T&D and EdTech Trends

Recently I spoke about trends and challenges for corp L&D in the after-pandemic world at the internal HR conference for Coca-Cola ??ecek .

??12 years ago when I took my first managing role in T&D, I could not even imagine that one day I would be a speaker at such great events. And of course, I couldn't even dream that they would be facilitated on the platform developed by my company. I’m extremely proud that both events took place on @Lanes platform with the support of our team ??

Within the last 10 years, I've launched several #EdTech products for branches of Coca-Cola, Nestle, Home Credit Bank, and other big brands. Since then, I've been continuously monitoring the global EdTech markets. And the expertise gathered during these years helps me to peek into the future (even now, when the planning horizon is very limited).

The great discussion we've had made me think of how I can share my L&D “knowledge database” as wide as possible. First of all, I look at T&D and EdTech trends from the point of view of concepts. Here they are:

• Flexible service ecosystems. Companies need products that can fully automate learning and have as many features as possible in one place. But it’s important to remember that any system becomes outdated over time and therefore must remain flexible. When you launch a massive platform without the possibility to make integrations, you run the risk of the inability to make crucial changes for business.?
• Monoservices. Lightweight and methodologically developed mono-products allow you to quickly and accurately automate one function that your business needs — mentoring, virtual training, etc. Such services can be used as standalone solutions or connected to the company's overall ecosystem.
• Product approach. This approach is important in the development of L&D, T&D strategies, and the use of educational products. The method is especially relevant in conditions of uncertainty, when you need to be able to rebuild processes, find and quickly implement new solutions.
• Digital data analytics. Numbers come to the fore, and T&Ds must be able to work with them. Data helps generate hypotheses, make decisions, track performance and results. When the project is assembled in different services without integration, you cannot track the digital footprint of the user from beginning to end. It is easier when you use automated monoservices and ecosystems for data gathering and analysis.
• Adaptive employee development tracks. To motivate employees to achieve results for the good of the business, companies have to understand what educational content to put in individual learning tracks and when.
• Peer-to-peer platforms. Another trend is learning from person to person, “give-and-take” with the help of technology. But simply launching a presentation or showing slides is not enough, you have to engage participants in a training process. On Lanes, we use special engaging methods to do this. All that helps an employee develop soft and hard skills more effectively.
• T&D as business support. Corporate training should be tailored to business objectives and methodologically align with the global goals of the company. It is vital for T&D professionals to participate in strategic business planning, communicate with stakeholders and process owners, find a common language with founders and management of other departments. Without an understanding of the company's global direction, the T&D function will operate blindly. Everything that T&Ds do should be in line with business objectives, not just follow trends.
• Training of employees by internal experts. Experienced employees are the key sources of useful information for training content and the first assistants in the development of employees’ skills. They understand processes well and will advise how to do this or that in the right way. That is why T&Ds rise leading specialists into trainers and methodologists and involve them in the development of educational products. Please note that scale knowledge transfer and quality “packaging” of educational content are skills that should be developed separately. This is the challenge for T&Ds: to train internal experts for knowledge transfer in the formats that business needs. Lanes has? special programs for the development of internal experts.
• Synchronization of processes and products. Ecosystems, monoservices, digital data, experts have to be consolidated to perform effectively. The key task of T&D and L&D functions is to synchronize processes and services with each other: provide training management and development of employees in one place.
• People are always a priority. It is important to understand that employees should always be at the center of any training process. T&Ds have to implement changes, and the trainees’ perception depends on how timely these changes are. We should believe in the products we create and the features we implement. And if we add to this drive and positive attitude, everything will work out. Would you like to get the full presentation of my speech at the conference?

To sum up

EdTech is an industry that is going through massive changes right now, as corporate learning in general. T&Ds have to keep up with technology development and enable digital products and services on time.

Old-school training and development is being rebuilt: processes become digitized, offline training is being replaced by online ones, face-to-face assessments are moving to the remote environment, approaches to the development of skills and competencies are changing, new professions like virtual trainer, virtual methodologist have emerged.

Following trends is definitely good. Yet, before choosing a new trendy tool or method, I would advise you to find out if it is suitable for your particular business first. What works for one company may not work for another. As we say at Lanes: “Test first”???

We are always ready to help you find directions in the field of e-learning, choose products and services that will simplify and improve learning processes within the company for them to work best for business goals.

Yours,

Tamara Kocharova

CEO Lanes