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The future of learning and development and how to adapt it for a virtual world
By Jane Sparrow
There’s not much that remains as it was when it comes to the corporate environment, given the widespread impact of COVID-19. As well as our physical working location, the way we meet and share information and the way we socialise and connect with our colleagues - the other thing to have been significantly affected is how we learn and develop. This has been evident in the number of learning and development programmes we have been supporting clients to adapt, evolve and re-purpose - as well as the number of new programmes we are crafting to upskill leaders of the future world.
I spoke to a CEO we are working with earlier this week who has chosen to ‘gift’ a copy of our latest book on effective remote working to all of his people. That would have been a development opportunity in itself for his team but he’s gone one step further and is asking people to share what remote working tip from the book they’re working on, how they’re applying that learning and what they’re doing differently as a result. It’s stimulating a really rich personal development conversation in every virtual team meeting about what people are learning and how they’re growing. It’s the perfect example of how the approach to learning and development is evolving, particularly in an increasingly virtual world.
We’re working with a range of organisations right now on evolving learning and development strategy, transitioning learning and development plans into a more virtual delivery solution, reimagining what the offering is in the context of the pandemic and also forward planning and future proofing to ensure people and talent continue to get what they need to grow and in turn, power their organisations to grow too. So, what are the key learning and development trends we’re seeing and what can we expect from the future?
How learning and development is adapting to a new virtual world
There’s many, many employees of organisations across the world, who prior to the start of 2020, had never experienced virtual learning or development (or if they had it was minimal) - whether that’s a live online session, on-demand content or a podcast. People have had to adapt - and fast - and in the main, they have taken the leap of faith, been successful and have seen the light! We’ve seen a number of things happen as a result of this.
An increase in intent around personal development
The first thing we’ve seen is that people are using the current situation as an opportunity to be intentional about their own development. For example, instead of filling their old commute time with more time on the day job, some are using it for their own virtual development instead. Searches for ‘online courses’ saw an exponential 192% increase on Google between the month of February and March 2020 alone. This is evidence of both employers encouraging online learning and employees seeking it out for themselves to upskill, indicating that the global lockdown has prompted more professionals to learn new skills to help their future career in an uncertain time.
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IN SUMMARY:
• Increase intent around personal development
• Increase desire for consistent development
• Align strategy to moving goal posts
• Individuals, teams and organisations taking stock and learning
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An increasing desire for consistent development
The second thing we’re experiencing is the increasing desire for consistent development content to a much wider audience - not just the top team and senior decision makers. This is particularly prevalent where teams are global and also, in times such as we are experiencing, large communities (line managers for example) need to be supported or upskilled in the right way - and fast. Often the best way to do this is through an on demand e-learning solution. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the value of the global eLearning market was predicted to rise to $406 billion by 2024. The launch of Sourcecode, our own on-demand development hub, was essentially in response to client demand for an on demand solution that could be accessed at scale, that hosted bitesize content and that still delivered an experience for users.
Aligning strategy to moving goal posts
The third area we’re seeing a lot is learning and development professionals working really hard to align virtual learning and development plans to the current business priority, which is essential - but can be tricky given for many, it’s constantly pivoting right now. Some organisations have experienced COVID-19 as a great opportunity to reimagine who they are, what they stand for, how they deliver - this creates a huge opportunity for learning and growth. Others are more focused on how they start to rebuild and transition and for some, the core objective is stabilisation. Whatever the situation and whatever the direction now, there’s an amazing opportunity for learning and development to support the business in a way that potentially, it never has before.
Individuals, teams and organisations taking stock and learning Finally, right now we’re in the learning phase of all of this (see our article on The Future Of Work to read more about this). As an individual, in teams and as an organisation, grabbing the opportunity now to explore what you’ve learnt about yourself, each other and the organisation - and what this means for the future and how you might work together going forward - is critical. We’re seeing lots of teams, particularly senior teams, beginning to take stock, look ahead to transition and explore what they have learned during this time. This includes how well their team has operated together, during the crisis, where they have successfully played to their strengths, where there might be skills gaps in the team, and what that means for the future. We’ve been facilitating a lot of virtual team sessions to explore these areas, one of the results of which is tailored development and growth plans for the team, both individually and as a collective. The other area that has seen a real surge is virtual development sessions on delivering feedback successfully and creating cultures of ongoing feedback and growth.
The future of learning and development in a virtual world
There’s much being talked about when it comes to the question of ‘what does this all mean?’ - for business, for life, and for the way we learn and grow. We’ve got a number of key predictions and things to watch for going forward into a virtual learning and development future.
A move to virtual The big and obvious challenge is that the future of learning and development will have to be much more virtual. Some organisations are more advanced than others, both in terms of appetite to learn in this way and how comfortable those who are delivering the training are with a virtual platform, but I think it’s fair to say that the last few months means that most people are much more comfortable than they were with the technology that will enable this. Learning and development is much more in the digital space than ever before and that is not going to change. What we may find is that more happens in the digital space for the next 6-12 months, then we go forward beyond there into a more blended approach, with ‘in the room’ learning experiences coming back in but within a mix of virtual and on-demand learning too.
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IN SUMMARY:
• A move to virtual
• A more fluid, dynamic approach to learning and development
• A growing realisation that learning is life
• A far greater range of content, stimulus and access options
• A significant shift in leader and people manager development
• The increasing role of experience in virtual learning and development
A more fluid, dynamic approach to learning and development
The recent months of working so virtually has also accelerated a growing trend for a much more dynamic approach to learning and development, where people learn in both formal and informal ways. There’s more diversity than ever before in terms of the development available - whether that’s podcasts, videos, your employer’s learning system and more - and we’re also seeing organisations use the current situation to really turn up their informal coaching, mentoring and information sharing schemes. Some senior leaders have more diary flexibility right now so it’s easier for talent to get some time with them to share ideas and challenges.
A growing realisation that learning is life
I predict that the experience of the last few months will further fuel the growing realisation in people’s minds that, put simply, learning is life. Yes, formal training always has an important part to play but the informal growth we experience every day is also key. We can help each other to learn every day and in this increasingly human environment we’ve been operating in, people have taken more personal ownership around that. Coming back to my CEO story at the start of this piece, organisations and managers that are being really intentional around the learning conversation right now are those that will excel. Into the future, we expect more regular conversations around what people are learning - about themselves, their customers, the environment and more.
A far greater range of content, stimulus and access options
When it comes to more formal development, the future will also see a far greater variety of ways people can access it. This will be vital for maintaining momentum as we continue forward in a very virtual model. I’m not saying that everything should be open to everybody, this isn’t practical or appropriate, however there is a great opportunity for learning and development functions to increase how much of their own content they create, plus curating a range of further content. What’s vital is serving it up to people in a way that is meaningful and bitesize - so that people see the worth and carry on doing it.
A significant shift in leader and people manager development
We’re also expecting to see a significant shift in leader and people manager development. Times like this are a great opportunity for people leaders to stop and think about what kind of development they really need (it’s almost always highlighted in challenge). Aspects like managing uncertainty, managing change, resilience and managing emotions will remain as steadfast (we’ve been delivering a huge amount of live virtual development sessions on these topics for leaders and managers) but we also expect to see a sharp increase in demand for areas including wellbeing and mental health, purpose and values and managing remote teams - as well as managing more diverse and global teams as the realisation that teams can operate effectively from different corners of the country (and globe!) really sets in. I’ve had four scoping conversations with clients just this week about designing a totally new leader of the future development programme involving how to lead in a world where your teams will be in very different emotional places, depending on where in the world they are. Our extensive work in Asia is proving useful foresight to assist with other areas of the world that are further behind the coronavirus curve.
The increasing role of experience in virtual learning and development
The final area to watch out for is the increasing role of experience through learning and development. There will be a big theme (which is already emerging) around how we create experiences and connection through what will be largely virtual learning. Our client in Asia, Lane Crawford, who is ahead of the rest of us in living with coronavirus, having been the first region of the world to experience it, are now running a series of live sessions where those in the building can join in person and those who are not can join remotely. They’re getting expert speakers in on a range of different topics and then we’re facilitating a group discussion afterwards on what they’ve heard and what it means for them in terms of growth. This interactive style of development bringing together both virtual and in the room audiences will become more commonplace.
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Learning and development is at the heart of the virtual future of work
There’s certainly a lot going on and a lot changing in the learning and development space, globally, and there’s no doubt lots to come yet. Whatever your organisation’s situation, what employees need is some clarity around what the learning plan looks like and what employers need is a clear narrative on how it’s going to support the business plan (however short term that is right now!).
Learning and development priorities should be focused and completely baked into the future plan - it is a key enabler to achieve that plan, after all. This is even more essential where budgets are tight to ensure that resources are focused in the right place to take individuals, teams and the organisation in the direction they want to go in the future.
People’s experience of the pandemic ranges from people who have been incredibly busy juggling continued work, childcare, and more - through to people who have been furloughed and for whom, life has slowed and staying motivated has been a challenge. Whichever of these camps people fall into, growth is a great tool.
We’ve seen organisations increase the learning budget for those on furlough so they can use this time to go and learn in the areas they want to in order to support their career - many of our Sourcecode subscribers are in this category. We’ve also supported companies who are providing on the job development bursts, to deliver really targeted virtual development and growth for people facing extreme circumstances because of coronavirus.
There’s no denying that there’s much that is uncertain right now but there’s one thing I am certain of; learning and development will remain critical to keeping people connected in the increasingly virtual world we are going to live and work in.
Find out more about our live virtual learning and development programmes on our website, or get in touch to discuss your requirements.
01256 674 477
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