ISO 30422, a new ISO standard on Learning and Development
New Learning and Development standard
Skills shortages impact on existing workforce; business growth plans; productivity so the timing could not be better for the release of ISO 30422:2022 “Human resource management — Learning and development”.
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” This sentiment has never been more important to organizations, managers, business owners and workers. Labour market crises and skill shortages across the world have shown that learning, training and development is critical in the world of work. Technology and globalization, and the pandemic, have transformed how people work. Managers have to think again, and think fast, about how best to organize and manage learning and skill development for all those people who work on behalf of their organization.
This newly published standard provides an accessible route map through learning and development good practice without reinventing the wheel. It shows how learning and development can be flexed and targeted to meet the priorities of organizations of all sizes and types. It covers both formal and informal learning and provides ‘simple but effective’ guidance for managers, leaders and others who need to manage and evaluate learning and development in the workplace.
The standard was developed by experts from four continents and involved contributions from a range of organizations including the International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (IFTDO), the Association of Test Providers (ATP) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
As John Kleeman, a member of the working group that developed this standard https://www.questionmark.com/a-new-iso-standard-for-learning-and-development/ has noted, at the core of the standard is the Plan Do Check Act cycle of:
- Identify learning and development needs at the organization, group or individual level;
- Plan learning and development by identifying resources and methods
- Implement and assess, and then evaluate effectiveness and outcomes of the L&D
- Feedback (and continuously improve) to repeat the cycle.
This standard sits comfortably with the Chinese proverb that “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” Learning has much to offer to individual life chances, team effectiveness, organizational change readiness and sustained performance. ISO 30422 sets out an approach to make this happen which is scalable and applicable to any size of organization in any sector in any geographical region.