Drawing on data from over 700 L&D practitioners, 10,000+ learners, and our case study from West Midlands Police, we have uncovered two key fundamental attributes required to change behaviour and produce habits in the workplace: application and reflection. Top Performing Organisations are three times more likely than average organisations to successfully apply learning and encourage reflection. 

We know that application and reflection are central to producing habits. This is nothing new to L&D; however, this report seeks to break down the steps that help organisations successfully achieve the application and reflection in order to create an opportunity for habit creation.

By making a few small changes to your L&D strategy, people professionals have the ability to shape behaviour within their organisation. This change will deliver real impact in your organisation by aiding in successful transformation, organisational growth, and increased productivity and profitability. 

Creating habits is not necessarily the solution to all of your L&D problems, but it certainly helps create an engaged workforce that can easily adapt to change. 

Molly Blackwell, Research Analyst for Towards Maturity and co-author of this report, adds, "The value of application and reflection in habit creation should not be undervalued and overlooked anymore - these are essential attributes of high performing learning organisations. So if you want to see a genuine shift in behaviour and create real organisational impact, having the knowledge to influence behaviour through habits is a great place to start."

Patrick Kayton, CEO of Cognician, the digital coaching provider designed to build capability within the workforce, comments, "L&D professionals have to do more with less every year in a business environment that is changing at an ever-increasing pace. In this world, organisations must develop a capability for changing the behaviour of their people so they can stay ahead of the pace of change. This report highlights how reflection and application enable learners to develop new habits that allow organisations to thrive in times of change. We hope that it inspires L&D professionals to adopt these approaches to deliver real business impact."