There’s no denying that trends in the workforce affect how companies train their staff. That’s why it can be helpful for L&D professionals to update employee training on a regular basis. After all, trends in the workforce and in various industries change often. By staying up to date on workforce trends and being aware of what workers want, organizational leaders and L&D professionals can train their staff more effectively.
These Trends Will Change How Your Company Offers Employee Training
Wondering how to best train your employees in the next year or so? Take the following trends into consideration before creating employee training courses or programs:
1) Remote work - Remote work has been trending since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. This trend shows no signs of losing steam. “As more candidates and employees work from home and express a desire to continue their arrangements, workplaces have become more flexible to match that demand,” explained Small Business Trends.1 “Currently, it’s expected remote working will increase...to match employee demand(,) and that figure is projected to grow as we see remote work become a new norm for many.”
So, how much will remote work increase? The article The Life of Remote Work stated, “According to Enterprise Technology Research, IT decision-makers from the US expect the percentage of people working remotely to increase to 34.4% in 2021, compared to 16.4% before the coronavirus outbreak.”2
The fact that remote work was estimated to increase rapidly in such a short amount of time should be on the forefront of organizational leaders and L&D professionals’ minds. It means this trend may continue into the future and that companies will need to make remote employee training options available to a large number of workers. Leaders should work with this trend, not against it, by implementing learning technologies that make remote training possible and simple.
A learning management system is a great example of a learning technology that simplifies remote employee training for both administrators and learners. “Seventy percent of L&D departments in North America use a learning management system,” reported Finances Online.3
A learning management system is a type of employee training software that helps organizations train their entire workforce, even if it is dispersed. TOPYX learning management system helps companies create and manage employee training programs that improve employee productivity, even during times of crisis.
A few of TOPYX’s features include:
- Content curation
- Content repositories
- Secure notifications
- Social collaboration
- Mobile learning
- Microlearning
- Detailed analytics
- Learning paths
- LMS integrations
Also, TOPYX’s online communities feature helps businesses create engaging employee training programs.
TOPYX learning management system allows companies to easily manage and reuse content to train thousands of employees across all departments. With TOPYX, you can create standardized employee onboarding courses that every employee can access and work through at their own pace. Also, TOPYX enables companies to make content available to employees remotely.
Request a free learning management system demo of TOPYX to learn more.
2) Hybrid work - In addition to remote work, hybrid work is also trending. Some organizations are unwilling to allow employees to work remotely all of the time, so they are choosing a hybrid work model. A hybrid work model is also appealing to employees. The Harvard Business Review stated,
“Extensive data across surveys indicate that most people want hybrid work arrangements — that is, a mix of in-person and remote work — as we continue to move through the pandemic.”4
The HBR cited Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, which is a study of over 30,000 people in 31 countries. The Harvard Business Review reported that 73% of the study respondents wanted remote work options. The HBR also stated, “FlexJobs surveyed more than 2,100 people who worked remotely during the pandemic and found that 58% would leave their jobs if they weren’t able to continue working from home at least some of the time.”
Clearly, workers want flexible work options. At the same time, some employers are hesitant to allow workers to go fully remote. In some cases, working remotely all of the time just isn’t realistic. That’s why many employers are choosing a hybrid work model.
Companies that choose a hybrid work model will need to adopt an employee training strategy that is flexible and allows workers to learn at the office, at home, or on the go. Their best bet is to implement mobile learning technology through a learning management system like TOPYX LMS.
Companies that adopt and support mobile technologies see higher learner engagement and success rates. With the TOPYX mobile learning feature, learners can access content on demand, regardless of location or time zone. All a user needs for a successful learning experience is an internet connection and a mobile device.
Mobile learning gives all users greater accessibility to employee training. It allows them the flexibility to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. This is critical as companies move through the pandemic. Also, mobile learning can lower the overall cost of employee training. This is because there are no added hardware or connectivity charges with mobile learning since most employees already own smartphones or tablets and do not need company-provided devices.
Additionally, mobile learning can increase productivity as it provides flexibility and freedom outside of office hours. This gives employees the ability to increase productivity in other areas of their work, even in this time of stress and uncertainty.
Related Reading: How to Deliver Mobile Learning for Remote Employees During COVID-19
3) Increased employee churn - Another important trend organizational leaders should be aware of is an increasing number of workers resigning. In March 2021, Microsoft stated that “over 40 percent of the global workforce (is) considering leaving their employer this year...”5 BBC reported that in the US, more than four million people walked away from their jobs in April 2021 - “the biggest spike on record.”6 A contributor to BBC explained,
“There are a number of reasons people are seeking a change, in what some economists have dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’. For some workers, the pandemic precipitated a shift in priorities, encouraging them to pursue a ‘dream job’, or transition to being a stay-at-home parent. But for many, many others, the decision to leave came as a result of the way their employer treated them during the pandemic.”
Why should L&D staff and organizational leaders be aware that a vast number of employees are quitting their jobs? Because employee training is something that promotes employee retention. eLearning Industry stated, “Continuous learning is an effective way to increase employee retention. Employees appreciate employers who invest in their careers and choose to stay with them.”7 In fact, many employees want more training.
Curiosity at Work said that about 86% of workers claim employee training is important to them.8 By creating engaging, accessible employee training programs, organizational leaders can appeal to workers in a way that retains current employees and attracts new hires.
Many employees today desire employee training that is offered fully or partially online (eLearning). By delivering employee training via an online learning platform, like a learning management system, L&D professionals can ensure they are creating training that will yield the best outcomes.
Quickly Launch a Learning Management System and Start Delivering Remote Employee Training
Interested in implementing a learning management system but worried it will take too long to get started? The TOPYX Quick Start Program helps organizations like yours set up and fully deploy a learning management system in a matter of days. Setup includes branding and training. TOPYX learning management system includes prebuilt content on topics such as (but not limited to):
- Compliance
- Leadership
- Soft skills
- Technical skills
- Safety
- Healthcare
- Finance
- Sales
- Work life balance
- Remote leadership
- Productive remote working
With social collaboration, communities, self-learning, and online sessions, your learners will quickly benefit and feel connected.
Learn more about the TOPYX LMS Quick Start Program to get a head start on employee training that delivers an exceptional ROI. Request a free learning management system demo of TOPYX to determine if it is the right learning solution for your organization.
References:
- Small Business Trends. https://smallbiztrends.com/2021/08/remote-work-trends.html#:~:text=Currently%2C%20it's%20expected%20remote%20working,a%20new%20norm%20for%20many.
- Bdaily News. https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2021/06/10/the-life-of-remote-work-current-statistics-in-the-world-and-predictions-for-2021.
- Finances Online. https://financesonline.com/25-essential-learning-management-system-e-learning-statistics-analysis-of-trends-data-and-market-share/.
- Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/09/12-questions-about-hybrid-work-answered.
- Microsoft. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work.
- BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit.
- eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/how-online-training-helps-employee-retention.
- Curiosity at Work. https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/why-employees-crave-more-training-and-how-employers-arent-delivering-it/.
