An employee’s training experience is an essential part of their journey within any organization, and the 70-20-10 model is a key way to facilitate learning. If you’re unfamiliar with how to devise a training strategy for a new hire, then the 70-20-10 framework may be a useful system to slot into your HR toolkit.
From the day an employee begins a new job to the day they move on to their next role, there are many layers to their learning during their time at the organization. While a large chunk of the training occurs during the onboarding process, it is nearly impossible to train them on everything they need to know on day one. Ensuring that an employee’s learning is gradual but continuous is the only way to guarantee growth and development, and the 70-20-10 model offers a clear-cut strategy to do just that.
The 70-20-10 model is a simple framework designed to break down how employee learning and development is structured within an organization. (Image: Pexels)
What Is the 70-20-10 Model and Should HR Leaders Give It a Shot?
There are many different ways to divvy up an employee’s training to ensure they fully understand their role and the requirements of an organization. Some businesses prefer to finish training first and only later allow an employee to start the actual employment. Meanwhile, others prefer to push employees into the thick of things, allowing them to learn on the job. The 70-20-10 model is a unique way to encourage workplace learning, accounting for the different ways in which training can be effectively provided to a worker.
The 70-20-10 training strategy was devised by Morgan McCall, Michael M. Lombardo, and Robert A. Eichinger, who conducted a study to understand how people best learned the skills that were essential to conduct their job. The model breaks down training into two parts: formal and informal training. The first 90% is dedicated to informal training and learning through action, while the final 10% focuses on active seminars, workshops, and structured programs that allow employees to gain additional knowledge.
How Does the 70-20-10 Strategy Approach Workplace Learning?
The 70-20-10 L&D framework can easily be broken down into three parts that account for formal and informal learning. It suggests that:
- 70% of training can be provided through on-the-job training and active involvement in tasks designed to get the hang of things. It involves presenting employees with different tasks and allowing them to navigate them, with and without assistance.
- 20% of the training can be provided through collaboration with others, learning through observations, and active coordination with colleagues who are on the task.
- 10% of the training can finally be added through additional formal training that addresses their shortcomings or fills the gap in their understanding thus far.
Should You Adopt the 70-20-10 Training Strategy?
The 70-20-10 model is a very useful approach to breaking down learning within any workplace, allowing managers and HR teams to ensure that learning is facilitated through a multitude of different methods. Is it the perfect framework for managing training within your organization? Not necessarily. The 70-20-10 model is based on an old and outdated study that has received criticism for its lack of empirical evidence to support its findings.
Despite this limitation, however, it provides a good starting point for a business that’s determined to get its training plans in order. On one hand, the framework makes room for learning through collaboration, which is supported by modern mentorship models as a key way to build experience. On the other hand, the model places a relatively diminished emphasis on formal training. In contrast, recent studies and surveys have shown that the lack of formal training is why employees feel a distinct sense of stagnation in their careers.
An absolute lack of training and investment in employee growth can stifle the progress of the organization as a whole. This is why training is essential, even if organizations settle on their own unique way to provide it. Every organization operates differently, making it important to establish its own, differently ratioed version of the 70-20-10 model for its use.
What Are Some Considerations to Keep in Mind with the 70-20-10 Framework?
If the 70-20-10 workplace learning strategy sounds right for your business, then it might be important to plan for certain pitfalls before making major investments into its adoption. While the model clearly breaks down the different areas that should be balanced during employee training, it’s best to employ some other strategies alongside it to ensure no stone is left unturned.
- Separate the learnings that can be found on-the-job from those that require specific training to master, and require formal training
- Encourage employees to ask questions on the job and answer them with patience rather than leaving them to adapt entirely on their own
- Build up multiple avenues of collaboration and ensure that employees who aid in the training have the time and resources necessary to help with the learning
- Make the collaborative phase a continuous one, rather than cutting employees off from each other as soon as the training activity is complete
- Invest in mentorship and reverse mentorship programs that build multiple connections between new and old employees to ensure the collaborative phase is useful
- Determine how much formal intervention and training is necessary on an employee-by-employee basis, as each individual might have different areas that require attention
- Audit the quality of the formal training modules and ensure that they specifically address the needs of the employees and employers, rather than providing generic training
Will Your Organization Adopt the 70-20-10 Model?
The 70-20-10 framework has been a frequently cited strategy in the L&D ambitions of many organizations, and it has helped many businesses find success. While this exact breakdown of training and development solutions may not be ideal for every business, it does set us on the right path: a measured approach to learning.
Employees learn in different ways, and a rigid approach to training modules and strategies may hold them back from reaching their full potential. While devising how best to approach learning, it can be very beneficial to structure a model that ensures learning of all forms is offered to employees, with slight adjustments to increase formal training when it’s determined to be essential.
Now that we’ve broken down the 70-20-10 model, what are your thoughts on the framework? Share them with us in the comments. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.