ASTD’s quarterly
Learning Executive Confidence Index (
LXCI) assesses the outlooks and expectations of learning executives for the next six months on a 100-point scale, modeled after the CEO Confidence Indices reported by
Chief Executive Magazine and
The Conference Board. The
LXCI provides a snapshot of learning executive confidence in the future and factors in expectations of their learning functions' abilities to meet learning needs and to show impact in key areas including corporate productivity, the status of learning as a key strategic component within the organization, and the availability of resources for learning. The report is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October each year.
This first quarter in 2013 is off to an extremely strong start, with the highest confidence seen since 2009; reporting a score of 68.1 Both 2011 and 2012 also commenced with strong optimism from learning executives (67.1 and 67.3 respectively), but confidence waned later in each year. Confidence has been restored or renewed as this year brings new opportunities, new budgets, and strong positivity toward learning and development.
In 2011, the scores showed that learning executives were cautiously optimistic toward the economy and job market; while in 2012, although confidence was still positive, it started to decline. For Q1 2013, the score may be extremely high due to a fresh start to the year and excitement in this year’s projects. The unemployment rate is at a four-year low and hiring is on the upswing, so this may be boosting confidence for this year’s outlook. Also, calculation of the LXCI has been modified as of Q1 2013. The LXCI indicator of learning as a key strategic component has been replaced with how favorable the value of learning will be perceived, so this may also be positively effecting the LXCI score. The current Learning Executive Confidence Index (LXCI) surveyed 404 learning executives (LXs).