Which of the following is a trend that will have an impact on training programs in the future?

With the rise in remote working and distance learning this year, more applications of new technologies are expected in 2021. Discover the latest trends your organization should adopt this coming year:

In 2020, we’ve seen corporate training trends that made it easier for everyone to learn in the flow of work. This coming 2021, some trends are here to stay while there are also some new learning technologies we need to look out for.

As you know, unprecedented changes encouraged global organizations to use more technology and analytics and promote efficient collaboration and better communication at work.

Great thing about this is that digital learning is now taking the corporate training world by storm, gradually occupying what used to be the place of traditional F2F training. And this is the right way to go!

Moving on, here are five trends and technologies you should watch out for this coming 2021:

1. More Learning Analytics and Bigger Data

As more organizations start to harness the power of data, reports, and analytics to design and execute effective training and development programs, it’s a sure thing that learning analytics will be a bigger thing this coming 2021.

Actually, some organizations are now trying to create data stories. Simply put, data storytelling involves creating a narrative around a set of data or analytics with accompanying visuals to help convey the meaning of that data in an engaging manner.

Through this, learning leaders can visualize data and present the impact of training programs to their learners and other stakeholders as well, in the way that’s engaging and compelling.

For example, goFLUENT’s client organizations are able to access learner reporting, levelling results, and assessments through their learning portals. Here, they can easily extract these data and reports then create graphs, infographics, and presentations that they can use to build a solid business case for language training.

And sure! You can do the same. Take a look at these easy-to-follow steps.

How To Leverage Big Data and Analytics for Training and Development

a. Gather data and create reports.

The example above shows how to do this step. First, you should get important data and translate it visually through graphs, charts, and images. You need this to create a compelling report. Take note that the set of data you collect must be a combination of engagement and performance data (for example, learner satisfaction percentages and average test scores, respectively).

Other ways to gather data is through self-assessment, feedback mechanisms, and frequent surveys and tests among your employees, especially learners themselves who are the main stakeholders of your learning initiatives.

b. Look out for trends.

Moving forward, the next step is to observe some trends based on the data collected and reports that you’ve generated.  It’s best if your LMS, LXP, or current learning system collects vast quantities of data. This is where learning analytics comes in. Through this, trends and correlations can be seen which can make you understand what happened and why certain phenomena occurred.

c. Predict and analyze based on trends, then intervene.

Advanced learning analytics software can now analyze huge quantities of data and it can immediately show you some underlying problems in your training design and execution.

For example, you see that a learner stopped doing the activities and courses assigned to them just before their performance dropped. Here, it’s best to encourage the learner to resume the training and engage them. In goFLUENT, for instance, learner performance is always monitored through learning consultants who regularly contact learners and engage them. This is one example of an intervention you can do.

d. Do necessary actions.

More than simple interventions, you should do more. With learning analytics, you shouldn’t just gather data and create reports. Instead, you have to look closely at the patterns and trends. These can tell you a lot about your learners and your training program. After that, take necessary steps and actions.

For instance, if you’re seeing that less and less learners are engaging with a specific and important course, you should take a look into that course first. You can conduct surveys and gain insights from learners about specific lessons. Based on their feedback, you can improve the training design or delivery of that course.

Other key questions to ponder on are:

• How can the learning platform be improved and be more user-friendly and intuitive enough to keep learners engaged and motivated in learning?
• Are the trainers effective in guiding and training your employees? What are the areas for improvement?
• How are multi-channel communications used to inform and engage learners about the value of learning and the set of training courses available to them?
• Why do learners spend less time on a specific course compared to other courses?
• What are other available platforms where learners can be met (e.g. social media, forums)?

2. Data Literacy

With learning analytics and big data being some of the biggest things in the corporate training world, it’s only necessary for your employees to know how to handle and interpret them.

In fact, according to Udemy for Business, data literacy is the new computer literacy. This means that now that we’re way beyond the early stage of the digital era, data scientists aren’t the only ones expected to know data analysis, manipulation, and visualization to unlock the full potential of big data in your organization. Your regular employees must be able to do it too.

So people who can interpret data, get insights, and communicate those inferences to key stakeholders can be extremely important to their respective companies. The most used data visualization tool today is literally free and easy to use — Google Sheets!

The key takeaway here is that in 2021, learning leaders can expect a surge in demand for more data literacy training programs. This allows your learners, no matter their job functions and industries are, to have a clear understanding of dashboards, visualizations, and analysis.

Interestingly, according to Jose Portilla (Head of Data Science at Pierian Data and data science instructor at Udemy), these will soon become a default skill set required of any employee, similar to basic computer skills.

So to start, here are some simple tips you have to keep in mind:

• Learn to speak data – You have to consider who will teach data literacy, if you have someone in your talent pool who can do this, and how this training will be delivered. It’s important to invest in your current employees and reshape their mindset to be data informed.
• Assess existing technology – The point here is to adopt a technology that all users can use, not only the technicians.  Through the right technology, you can help your employees be efficient and capable of identifying and managing risks through data.
• Tell a better data story – With data literacy skills, your learners can present key business insights powered by accurate data, turning these into data stories which can attract leadership buy-in for business projects and demonstrate the impact of training and specific projects.

3. AI-powered Intuitive Learning System

Since the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been the hot topic in different fields of study, from business and economy to psychology and organizational communication. Looking back, it’s not surprising that it will become a huge thing this year and the years to come.

For one thing, more organizations and workplaces also demand for more personalized learning. And rightly so! Because this makes learning more engaging and directly relevant to people’s current jobs, industries, interests, and learning styles.

This is where the individualized learning system can be more realized. This is a method of instruction wherein learning content, educational technology (edtech), and pace of learning are based on the interests and abilities of each learner. Actually, there are three levels of individualized learning:

• Differentiated learning – Here, the learner chooses the most suitable path for them from several predefined categories (without automatic guidance).
• Personalized learning – For instance, a learner can do a pre-assessment then based on their answers, the system will suggest a specific course or content. After this, the technology will match each learner’s profile to learning resources that are appropriate to them. But contrary to some beliefs, this is not based on AI.
• Adaptive learning – AI uses data and analytics to continuously adapt the learning path to the learner which will also constantly change and improve over time for every learner. This level gives them the similar unique experience they encounter when using Netflix.

This is why it’s crucial for your company to have a learning system that’s  AI-powered, intuitive, and adaptive. This allows your learners to get the most relevant learning content, highly-curated based on their unique needs.

Now more than ever and with the steady rise of streaming platforms across the globe, the training and development landscape can’t help but compare it and adapt to this phenomenon through edutainment. Edutainment brings learning and entertainment together. And yes, this can be effective in training your employees through increasing engagement and relevance.

4. Social Media for Learning

In the past, workplace learning thought leaders have advocated for social learning at work. But now that most teams are telecommuting, dispersed in different areas of the world, you might be thinking that it’s now impossible for them to do this.

You’re not entirely wrong. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that social learning can no longer take place in a mostly virtual workplace. The answer is social media! With more Millennials and Gen Z-ers in the workplace today, it’s no surprise that social media has been gaining traction when it comes to workplace culture and employee training.

Here are examples of some of the most popular social media platforms you can use for your learning initiatives:

• Learning blogs where your learners can post entries and comment on their peers’ learning insights and queries
• Twitter and hashtags to encourage your learners to discuss and debate through tweets and threaded discussions
• MS Teams and other workspace applications to let your virtual teams collaborate real-time and learn together
• Pinterest for sharing brilliant ideas through images and graphics
• Linkedin to connect with other professionals within and outside their fields of expertise and learn beyond their own industry
• Youtube for supplementary microlearning videos on different topics

5. Project-based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered training wherein instead of having a trainer lecture on a specific topic, learning leaders and/or managers serve as coaches while learners direct their own learning through hands-on experience.

For example, for your sales team project, you could pose a problem or challenge that every member of your team is facing. For instance, the question may be — how can we leverage the power of digital spaces and collaboration platforms to connect more with our prospective customers and clients? Then this can be a new project for the team.

With this, they can do a thorough search for different approaches. For example, they can use your current LMS/LXP to search for content — articles, videos, news — to get to know the latest trends in sales as a way to do their tasks in the project more efficiently through innovative best practices.

And this is where digital learning is reinforced! Through online resources, your learning system, and other training tools, you can promote self-directed learning through digital means (eLearning) plus their usual online training with an instructor. This way, they’re given the chance to learn not only through digital instructor-led training but also through experience.

6. Emphasis on Communication and Collaboration Skills

Today, more and more teams are now meeting in virtual and digital spaces, so it’s more important to cultivate your employees’ communication skills. In fact, communication and collaboration are the top employee skills for 2021, according to a survey by TalentLMS. And what’s more, it will still be in the coming years because of the changes in how companies do things at work.

You see, for organizations to thrive and continue thriving in the new workplace, everyone should have great communication skills to be able to collaborate more effectively and conduct business on an international scale.

So in training, it’s best if you have a language training in place, especially now with the hottest digital language training innovations in the L&D market. And besides, one great advantage of having language training is that it helps employees boost their confidence in the workplace, among many other benefits.

Conclusion

This coming 2021, keep in mind that even if the workplace landscape has changed, priorities and some trends are still here to stay. Interestingly, employee training is now more important than ever before! Everyone needs to adapt to the telecommuting set-up and talent management is a crucial factor that can make or break an organization.

Follow these trends in L&D and always keep on the lookout for more rising learning technologies!

Discover the most powerful innovation in digital language learning!

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