Businesses across the globe were dealt a huge blow when the Covid-19 pandemic grappled the world in a matter of weeks. Offices closed down, and work came to a standstill until finally, it resumed remotely, with employees working from home. The biggest challenge was faced by the HR professionals who had to manage employees remotely all of a sudden, all while planning out ways to continue their learning and development. 

Training and development are the backbones of a smooth and productive workplace as employees need to learn new skills and upgrade existing ones to keep up with the latest trends in any industry. Digital learning had started making inroads in the last few years, but it was still considered more of an option rather than a norm — the remote work culture completely flipped that notion over its head. 

There have been some profound changes in how HR managers approach learning and development that are perhaps here to stay even as work is poised to return to offices as an extension of remote work through the proposed hybrid work models — dividing work into in-office and remote work. Here are some impacts of the pandemic on employee training that will last for the foreseeable future: 

• Big data will continue to play a role in training and development

All frameworks used by HR managers while imparting and tracking employee training generate big data. This information can range anywhere from test results, course completion rates to the overall development of employees. 

Big data can be analyzed thoroughly to find the bottlenecks in the training process and also learn what works with the employees by identifying errors made by them and problems faced. Gathering and analyzing big data will only become more important in the near future as the need for personalized training has only increased over the years. 

• Microlearning will be an employee favourite

Microlearning refers to the short snippets of training material, mostly in video form (two to five minutes long), that help employees solve particular problems while performing a task. Microlearning facilitates topical and fast-paced learning with rapid outcomes. These learning models are more engaging and don’t take up too much time for the employees. Microlearning platforms have become a crucial part of the employee training process, given their advantages and easy usage.

• Videos will keep playing a vital role in learning

The biggest challenge facing training programs is ensuring user engagement and knowledge retention for longer durations. Videos help in adding the retention factor to training modules by virtue of their impeccable attention-holding value. The captivating nature of video content allows users to feel connected to the learning material. Moreover, video covers more ground in shorter time frames and thus propagates faster information circulation.

• Learning will be heavily influenced by AI-powered tools

Innovation in AI-based algorithms has given HR managers helping tools that allow them to analyze large data sets, employee information, and every other labour-intensive undertaking that would be a challenge if done manually. AI-powered tools help in the automation of the training process and help in ensuring real-time tracking of training progress. 

LMS systems such as Litmos possess many such tools for easing the training process and lending a much-needed helping hand to the overworked HR professionals. AI helps in undertaking tasks that require higher-order thinking and higher than normal human efficiency. 

• Adaptive learning is the future

As the name suggests, adaptive learning provides employees with the option of taking the training process at their own pace, according to their flexibility. Employees are free to pick their way of learning, and therefore, it allows them to focus more at a time and place of their choosing. Improved focus means better outcomes if the training processes, which is beneficial both for the employee and the company. 

Conclusion 

Employee training will continue to be influenced by the above trends in the near future, and therefore, HR managers are required to pay attention and devise their strategies around them.