Designing Digitally
09/28/2021
Human beings are, by nature, life-long learners. We learn through play when we are children, group assignments and presentations in school, and career development training on the job. One of the more important common denominators for all these types of learning is socialization.
Since we are social creatures, most of our learning happens in social situations, surrounded by family, friends, colleagues, or coworkers. At work, the culture that builds around training employees and empowers them to grow is called Learning and Development (L&D).
In light of recent events, the way we work, live, and communicate has changed dramatically. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global economy, and many companies were forced to reframe the way they do business. The silver lining has been the rapid growth of the gig or remote-work economy. HR departments are now scouting skilled workers worldwide, so the hiring rules and limitations have also transformed.
These significant global changes have led to massive rethinking and restructuring of business models and mentalities like a domino effect. This shift has included L&D departments, and most organizations are either starting new departments or reframing the way they conduct learning and development for employees.
To better understand how we can help our employees grow in this reconfigured online workspace, it's worth noting what top companies are doing.
Before the freelance economy got a boost, few companies had or even considered building L&D departments for their employees. According to the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, budgets for learning and development have increased by 57% in the last year.
This is a good indicator that executives embrace the freelance economy and the new wave of online learners. Having an L&D department is no longer a luxury; it is a must if businesses continue thriving.
Many organizations are implementing weekly learning for their employees. Some even have their own internal universities, Learning Management Systems, and training modules. Others are outsourcing training development to companies that can build personalized training from scratch. This means that online training vendors create eLearning modules based on your specific business needs, learning goals, and desired outcomes.
Personalized training can be something as general as an onboarding course designed for your particular industry. It can also be a complex Augmented Reality (AR) module for teaching employees how to use the available machinery and technology. Regardless of your training needs, you can find an eLearning content delivery method to match your business model and goals.
Personalizing your employee training can also mean that you're looking at each individual learner, studying their learning styles, and gathering data about their learning experience. You can then take your key performance indicators (KPIs) and data analysis results to customize the learner's journey. This will help each student to learn faster, retain information better, and apply the new knowledge and skills to solving daily tasks.
There's an extensive selection of online training delivery methods, and each business can use one or more to encourage overall growth. Microlearning, serious games, gamification, and simulation training are all used to onboard, train, and advance employee skills and knowledge. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are also gaining popularity with the development of new immersive technology.
This is a relatively new subject that employers are developing training for. Cybersecurity is a hot topic right now, as the number of cyber attacks and breaches has increased exponentially over the last few years.
The pandemic has forced most businesses to migrate onto the online scene giving hackers more opportunities to find loopholes in your network's infrastructure. Cybersecurity training is a priority for businesses that want to protect their employees, data, and financial information.
Experts in the field are anticipating L&D in 2022 to continue the growth trend with a focus on employee development through eLearning.
Here are 4 top L&D trends to expect for 2022:
Tech-led online learning will be more predominant in years to come. Migrating from the office environment to remote working has been difficult for some, and a blessing in disguise for others. In any case, technology is here to help solve some of these issues, and the best way to reconnect is through social platforms. Thus, more companies are looking to integrate elements of social media into their eLearning modules.
HR and L&D will need to continue redefining how they recruit, onboard, and train new employees. A global economy entails working with people from all over the world, from all types of backgrounds, and with varying degrees of skills and knowledge. This implies that in-house or remote HR and L&D teams will need to problem-solve with these factors in mind. These two departments will need to work together closely to accommodate the employee hiring and training process changes.
Read also: 2021 HR Trends and Future Predictions
A work-life balance has been the goal for many employees over the last few years. A better sense of cooperation between leaders and company executives will lead to building strategies that will benefit entire organizations and each employee.
eLearning will also be designed with wellbeing in mind. Employee learners will benefit from just-in-time and anywhere learning as more employers offer cross-platform training and development programs. A more humane approach to work will inevitably lead to more productive workers, more efficient learning, and a natural growth pattern for businesses.
A focus on eLearning, training, and work tools that take into account remote work will serve employees that will continue to work independently. As the COVID-19 virus seems to be sticking around, organizations need to design and develop software and tools to help global workers easily integrate into multicultural teams.
Productivity rather than the number of hours worked will become more critical. And using the right L&D tools will dictate each employee's efficiency and output.
Our world has gone through a series of changes in a short time, and their effects are ongoing and lasting. The way businesses are forming, recruiting, onboarding, and training their employees has also changed, and this trend is continuing into 2022. Learning and development trends in 2022 will rely on tech advancements, new tools developed specifically for a remote workforce, and focus on productivity instead of quantity of work.
Designing Digitally helps discover your learning and development needs and will create custom online training solutions that align with your business goals. We ensure effective learning and improved performance, utilizing the latest trends and technologies. If you are interested in speaking with our team about your employee development needs, please get in touch with us today.
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
