The past paves the way for the future. And this holds for learning as well. When you ask what learning and development will look like in 2022, you need to take a step back and think. What were the primary learning and development trends in 2021 and 2020? How did 2020 revolutionize corporate training? Well, for starters, so many people have resorted to working from home.
In fact, “a Gartner survey of company leaders found that 80% plan to allow employees to work at least part of the time remotely after the pandemic and 47% will allow employees to work from home full-time. Additionally, in a PwC survey of 669 CEOs, 78% agree that remote collaboration is here to stay for the long-term.” What’s more? Clients need more assistance. Several organizations have even changed their entire business models.
New tweaks in the corporate learning modules helped manage several of the changes mentioned above. Therefore, how can we expect the learning and development trends to drive workplace training in 2022? Well, let’s begin!
Table of Contents
Learning and Development Trends in 2022
1.Move to a 100% Online Learning Model
The shift to online learning has witnessed a gradual surge in the recent decade, leading to the first of our learning and development trends. Digital platforms are the go-to option for companies that believe in-person training sessions are a thing of the past. It is tedious to rely on instructors and conferences for knowledge dissemination.
Research from Brandon Hall Group proves that before the pandemic, 96% of companies provided instructor-led training. Again, as per the Training Industry, most learners said they prefer training delivered in person. But these figures have changed drastically after the health crisis. Companies switched so fact to digital learning platforms in 2020 that it’s inevitable for these learning and development trends to continue in 2022.
According to Ashish Rangnekar of BenchPrep, who was interviewed on the Talented Learning podcast, “Every single training organisation we’ve talked to, their number one priority is digital transformation. Finally, we’re seeing that every single training organisation is taking a step back and embracing an end-to-end digital transformation.” In short, rather than making online platforms a part of instructor-led training, 2022 will witness digital-only and digital-led learning sessions –
2. Change and Learning Will Go Hand-in-hand
In 2020, a significant chunk of the workforce found themselves working from home. They were compelled to learn new skills. The shift made employees realise their technical deficiencies. And online training via platforms such as PlayAblo helped in addressing these skill gaps. Now, in 2022, one of the significant learning and development trends will be to manage change. There will be new training tools to help trainees adapt to new situations and succeed. It is essential since their jobs may not look the way they did at the start of 2020. Online training can now teach new skills, highlight changes, and communicate with a remote workforce, aligning an entire organisation with the same goals and priorities.
3) Tweaks in Customer Training
Not only companies but even customers have adapted to the new normal. Currently, organisations cannot communicate with their clients using traditional ways. In the good old days, buyers had the option to try or test products in person. However, now, they may not feel comfortable in brick and mortar stores. Since online commerce has become a go-to alternative for several buyers, companies will rely on learning. They will have to reach their customers and educate them about products. Again, if a business’s model has changed, online customer onboarding program will teach them about these changes and what they mean to people outside the company.
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4) More Focus on Reskilling
2020 had witnessed an immense transformation in organisations’ personnel needs. The new wave of digital training will focus on the requirement to reskill and upskill employees — who may be assigned roles that didn’t exist in the past. Ginni Rometty, executive chairman of IBM, was interviewed on Fortune’s Leadership Next Podcast. She compared the upheaval caused by COVID-19 and remote work to flipping a deck of cards. She explained how everyone would not land at the same spot as before.
Again, according to Brandon Hall Group’s research, “56% of companies are concerned about reskilling workers who might return to different jobs than the ones they’d left. In comparison, 43% of businesses are worried about determining whether employees will be returning to their old jobs, or whether their new positions will change because of new business conditions.”
5) Emphasis on Soft Skills
Changes in job profiles and the way of working mean a difference in the existing employee skill sets. And in 2021, skills will become more critical than ever. Soft skills AKA people skills include determination, communication, punctuality, and the ability to learn. Research reveals that companies are increasingly looking for talents like teamwork, communication and time management.
Why? Because more teams are resorting to the remote model. Soft skills are truly inborn. However, L&D leadership can hone soft skills with proper training. As employees transition to various roles within an organisation, or adapt to virtual models, they must polish their soft skills as much as possible in response to these learning and development trends.
Conclusion
Yes, 2020 and 2021 brought in a gamut of challenges to the corporate world. Working from home is not a cakewalk. Moreover, it becomes even more complicated when one needs to work and take care of the family at the same time. Training via PlayAblo can help by equipping professionals with the necessary know-how, required to deal with changing learning and development trends. Also, appropriate learning will go a long way in communicating your updated solutions and services to the customers.
Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is for the modern corporate learner. Micro-Learning, along with assessments and gamification features, ensures learning outcome measurement along with sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!