Re-imaging workplace learning in the era of COVID19

The world is a very different place post-Covid-19, and the way we work has been completely upended by the pandemic. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), at the height of the pandemic around 46.6% of working adults did at least some work from home, with around a third saying they put in more hours. Having worked in this way for so many months, people have become more used to leveraging digital tools. From hosting Zoom meetings and virtual birthday parties to managing entire teams remotely, the online world has never seemed so important for companies across all sectors.

As offices slowly begin to reopen, it’s time we re-imagined what the workplace will look like, including how workplace learning will be changed by arguably the world’s largest collective shift in social activity and working practices. Learning and development experts will need to up their game, by adapting and delivering learning programmes which fit with this ‘new reality’, ensuring that what they are offering staff is more effective than ever before. So has the way we learn at work changed forever?

Upskilling and Reskilling

With 40% of adults concerned about their employment prospects as a result of Coronavirus, there can be no doubt that, in the aftermath, large sections of the workforce are going to need to reskill or upskill. People will transition into new jobs, be redeployed within a company, or need to adapt to new ways of working. All of which will require training and support from learning and development practitioners. In a study commissioned by PeopleCert, 54% of respondents said they felt too far along one career path to change direction now, highlighting the need for more workplace learning opportunities.

In this new world of work, simple off-the-shelf e-learning won’t cut it and people will need and expect more. That means that for those working in learning and development, their entire blended learning structure will need to be overhauled and much more will need to be invested in digital learning experiences that replicate classroom-based or peer-to-peer engagement. This is also about investing in people and empowering them, helping them become more adaptable and resilient. Their pre-existing skills can be amplified with life-long learning programmes that drive digital tools which put people at the forefront.

Virtual and In-Person

A blended program that invests in virtual instructor-led training is going to play a large part in the future of workplace learning. More online working has led to a greater degree of competition, not only in terms of digital skills, but also in terms of staff wellbeing and work-life balance. Social distancing and enforced isolation have changed and will continue to change the dynamics of human interaction in the months and even years ahead. Peoples’ attitudes have shifted over the course of lockdown. While most have embraced the benefits of everything going digital, our craving for human engagement and learning through live interaction will be more prevalent than ever.

By moving learning programmes online, such programmes can in fact become much more accessible, inclusive, scalable and effective than traditional face-to-face training. There are key factors you must consider in recreating the learning environment online, from the digital storytelling of your content through to tech-savvy facilitators. It’s important to consider how you support the latter to ensure they feel confident and can deliver their content in an engaging way through these mediums. It’s one of the reasons we equipped a large number of our trainers with all the necessary tools (lighting, microphone, second screen, etc.) and they’ve been running many train-the-trainer sessions to support other facilitators in delivering great learning experiences. 

In addition to instructor-led virtual coaching, you must embrace other emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and learning experience platforms that can ‘gamify’ the learning experience, which can all be more engaging. The human-touch is necessary to ensure the learning sticks, and transitioning programs to a more interactive online format will add the extra level of sustainability and ‘staying power’ that all programmes need.

Time for Change

Very few aspects of life will resemble what they were in a pre-Covid-19 world, including work. A survey carried out by YouGov, O2 and ICM found that 81% of workers expected to work from home at least one day a week, with a third expecting to do at least three days out of the office. With new challenges presenting themselves to companies as they start to reopen, now is the time to rethink how staff are trained, to help both the business and individual career progression.

UpSkill has been committed to digitising and scaling learning and development programme long before the pandemic. We organise digital transformation programmes and virtual instructor-led training, developed by our own team of highly experienced learning designers to help you and your business adapt and thrive. To find out more simply get in touch with the team at UpSkill Digital today.