Learning Agility of Learning and Development Professionals in the Life Sciences Field During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Empirical Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND COVID-19 pandemic has changed organizations around the world in many ways. Learning & Development (L&D) departments within organizations underwent profound changes during the abrupt shift to remote work, and as a result, envisioned and implemented new work and training practices. Given the complex and dynamic situation of the pandemic, both individuals and organizations needed to learn quickly and apply what they learned to solve new, unprecedented problems. This situation presents an opportunity to study how characteristics of learning agility were evidenced by organizations and individual employees during the abrupt shift to remote learning brought about by the global pandemic. OBJECTIVE In collaboration with the StudySite [name blinded], this study investigated the responses and learning agility of L&D professionals and their organizational leadership within the life-sciences sector to the work changes due to the pandemic. METHODS We adopted a mixed methods approach that included a semi-structured interview and a survey. Interviews were conducted through phone or online conferencing and lasted 30-60 minutes each, covering 22 questions to stimulate ideas that could be used in the survey. The subsequent survey consisted of 37 items regarding 4 specific themes. RESULTS Findings reveal generally positive organizational and individual responses towards the changes brought about by the pandemic. Results also indicate that a disruptive crisis, like the abrupt shift to remote working, required professionals’ learning agility to both self-initiate their own learning and to support the learning agility of others in the organization. CONCLUSIONS This is the second study in a series designed to better understand education and training in the life sciences on a macro level. We discussed several important directions for future research on learning agility of L&D professionals in life-sciences organizations.