomly presenting it.
Learning priorities and focus
Children and teenagers crave experiences. Adults typically seek goal-oriented learning focused on specific objectives, often related to career or personal interests.
How to leverage this in your firm: Since adults have a greater ability to self-direct their learning (and teaching), provide opportunities for self-direction during training. This student-as-teacher approach is why Boomer Consulting incorporates breakout group sessions into all our training.
Memory and retention
Adults may be more committed to retaining hard-won knowledge. While it may take longer for adults to learn, they’re more efficient at strengthening existing connections. Adults are invested in new learnings. Unlike their younger counterparts, they’re not running to the next shiny new thing.
Adults may be more committed to hanging on to the hard-won learnings since it took them so long to acquire, yet, with more urgent matters than training review, they may forget to review.
How to promote retention in your training programs: Touch base after training. Send periodic reminders to review the new information and practice new skills.
Neural efficiency
Adults excel at problem-solving and conceptualizing but may struggle with new information. In young people, learning includes forming new synaptic connections and “pruning” away unnecessary ones. This can lead to slow or less efficient brain processing as the brain does double duty.
For this reason, it can be difficult for adult brains to adapt to entirely new concepts and skills. The brain knows what it knows. As with different types of learning, adult learners may struggle with new ideas and skills, taking longer to learn.
How to support neural efficiency: Fit new ideas and concepts into existing theories, knowledge and concepts or create a problem-solving exercise. This can help adults internalize the new concepts.
In summary, children's and teenagers' brains are more adaptable and better at absorbing new information, while adults leverage experience and efficiency for more goal-oriented learning. Both types of brains have advantages, but they approach learning differently due to the structural and functional differences in brain development.
Recognizing and adapting to these differences can help you deliver effective L&D opportunities for employees and support the retention of high-potential employees.
Are you ready to upskill your team and transform your firm?
The Boomer Learning & Development Circle is a peer group of learning and development professionals in the accounting profession who share tools and resources to properly support their firms’ learning and development goals. Apply now to ensure you’re focusing on the right skills, engaging learners and demonstrating value to other firm leaders.
As an Administrative Coordinator for Boomer Consulting, Inc., Leda Sedlock helps manage our Accounting Innovation Center meeting space by coordinating rentals and providing on-site meeting support. She also helps with scheduling and travel arrangements for our leadership team.
Before joining Boomer Consulting, Inc., Leda owned a market research company and consulted on the viability of business initiatives, market opportunities, and tactical market plans. Leda has a Bachelor of Science in Physiology from the University of California, Davis, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.
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