When I moved to Texas almost six years ago, one of the first things my mom and I did together was tour the UNT campus. I really took to UNT’s j-school — The Mayborn School of Journalism. On a 100+ degree summer day, we melted into the seats on the first indoor tour, where I was promptly told by a teaching assistant that journalism was a “terrible choice” for a major. Newspapers weren’t going to be around, there would be no jobs, I would probably end up homeless — she was certain (that last part is hyperbole).

Journalism has certainly changed. But it’s far from dead — it’s morphed, instead, into several fields, really. And a reporter these days can be doing anything from reporting on news a la the original vintage to writing a BuzzFeed article titled, “50 things only cat-hoarders understand.” It’s a strange world.

This week, we're covering our newest research on the learning management buyer. You can download the full report for free here.

In our research with Brandon Hall Group and Human Capital Institute (HCI) we discovered that most learning professionals are no longer stuck in training, but are playing a much larger role in the talent management function today. The realization is setting in that learning is the motor that drives all other talent management processes.

This week, we'll be covering our newest research on the learning management buyer. You can download the full report for free here.

Learning technology has historically been built to fit within the training silo, but now we see learning technology taking center stage in the talent management universe. Learning professionals are becoming development-focused talent warriors, battling diversified challenges related to retaining and developing people within their organizations. They’re not stuck in the silo. They’re moving on. Is your technology ready to step up to meet them in their new roles?

In a recent, joint research report from The Starr Conspiracy Intelligence Unit (TSCIU), Brandon Hall Group, and Human Capital Institute (HCI) titled “The Enterprise Learning Buyer, 2014: What technology vendors need to know about a rapidly shifting market,” we discovered that, in addition to learning management, 86 percent or more learning buyers played an influential role in key areas of performance and talent management, employee engagement, succession and development, and employee survey software and services. What does that mean? It means that if you’re still considering learning professionals to be the gatekeepers of training alone, your technology isn’t providing the solutions your buyer really needs.