LMS, training, Corporate LMS, Corporate online learning trends

Corporate Online Learning Trends You Still Need to Implement in 2021

by Debbie Williams on August 31, 2021

The corporate online learning industry is constantly changing and growing. All types of organizations, such as multinationals, nonprofits, businesses, and healthcare systems, utilize online learning to train their workforces. Online employee training is incredibly valuable - the global online learning market will have a projected worth of $325 billion by 2025.¹

In 2020, corporate online learning became even more valuable as COVID-19 accelerated the rate of digital transformation by forcing businesses to digitize their services or become obsolete. By implementing specific online learning trends, organizations across all industries can create better training and business outcomes in the midst of the pandemic.

The Pandemic Lowered Corporate Productivity, But Implementing These Online Learning Trends Can Help

One of the most devastating effects the pandemic has had on businesses is decreased productivity. The Harvard Business Review claimed the pandemic widened the corporate productivity gap.² In December 2020, a contributor said most organizations were less productive than they were prior to the pandemic:

“The Harvard Business School and New York University data is consistent with what we have observed at many companies: Poor collaboration and inefficient work practices have reduced productive time by 2% to 3% for most organizations.”

Thankfully, certain online learning trends can increase employee productivity and help organizations mitigate some of the effects of the pandemic. Here are a few:

Learning paths - Learning paths are an integral part of employee onboarding and role-based training. Companies will likely be onboarding more employees soon to make up for staff shortages, and may also be promoting from within their organization. Organizations can use learning paths to increase productivity.

Using LMS learning paths in corporate training boosts productivity because learning paths provide personalized learning experiences for workers. Personalized learning usually results in better knowledge retention, skills acquisition, and productivity. The blog article “7 Tips to Create Personal Learning Paths in eLearning” stated,

“Each eLearning activity gives (learners) a better understanding of the topic, and gives eLearning professionals the opportunity to pinpoint the individual’s learning style and needs. Personal learning paths give learners control over their own eLearning experience, so that they can more effectively acquire and retain knowledge and skills that will help them in the real world.”³

Reliance on learning paths in remote and blended learning is a corporate online learning trend that is sure to improve overall productivity in the workplace.

Keep Learning: “4 LMS Learning Path Best Practices to Improve Training Program ROI”

Virtual mentoring and coaching - Corporate online learning is greatly enhanced by mentoring and coaching. Christoper Pappas, author at eLearning Industry, explained,

“Mentorship and coaching programs have been used in the corporate eLearning sector for years. But now they are making the move to online platforms. Mentoring benefits all parties involved. Mentees can learn from the insights of more experienced employees, while online training mentors improve knowledge retention and reinforce key skills as they put their knowledge base into practice.”⁴

Pappas suggested companies create communication guidelines, clarify expectations, and define roles. They may have to use extra creativity to do this with a dispersed workforce. “Everyone should know the overall learning objectives and what online training resources are available to get the most from the online training program,” Pappas wrote.

Like learning paths, mentoring and coaching drive knowledge retention. This leads to a more robust skill set for workers and greater productivity. With learning technologies such as an LMS system, companies can continue to use mentoring and coaching, even when learners are remote.

Gamification of corporate training - Gamification of employee training isn’t a new trend, but it is one that remains constant year after year. That’s because it is effective.

”With engagement and retention rates dwindling because of the pandemic and consumer attention span taking a downhill trend, gamification is posing as a timely antidote to these cases,” stated Finances Online.⁵

A contributor also explained that gamification boosts employee productivity by up 50 percent and suggested gamifying employee onboarding to drive productivity.

“Employee onboarding is a laborious process that nobody really enjoys,” Finances Online explained. “However, it is an essential one because new hires are 58% more likely to stay with the company for three years. Additionally, 54% of newly-hired employees claim that they were highly productive in their work because of the onboarding. The latter is not surprising, as experiments have shown that information delivered through a gamified approach is better absorbed and retained.”

Implementing gamification is a surefire way to engage learners with training. It will also help increase knowledge retention, improve worker skill sets, and close the corporate productivity gap.

Related Reading: “3 Best Practices for Employee Training Gamification”

Other Corporate Online Learning Trends You Need to Implement This Year

Learning paths, virtual mentoring and coaching, and gamification of employee training are just three corporate online learning trends to use this year. But there are more trends where those came from. Here are some other eLearning trends that can benefit your organization right now:

1) Instructors will need training to improve virtual content delivery

More companies than ever are using remote work and training due to COVID-19. As a result, instructors who used to provide in-person training will now need training themselves. The training will equip them to train remote- and blended-format learners.

2) Big data analytics will grow larger than ever

Big data analytics is a big deal this year because it enables organizations to boost their training ROI. How? By “gathering relevant information of their learners' experiences so they can present them with suitable training formats.”⁶

3) Learners will expect augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality training

Most learners would rather see information displayed rather than read text, according to Jet Saini, contributor to eLearning Industry.⁷ Thus the demand for augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality training. This corporate online learning trend will likely communicate training information to learners more quickly than reading text. This eLearning trend will especially benefit those with learning disabilities or reading difficulties.

4) Employers will provide increasingly flexible training options

With hundreds of thousands of individuals working and training from home, it’s obvious that the future of corporate training is virtual. As workers have switched to a virtual training format, they have desired more flexible training options, such as training content that is available via mobile device. This desire will only increase in the future as an increasing number of workers train from home.

5) Learners will generate some of their own online learning content

The pandemic has drained the finances of too many organizations. As a result, company leaders are seeking ways to save money. Since training is a major expense, there may be a rise in user generated content (UGC). Online learning platforms that provide online communities and forums, as well as administrator controls, facilitate user generated content.

Read all about these corporate online learning trends in “5 LMS Trends to Make an Impact in 2021.”

Boost Business Revenue with an LMS System

Online learning has recently boosted income for 42% of US organizations.⁸ One of the reasons for this is because eLearning drives employee productivity, which has been lacking for most companies since switching to remote work and training. An LMS system can help you implement eLearning so you can utilize corporate online learning trends that promote better business outcomes.

Corporate online learning has proven its value over the years. In 1995, just 4 percent of companies planned to use eLearning in their employee training strategy - this number soared to 98 percent in 2020.⁹ If your company has not yet jumped on the corporate online learning bandwagon, there has never been a better or more appropriate time than now to do so.

Looking for an LMS to meet your organization’s post-COVID needs, such as remote training and mobile learning? TOPYX LMS system is the solution.

TOPYX is a full-featured LMS system that supports up-to-the-minute corporate learning trends that promote employee productivity, increase revenue, and lower a company’s bottom line.

Regardless of what corporate online learning trends surface, or what crises develop, TOPYX LMS features ensure that a company can effortlessly train employees. Examples of TOPYX LMS system features include: