We’re heading into 2023 and all the changes, challenges, and opportunities that have impacted our businesses over the past few years have contributed to an evolution in our approach to learning and training. The shift to a hybrid or a remote workforce and digital working life are here to stay - but with these new technologies and tools comes the need to make the human experience a bigger priority in online learning and training. In 2023, our predictions will help you and your employees be better prepared - no matter what lies ahead in the coming year.
Here’s what we see coming:
1. Data-Driven Learning
The future of learning and development is data driven. Data can empower you with insights you would not otherwise have regarding the impact of your learning program, making your training more effective, and ultimately improving performance and helping to safeguard lives. That's why one of the most important things you can do is collect data on course surveys.
The process of goal-setting and creating specific metrics to measure progress will likely take some time to develop, but it will become easier with time and practice. And the value of data-driven learning is manifold. For instance, data-driven learning can help you:
2. Training for Employee Retention
It is critical for business leaders to prioritize learning and development opportunities for their employees. Providing these opportunities can help to make your team members feel valued, to communicate your organization’s culture and values, and to attract and retain top talent.
Millennials and Gen Z want professional development - research shows it is more important to them than other traditional benefits employers offer such as cash bonuses or flexible working opportunities. 27% of millennials considered leaving or left their job in 2021, citing lack of growth and training and development opportunities as the prevailing reasons why. 90% of job searchers felt strong training and upskilling are important, a number that rose to 97% in tech-specific roles. We know that learning and training are critical to retaining happy employees, which is important to the health of our organizations, so we expect to see organizations working to provide adequate opportunities and offerings in 2023.
3. Upskilling
Closely related to training for retention is upskilling. With so many technological advances, the digital economy is transforming fast, meaning that everything needs to be done more efficiently and effectively - and all to the benefit of the customer. With all of these changes, it’s no wonder that some jobs are transforming into something unrecognizable, while other jobs are disappearing completely. Upskilling is what will keep the workforce ready to take on these new and transformed roles.
Upskilling entails learning new skills, but it also involves a cultural shift. If you want to help your team remain competitive in our rapidly shifting world, then you have to be ready to adapt. This also includes having a mindset that is much broader, willing to embrace cultural diversity and new ways of thinking. No matter what industry your company is a part of, your employees need to have technical skills and abilities that they have never needed to have before - and it’s in your best interest to get them there. According to Gallup, the expense of replacing a salaried employee can be up to two times the employee’s annual salary.
4. Microlearning
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Microlearning isn’t going away! Not only does this format of learning and training provide bite-size, digestible chunks of content designed to be more convenient to learners, but microlearning is also powerful in increasing retention and course completion for learners. This is in part because microlearning complements video and mobile learning, two other major trends in learning and training that we can expect to continue to grow in 2023. Microlearning can also be used to combat the training forgetting curve by being used after initial training, getting critical information to workers while they’re on the job or while they’re performing a specific job function.
5. Video Learning
Research shows humans may learn best when processing a combination of visual and auditory information, so it follows that video learning works. Data from over 105 studies have shown video learning may even be more effective than learning via in-person lectures. Video learning forces instructors and content creators to edit for concise, impactful content and even allows learners to skip over unnecessary or boring content. This puts learners in control, allowing them to customize the experience for their needs by self-pacing and empowering them to access content when and where it works for them. Where video learning may not be best in every application, it’s particularly helpful in safety training and can be used to complement in-person learning as well. Demonstrations mitigate risk!
6. Diversity & Accessibility
The proliferation of online learning has many benefits, including ease of access for lots of different types of people, including those with disabilities and various special needs. But, if you’re not careful in your course creation process, bias and discrimination can still have a negative impact on minority and female learners - and, particularly with online courses, bias and discrimination can be harder to spot.
Additionally, according to the analysis of unemployment data from January 2020 to September of this year, the Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability found that, proportionally, more people with disabilities are finding jobs than people without disabilities.
This means that, in 2023, inclusivity and accessibility should be cornerstones of your content creation process. Ensuring diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible content will help you provide learners with the relevant, updated, and results-driven content they need—when, where, and how they need it.
Making your courses accessible to all should include a consideration of the audience and whether that audience is well-represented in the story of the course. This may mean asking critical questions to evaluate the course content in order to reach, represent, and include everyone in your content. By auditing your courses, you can address inclusivity and accessibility concerns and use those learnings to optimize your process in the future.
The Future of Learning
Our world and the landscape of learning and training continue to change - and it is our responsibility to evolve with them. At Vector, this is a powerful idea that aligns with how we perform our mission-driven work to meet the specific, dynamic needs of our clients: leveraging best-in-class, cutting-edge tech solutions to increase safety and mitigate risk in the real world. Learn more about our powerful and customizable solutions for critical industries.
A hybrid or remote workforce is here to stay - but with that comes the need to make the human experience a bigger priority in online learning and training experiences. Our predictions will help your organization be prepared - no matter what 2023 has in store.
