Re-imagining Learning in a Post-Pandemic World

Before COVID-19 drastically changed how learning was delivered to employees, most organizations were split into three camps: the first that believed fully in the value of in-person training; the second that was ‘all-in’ for an online learning environment; and the third that experimented with blended learning. Many organizations from these three camps I’ve observed stood firm in their beliefs and poured their L&D investment into what they thought would work best for their culture and business.

Then the global pandemic hit and almost overnight, the distinctions ceased to exist. As organizations transitioned to remote working, digital learning suddenly became an imperative. L&D professionals, trainers, facilitators and coaches struggled to pivot to the somewhat familiar, yet unfamiliar virtual environment. Navigating virtual learning platforms became a steep learning curve for some and engaging participants effectively online proved to be achallenge for others. In just a little over two years, most organizations today have invested in some form of digital learning or have gone entirely virtual with their learning solutions. The reality is that technology has invaded our lives, and L&D has not been spared.

The End of Classroom Learning?

With tech-led learning being the norm right now, what will the future of L&D look like? Will in-person or classroom-led learning still have a place in our suite of L&D offerings? Having conducted learning sessions entirely virtually over the past two years, I have found that digital platforms still lack the necessary level of interaction and almost feels too impersonal to make learning an engaging experience. A coaching role-play done virtually is nearly half as effective as one done in-person. Nothing can replace the live, interactive human experience in a classroom environment. Leadership development programs for example, require an immersive experience which is best done in a classroom setting. The rich dialogue and inquiry around a leadership topic in question is irreplaceable. While online learning has evolved to allow for more interaction through collaboration boards, live chats and community forums, technology will never be able to fill the void of human interaction. Classroom learning will likely continue to exist, but may change somewhat to accommodate various safe distancing measures and the shortened attention span of participants today. Gone will be the days where in-person delivery used to last 4-5 hours at a stretch over 3-5 days. A blended learning solution is more likely the scenario moving forward where most curriculums will feature a digital element built into it with a live physical session to facilitate human interactions and dialogue.

The Future of L&D

As learning becomes more democratized, we will begin to see an accelerated shift to personalized training programs that offer skills-based, just in time learning. This kind of learning is focused and interactive, and allows employees to become more productive as they invest their time in the learning they actually require, instead of spending time on “what-if” training. It will cater to learners’ schedules and help meet their needs to fix short-term issues on the spot. For instance, if you need to learn a new skill to solve an urgent issue at work, you can quickly watch an instructional video online and apply the skill immediately. In reality, classroom learning will significantly drop over time and may make up only a small percentage of L&D offerings.

With learners now in greater control of their learning, we may see a shift from “push-based” to “pull-driven” learning. There is no need to forcibly encourage employees to attend and complete trainings anymore. They now want to do it for themselves. This self-directed learning is driven by a sense of empowerment to drive their own development and grow their careers.

The L&D function will continue to evolve at the same time. L&D professionals will spend more time in content curation and engage in higher-order learning to add value to the workforce. Growth mindset, design thinking, agile project management, analytical reasoning and artificial intelligence are just some examples of high-order skills that are becoming commonplace in many organizations today. Of paramount importance is ensuring that learning is aligned with busines strategy, career development and integrated into the flow of work.

A New Learning Roadmap

Providing training for employees and empowering them to learn are two very different approaches in formulating a learning strategy. The former is a top-down approach and focuses on the traditional process of conducting a training needs analysis, identifying skill gaps and required competencies, designing training plans, implementing courses, and evaluating learning, impact and ROI. It starts with learning administrators and is directed towards learners.

The latter on the other hand, takes a bottoms-up approach and begins with the individual – understanding the attitudes, values and behavior of thelearner towards learning. Empowering your workforce to learn focuses on guiding people to relevant resources and opportunities, creating platforms to showcase best practices and engage in interactive dialogue, providing personalized and accessible content, and learning informally via people and experiences. Both approaches should work together as two sides of an impactful and scalable learning strategy.

Learning professionals’ will need to re-invent themselves in order to stay purposeful and relevant. They must see themselves not only as content providers but enablers who help employees be in the driver’s seat of their own careers. Leveraging data insights and feedback to reimagine learning programs will be a key skill moving forward to give employees access to learning tools and resources to develop in multiple ways that are more dynamic than simply completing assigned classes and programs.