Enabling Professional Development Through Technology

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, employers have had to and are currently reshaping the way they approach their human resource challenges. The pandemic has drastically changed the way employees view their professional lives, meaning, and the expectations they have of their employers and workplace. Half of employees in a Gartner 2021 Hybrid and Return to Work Survey reported that the pandemic has “changed their expectations toward their employer” and over half responded that the pandemic has made them “question the purpose of my day-to-day job.”

In 2021 and most of 2022, a main topic of conversation in the workplace was around the Great Resignation, and the critical and urgent need to attract and retain talent. While late 2022 has brought discussion around a potential recession and swing back to employer power in the hiring process, the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to employee expectations will still be felt by organizations moving forward. Employers will still face a shortage of skilled talent, new demands by employees, and higher turnover rates as more organizations move to hybrid or remote work models.

As workplaces are having to do more with less, companies are turning toward their existing workforce. There is a higher demand placed on existing employees within an organization to produce more and improve their skillset - both professionally and technically. This aligns with concerns and desires employees have, as 90% of employees responding in a survey evaluating the upskilling landscape reported that they are highly motivated to improve their skills in the current year. Individuals are motivated to grow within their roles, advance within an organization, and achieve an improved work-life balance. They are also expecting their employers to help facilitate this development, and more than 8 out of 10 employees surveyed report that it’s important for their employer to be offering professional development and upskilling benefits and programs. 2 out 3 employees surveyed reported that “it’s ‘extremely’ or ‘somewhat’ likely they’ll leave their employer within the next year because there aren’t enough opportunity for skills development or career advancement.”

At the same time, managers are facing more pressure to “do it all” to meet employee demands and employer needs for appropriate talent recruitment and employee engagement. Professional development and upskilling can sometimes be directed and facilitated by Human Resources and Learning and Development departments, but direct managers are also now being asked to be the facilitators of professional development for their teams. Managers, unfortunately, rarely receive training as they step into supervisory roles on the role itself, let alone what effective professional development looks like. This is leading to a potential gap between what employees expect, what organizations need to maintain crucial staffing levels and employee engagement, and what managers and employer organizations are capable of providing.

To help address these gaps, there are some exciting technologies and companies stepping up to the plate. The importance of effective development for employees AND the need for additional support to managers has been seen and recognized, so below I’ll outline a few companies and technologies I’ve been excited to see enter the marketplace addressing these needs.

Tracking & Managing Professional Development - Lattice

While I feel it is up to each of us as professionals to drive and manage our own professional development, as a manager I still would love to keep track of what this journey may look like for employees. Where would they like to head? What are they working on to get there, and what resources or materials can I help provide along the way? Unfortunately, these items can exist in many different places - between digital platforms, powerpoint presentations, e-mails, Slack messages, etc. What may indeed be a cohesive plan and system can feel disjointed, and hard to connect all the dots of what a professional development plan looks like (either for myself or for a direct report). Lattice is a fast-growing company that has rolled out many solutions for managers and teams including performance management, and now growth plans. A manager and employee can keep track of this journey in one place along with 1:1 notes, yearly reviews, and a manager can help provide an employee resources right within the app specifically for professional development. Having everything in one place can help each person feel like there is a cohesive plan in place, addressing a pain point many of us have experienced as we try to create our own professional development roadmaps or help provide that structure for others.

Professional Development Content - LinkedIn Learning & Master Class

It may just so happen that an employee wants to develop in an area where their manager is a subject matter expert, or has robust experience. This is ideal as it creates an opportunity for 1:1 coaching and mentorship, but isn’t necessarily always the case. I have also found myself in situations where I want to learn more about a topic and share that with my team, but may not have the bandwidth or capacity to do direct 1:1 training. Thankfully, we have content platforms like Master Class, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning to help complement and supplement what we as managers, or as a company, can provide an employee. A nice bonus to courses hosted on platforms like LinkedIn Learning is that an individual can add a certificate to their profile showing their completion of certain content and knowledge in a subject matter area.

Opportunity Marketplaces

There are always more projects to do than people to do them at an organization, and as managers we want to match our team up to work or stretch projects that fit their professional goals and allow them to grow. However, most of the time we only know about the projects and initiatives within our own teams or departments, which sometimes do not help that employee “stretch.” What if there was a one-stop shop for an employee to see all of the various projects an organization needs accomplished regardless of the department or team they were in, and had a way to sign up for those directly? Enter opportunity marketplaces.