Each new year presents a time for change; various new year’s resolutions are concocted before being left behind once February starts, and in businesses across the world, an opportunity arises to ‘start afresh’ leaving the previous year’s worries behind. When it comes to team training, there are an ever-increasing number of considerations to be taken into account when planning. The P word, something that never stops, so how can you revolutionise your plans in 2018?
Developing fresh delivery techniques is part of the job description for all individuals currently within the Training industry. In fact, if you’re still relying on the ‘top 10 techniques’ from yesteryear, chances are the team under you aren’t receiving the very best growth they could be.
So, what are the biggest developments ready to propel teams into the year?
AR/VR
Similarly to Cloud storage, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality systems have undergone an even more remarkable advance in technology in 2017 with Facebook, Apple and Sony throwing their minds into the mix, in addition to the popularity of Pokémon Go’s enduring legacy of highlighting the possibilities of AR to the general public.
VR presents the opportunity to introduce real-life scenarios in a realistic way in order for learners to familiarise themselves with the environment ‘physically’ rather than relying on textbooks or e-learning documents. There is a chance to become fully immersed and trained in a task that, theoretically you haven’t actually completed in the workplace yet. On the other side, AR retains a foothold in the real world, delivered through phones or glasses (such as Google Glass). Rather than displaying a virtual world, AR simply adds to the existing one; achieved by adding Pokémon or, in the case of Star Guide AR, overlaying information regarding star constellations when pointed at the night sky.
Cloud-based training
Cloud-based data storage systems have exploded over the last few years with the growth of services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud all offering a ‘safe haven’ for off-site virtual storage. As we enter the New Year, we expect these services to present further opportunities for utilisation within the training remit of business activities. Universities have taken advantage of cloud systems for years by offering module information, tracking progress and offering online tests for users.
Training teams should already be looking to learn from these existing examples. Whereas universities are required to build solutions applicable to students studying various subjects, businesses can purpose-build their own internal training systems, accessible from in and outside the office in order to push training to the next level.
BYOD systems
Bring Your Own Device systems asks that employees bring their own learning devices to the workplace which they’re familiar with in order to reduce the amount of resistance to requirements. In 2015, a study conducted by Tech Pro Research found that 74% of companies using a digital Learning Management System have implemented a BYOD policy, a number that increased over the previous two years and is likely to close in on 100% throughout 2018.
A key component required for this style of policy to work is the method of delivery; can your training program be accessed by all operating systems, hardware producers, tablets and mobiles? If not, BYOD could cause major issues when training sessions begin.
Regardless of the method, actual training content will continue to evolve as we receive word of what has worked well in the past year, in addition to what is best left behind. New Year, new you is how the saying goes. New Year, new technological advancements present great opportunities for every training team to give their plans a facelift ready to help those under them make the most of the opportunities granted to them.
2018 is set to be another 12 months of non-stop development and industry evolution; if you feel help is needed at any point Professional Academy have over a decade's experience within a number of industries and can offer assistance with any requirements.
