The digitization of learning and development trends started to show its effects after the pandemic hit. The last two years have seen corporate learning and development trends shift to the top of the business plan. It has been a revolution for both organizations and learners. With the forever change of the industry, what can we expect to see from learning and development trends in 2024? Keep scrolling to look out for the most noticeable five trends.
#1: Design Training for a Hybrid Workforce
The first learning and development trend in 2024 is training design for a hybrid workforce. The pandemic led to a remote workforce, causing the percentage of remote and hybrid employees to be much more significant than pre-pandemic.
In June 2021, according to Quantum Workplace, 30% of employees regarded themselves as a hybrid workforce, and 35% of employees reported working remotely.
These numbers will most likely continue or increase due to the pandemic. This trend presents itself as a challenge in delivering knowledge due to various issues, including platform or device compatibility, Internet connectivity, and employee distraction while learning online. This inspires learning instructors to develop online content on Zoom or Google Meetings.
#2: Upskilling and Reskilling for the Digital Workplace
The 2nd trend in learning and development is upskilling and reskilling for the digital workplace.
Recent years have seen the digital transformation boom as an effect of the 4.0 technology and the pandemic. As a result, many corporations have to reskill their existing workforce to use digital processes and tools.
Reskilling and upskilling are actually about fulfilling employee potential. To explain further:
Reskilling is the state of learning a new skill to shift to a new role. This method is especially useful in the case of business restructuring, but you still want to hold on to existing talents.
Upskilling is when employees’ existing skills are improved. Upskilling can be in the form of leadership training, with many organizations aiming to promote from within. This helps them bring more value to their position and may even prepare them for a promotion.
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#3: In-app Experiences
The 3rd learning and development trend in 2024 is in-app experiences. The core theme across the learning and development trends is digital transformation. Therefore, in-app experiences play an indispensable part in the world of digital transformation.
In-app experiences enable the learning & development teams to create training content and overall support content embedded directly inside the digital tools that their company is using.
This enables employees to learn in the flow of work without leaving their digital tools at the exact moment of need. As a result, it empowers employees with the proper support at the right time. The learning journey is more engaging and interactive while still enhancing the workers’ productivity.
Some examples of corporate learning and development trends with in-app experiences include:
- Interactive walkthroughs guide new employees through their onboarding process.
- Knowledge bases with frequently asked questions allow team members to find answers to troubleshooting questions.
- Anonymous surveys that let employees provide feedback on the current learning and development content.
#4: Microlearning
Microlearning is also one of the current trends in training and development. In this method, learning and development course content is divided into bite-sized lessons that typically last less than 5 minutes.
A 2019 LinkedIn Workplace Study found that the biggest barrier to learning in the workplace was time. Employees are missing out on learning and development opportunities because of their busy work schedules, and microlearning could handle this problem.
Microlearning activities are typically under 5 minutes long, which means that employees can spend 5 minutes on a busy day advancing their learning. Moreover, it also acts as a way for businesses to get creative with their training content.
Microlearning can take the form of short videos, daily in-app missions, and more. This kind of content is also easier to repurpose, and corporations can refresh microlearning content by gamifying employee education and training tasks.
For example, you can see an introduction to Intelycare’s in-app nurse training program that both provides training services and facilitates HR issues of hospitals. Intelycare engages its customers with customizable and interactive lessons that allow learners to learn around their schedule.
#5: AI Technology
Undoubtedly, AI technology has become integral to many industries, and learning and development are no exception. Automation technologies like AI will be needed more than ever to organize, advise, and facilitate online learning.
While there are course authoring platforms that leverage AI technology to develop content, learning and development teams can get started with AI to create personalized learning programs. Based on profiles and previous skills assessments, the AI tool can deliver recommendations and entire curriculums so that employees can focus on learning.
In the year ahead, it appears likely that AI will become more practically and deeply embedded into many different forms of learning technology. In his HR Predictions for 2022 Report, Josh Bersin also highlights the emerging metaverse technology and how innovations such as these will continue to revolutionize virtual learning experiences.
Conclusion
Learning and development trends are doing their best to support businesses through the continued period of the pandemic. Whether it’s an adaptation to hybrid work or a focus on operational efficiency, learning and development trends in 2024 are set to elevate teams straight into the strategically important position that they have been striving for.
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