During the COVID-19 pandemic, the learning industry has gone through many transitions in order to adapt to and maximize its outcomes for learners. The pandemic prompted a transition for in-office work-based learning providers to offer remote learning.
But the question still stands, will remote learning continue to be the “new normal”? This blog post explores how the learning industry has been affected and what it means for learning and development (L&D) professionals.
The Advancement of the Virtual Workplace.
The virtualization of work is not a recent phenomenon. It has gone through several phases, each driven by shifting employee priorities and evolving communication and collaboration technologies, but as the Coronavirus Pandemic hit and technology improved, organizations began to extend the freedom to work anywhere to their full-time employees.
Throughout this period, L&D professionals are not only providing their remote workers with the skills they need to succeed from home, but they are still able to continue their corporate learning initiatives through online forms of learning.
The learning industry has seen a swift transition to a virtual workplace- where immediate transformation of in-person workforces turned into virtual ones which allowed for L&D professionals to adapt and continue their operations over programs like Zoom and Virtual Glass.
What this means for the future of Learning and Development professionals:
Research conducted by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) amongst their membership base investigated what can be learnt from the experience of lockdown and if it will change the way that learning is delivered in the future.
The results from the research found could not be more relevant given that we’ve now entered the next phase of a national lockdown, and the need for improved remote learning isn’t going away any time soon.
As a lot of businesses were forced into implementing new ways of working, without notice- the pandemic has changed the L&D workforce structure. For example, a lot of learning and development businesses have adapted quickly to online forms of learning strategies.
According to the research conducted by the AELP, 79% of training and development providers said that the changes they made when shifting to remote learning may improve their overall offer in the long term.
With this sort of internal growth, the transition to virtual learning could be permanent as a lot of learning and development businesses are transitioning to virtual work to safeguard their businesses from things like COVID-19.
Despite initial hurdles of delivering remote learning when the lockdown was first introduced, providers adapted quickly and reported that the changes they made have improved the overall quality of delivery by 38%. Without the sudden need to change learning delivery, the move to virtual would have taken years to complete. Since this virtual transition has happened, a majority have also reported that the cost-effectiveness of knowledge delivery has improved by 73%.
These are substantial gains that many professional learning providers don’t want to lose. So, what can be done in the long term to make a significant change for the better?
Making learning content more accessible: As mentioned in an article from Training Journal, remote learning was found to be more efficient with the capacity to engage more frequently and more directly with learners and employers. By having learning content accessible through virtual platforms, nothing would stop L&D professionals from providing the knowledge and learning that companies need in order to succeed– whether they are in the office or working remotely.
Effective learning management systems: Maintaining a digitally ready workforce that can adapt to a changing landscape will be a priority for L&D professionals. Organizations must have rigorous processes in place to help workers instantly feel like they are part of the team and have the tools necessary to hit the ground running on projects.
Remote work measures this year have also caused the digital economy to grow more rapidly than ever before and increased the stresses of managing work-life balance: These challenges give new importance to worker health and wellness, and for L&D professionals, the future of work will require a stronger focus and a more holistic view of employee well-being.
The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness learning for employees, and the safety of the employees returning to work will require learning. Learning professionals will also have to train managers on how to lead remote workers to ensure both productivity and employee engagement.
There will always be new opportunities and challenges for learning professionals in the future, but the workforce will be depending on them to thrive and adapt.
