Issue link: https://resource.opensesame.com/i/1474251
Methodology Aims Since it was launched in 2014, the aim of the Learning & Development (L&D) Global Sentiment Survey has been to take an annual pulse check of the L&D field. It is less about what people think and more about what they feel. That is why the survey only ever has one obligatory question, the same every year, designed to be understood and answered in a minute by a native English speaker. (In 2022, 52% of respondents answered in under 1 minute, 80% in less than 2.) Why focus on something as intangible as senti- ment, rather than something more concrete, such as plans for the following year? Partly because other surveys do that, but mostly because the aim of the survey is to understand the likely direction of L&D in the future. Whatever new technologies and methodologies are adopted by L&D, each of them at some point was popular with the innovators and early adop- ters at the beginning of the Everett Rogers Diffu- sion of Innovation Curve. Not every new idea which achieves initial popularity will succeed, but every methodology and technology that is even- tually adopted widely was once considered 'hot' by a small group of innovators. Collecting data Votes were solicited first by a social media campaign on Twitter and LinkedIn, in December 2021, and then by email and continued social media campaigns to 6 February 2022. Voters self-selected to vote. Because of this, we assume they are towards the left side of the Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innova- tion Curve, and over time, some ideas which were hot on the survey have gone on to become main- stream. For example, Video collected 7.9% of the vote in 2014, when it was still relatively new to L&D. This fell to 3.4% in 2020, when it was removed from the list. Additional data Although there is only ever one obligatory question, it is possible to add further dimensions to the data set. We know the respondents' country and city from their IP address. We also have longitudinal data. We know when someone voted. This is significant, because earlier voters, who have been invited by social media, tend to select different options from those invited by email, showing a tendency to focus on novel technologies and methods. Other questions As well as the sole obligatory ques- tion, the survey this year posed two extra questions. 40% of respond- ents answered 'What is your biggest L&D challenge in 2022?' in free text, while 79% chose a multi- ple choice answer to 'Which of these best describes where you do most of your work?' It is likely both questions will be retained in future surveys. Use and limitations The survey is most successfully used as a tool to provoke discus- sion. It does not pretend to repre- sent any inalienable truth about trends in L&D. We are explicit about the issues around the data set and its interpretation (see Caveats, page 20), and we trust the reader to decide how much weight to give this report's findings. 2.5% Innovators Early Adopters 13.5% Early Majority 34% Late Majority 34% Laggards 16% Diffusion of innovation curve, Everett Rogers Donald H Taylor, Global Sentiment Survey 2022 04