In workplaces throughout the world, Learning and Development (L&D) programs constitute key strategies in maintaining and complimenting employees’ skillsets throughout an organisation’s structure. Such strategies articulate frameworks which ensure sustainable and successful development of essential skills that underpin an organisation’s success. Organisations can now exploit technology to assist in these aims at much less cost, and trends such as increased smartphone device usage, video adaptability and wearables allow for much more variety in executing L&D programmes. Here are some key trends on the horizon for the L&D sector which we’re likely to see growing, and emerging, over the second half of 2016…
Smartphones have radically changed almost every aspect of our lives. For trainers and instructors, it is a huge benefit to know that those undertaking a training course can watch instructional videos whenever and wherever they are. With screens and devices almost always at hand, video is a great way for learning content to be shared and consumed. Just on YouTube alone, 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute; it is no wonder that learning providers are uploading their content into video format when it is so easy to produce, share and access.
Another reason for video’s continued rise is its ability to grab and keep the attention of a learner. Short of face-to-face teaching, video commands attention better than any other form of communication. With 2016 seeing some of the best new digital tools for making video being launched into the market, it has never been easier to turn a written or spoken presentation into an instructional video.
The uptake in consumer wearables has forged ahead in 2016, in line with Gartner’s prediction that we would see an 18.4 per cent rise in the number of devices sold this year. While concerns still persist around privacy and IT security, wearables are starting to make headway into the workplace with such trends as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) making headways across the world
For learning and development, wearables will help create a ‘frictionless’ experience, by providing unlimited touch points to engage and communicate. Wearables are not just about accessing content, they have also become powerful tools in helping instructors monitor progression and evaluate skills over time, allowing for a far more personalised and detailed interactive learning experience.
For those incorporating wearables into their training programmes it will be important to explore and develop both the user-interface and monitoring capabilities further. By finding the best way to deliver, interact and monitor the results on a wearable, users will stay engaged and businesses will likely see an uptake in productivity.
Many companies are looking to “microlearning” to make their L&D programmes more digestible; this involves giving learners short bursts of knowledge and information that can be easily consumed in a short amount of time (such as between meetings, on the train, over lunch, etc.). They are normally 10 minutes or less, and can also be called Learning Snacks, Learning Nuggets, Knowledge Nuggets or 10-min trainers. Companies are now scrutinising the cost of a formal 30 minute or 1 hour training classes and the impact that they have on improving an individual’s job performance. These courses are generally aimed at a broad audience and cannot always be applied right away, decreasing their effectiveness. With microlearning, these short learning experiences can be consumed on an as-needed basis, bringing the right content at the right time to an individual, making it much more useful and relevant.
These short microlearning experiences can also make use of video so that people are able to learn outside of work, in their own time.
With time being so precious to so many, microlearning is going to become a major trend in corporate training and learning throughout the rest of 2016 and beyond. Those looking to deliver flexible training and learning programs should ensure microlearning is part of their planning process.
Social learning is an emerging trend in the training and learning sector. Born out of social learning theory, the idea behind this method is that the best learning comes from within a social setting (i.e the workplace, or a classroom), and invokes the aim to use social interactions and systems to share information directly from experts to learners. This can include the use of blogs, instant messaging, group discussions (both online and offline), wikis and video discussions.
As a consequence, social learning breaks down the traditional learning barriers and systems which have seen a teacher to student approach. By off-loading some of the custom content from a trainer to a group, trainers and instructors are free to focus on providing strategic counsel. Combined with more traditional approaches such as presentations and written courses, social learning helps create a cohesive, holistic approach to training and learning. Firms seeking to provide a responsive and technologically-driven L&D programme could start to use these approaches to adapt to the needs of a modern workforce.
Ultimately, the pace of technological change moves so quickly, L&D trends will likely be completely different in another 6 months’ time. However, in terms of general direction, varieties may differ but the outcomes remain more or less the same; retain, develop and enhance the skills of your employees, in the most efficient and responsive manner. Technologies such a video learning and BYOD and disciplines such as social learning or microlearning reflect both the changing needs of your employees but also how information and knowledge is now being shared. Keep ahead of the curve by experimenting with new trends and listening to your employee’s needs.