The Future of Workplace Learning
By 2025, millennials will comprise three-quarters of the workforce. This has created a need to bring about a remarkable change in the learning strategies adopted globally by organizations. The world is moving at lightning speed which often renders learning interventions obsolete within a short period after their development. Hence, organizations are taking measures to make learning continual, responsive and relevant. The need in this disruptive age is to make learning more self-driven and realistic. Some of the influences that are predicted to shape the future of learning in the coming few years based on client demands and interests are as follows:
Variety of Learning Media for Different Learner Preferences:
There are 4 broad learner preferences:
Organizations, hence, would need to be creative and experimental in administering new learning through variety of media like classroom training, e-learning, self-organized research (articles/blogs), byte sized learning sessions, paid professional development courses or peer to peer learning.
Anywhere, Anytime:
Learning media that support anywhere, anytime and any device (AWATAD) that allow L&D activities to be flexible and supporting work-life balance.
Demand for Specific Digital Skills:
Alongside basic digital skills employers are increasingly looking for digital skills related to the specific technical tools of a chosen discipline. This may help workers avoid the risk of automation, by as much as 59%.
Leadership Skills:
Development of talent with an eye on long-term success such as mentoring schemes and other leadership development programs will gain more foothold for achievement of effective organizational goals.
‘Growth’ Coaches, not Performance Managers:
People measured on their personal growth and improvement, perform better than those who are evaluated against fixed targets. 2020 and beyond will see managers step up as coaches and mentors who not only foster an individual’s growth, but help to utilize the real strengths of each team member.
More Self-Directed, Multi-Mode Learning:
Over 22 billion videos are viewed daily*, across the world. Videos for learning have gained traction as a self-directing tool and are also integrated in LMS of organizations. These range from short 2 to 5 minute videos nuggets to byte-sized clips for learning & expansion of knowledge.
Culling What Doesn’t Work:
As more training teams use analytics such as page hits, likes and shares to track user engagement and see what works, in future we would need to be ready to do away with what doesn’t work.
Future Readiness:
In a changing world, managers will need their teams to develop the ability to stay relevant to their domains, participate in and possibly shape the digital transformations taking place, and look beyond the definition of the boundaries of their role and work in order to stay productive and improve on it. Learning in organizations is expected to go through a massive and dynamic transition in the coming years. While its important to be open to developing learning interventions based on the market trends, it is up to the organizations and learning professionals to find the correct strategy that will work for their learners and encourage a culture of collaboration and learning.
