Like any other field, Learning & Development has been influenced a lot by the omnipresence of smartphones nowadays. But there are more factors that are growing in importance, according to research by Deloitte. What are the most important L&D trends at this moment?
Deloitte interviewed hundreds of managers, who identified several trends coming from the changing environments of the organizations, their need for a lasting deployable workforce and their motivation to become more innovative, adaptive and customer focused. These are the 8 trends:
1. Learning should measurably contribute to operating goals
Organizations are increasingly measuring the impact of learning on their results, causing L&D to emphasize cost-effective learning. They are analyzing the costs and are trying to gain more insight and overview using worldwide databases and programs. This means that the development of communication skills is also increasingly being offered worldwide, so that the effect can be measured and compared.
2. Strategic talent management is becoming essential
L&D is focused more on attracting, developing and retaining important employees strategically. Research shows that organizations that have the most valuable core employees are performing better. Therefore, organizations are investing in human capital that can improve their performance. In that way, the right people can be linked to the right project, for example.
3. Focus on the individual participant
Personalized learning means that more content and materials are adapted to the participant and, therefore, are becoming adaptive. The individual’s current knowledge and skills form the basis of what is offered, so it’s essential that there is objective insight in the hard and ‘soft’ skill levels.
4. Employees get more responsibility
The employee gets to make more choices for themselves: they decide their own career path and the knowledge and skills that are necessary for this. Employees, as lifelong learners, are therefore also responsible for the development of their expertise. Then, the possibility to develop should be available always and everywhere: training as a utility.
5. Mobile learning and training is becoming popular
This trend is a logical consequence of the previous two. In addition, flexibility and mobility are indispensable these days. Anyplace, anytime, any device is increasingly viewed as the standard.
6. Integrating learning and working
Training and learning are increasingly intertwined in the work itself. Informal tools and technologies support proven strategies like development on the job, practice-based learning and experiential learning.
7. Sharing more knowledge and team learning
Professionals in the same field are joining more often to learn from each other by discussing and evaluating cases. This does not have to be in person: social media, forums and blogs are excellent ways to do so as well. Within online training, this trend is expressed in sharing answers and giving peer feedback.
8. A larger need for content curation
L&D is creating less material, but is facilitating and sharing existing content instead. Because of technology, it has become easier to connect the participant to the content by using, for example, Knowledge Management Systems (KMS), Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) and Course Management Systems (CMS).
