Human beings love to learn, unlearn, and then re-learn things. It is something embedded in our psyche. We learned different things when we were children, which we might have forgotten with age. However, we still apply some of those lessons in our daily lives and at the workplace since they are ingrained in the subconscious mind. This has something to do with socialization.
Most kids today are also taught about this aspect of life from kindergarten. So when they step into adulthood, this socialization factor helps them mingle with others and learn new things. Therefore, learning and development are reliant on one another. As a child, you learn various things from your family. And when you step into work culture, you learn from peers and seniors. Thus, learning is a continuous process.
The whole workplace has undergone a considerable change in the last two years, and so has learning styles. Hence, there is vast rethinking behind learning and development at the workplace. With remote working becoming a norm in many sectors, human resources specialists revise their training strategies to boost job performance, productivity, and employee retention.
Read about the various trends in 2022 here.
Virtual Learning
This is, without any question, the primary mode of training today. It will predominate a more significant part of our lives in the days to come, as well. Many people find work from home a distraction, but they are reaping the benefits in more ways than one. Virtual learning will play an essential role in career development. Most employees working from home are in a state of isolation. It is something that was never meant to nurture the minds. As already explained, socialization has always been the basis of learning for humans; it has become a tough nut to crack today.
Therefore, companies organize virtual meets, video conferencing modalities, and off-site training to help employees cope with remote working issues. It is essential to note here that virtual learning has its own perks. You can learn at your own speed and at your own time. This is something that has been highlighted as a silver lining today. Companies are leaving no stone unturned to rope in the best managed IT services to develop learning apps that employees can use on the move. Apart from providing platform support in training, it also acts as a watchdog for network security.
Personalization
This is another crucial driver in learning and development in the current year. Today’s HR personnel has a more significant responsibility of implementing content in a targeted manner. The same content strategy does not meet the needs of all departments. While designing the content, irrespective of the department, it is also helpful to analyze the learning requirements and level of the incumbent.
Today’s content curation strategy is more straightforward but relevant to the learner. This is the best way to engage the employee today with less control and monitoring. You will find HR personnel chalking out the needs of the business, the training needs of the individual, and then bringing about a common platform to design learning modules. Examples are online modules, assignments, video lectures, and audio content. This is a far cry from what most workplaces were used to.
Reskilling
This is another significant trend that has come up. Since the pandemic, employers have struggled to lower operational costs, get more deliverables from employees, and train them according to changing circumstances. Thus, most forward-looking organizations are reskilling employees for successful work capacity in the future. Strategic learning seems to be the answer to all the issues. With new guidelines in place, and emerging technologies, most organizations have concluded that there will be an immense skill shortage in the next five years.
Only reskilling and upskilling measures can help organizations close gaps in talent. It is inter-related with the scheme of adaptation to changing norms of the business. It carries a lot of importance for the leaders, as many teams will be working remotely, even after the COVID-19 infections subside. The period will bring a lot of uncertainty, as well. Employees looking for growth in terms of money and position may quietly start looking for a job change from home.
Had the employees stayed at the office, leaders generally identified such behaviors and took up mitigation measures. However, for remote employees, it is simply impossible. So reskilling the employees based on their levels and area of interest occupies prime importance here.
The above trends will continue to reshape our future and evolve in the years to come. Therefore, businesses should base their future decisions on these trends, which will enable them to improve in terms of workforce and finance management.