Now that we are moving toward a ‘new normal’ life and are partially returning to the workplace for the majority of us, we are realizing that a good contingency plan is essential when going through some major changes. Some people were ready, some were not; all suffered, at different levels, but not all managed to get through the crisis. How can we avoid Great Disruption pitfalls, should it happen again, while trying to adapt to the new realities of working in a digital environment and remote learning?
"The bounty of technological innovation which defines our current era can be leveraged to unleash human potential. We have the means to reskill and upskill individuals in unprecedented numbers, to deploy precision safety nets which protect displaced workers from destitution, and to create bespoke maps which orient displaced workers towards the jobs of tomorrow where they will be able to thrive." [i]
So, let’s face it, there are many challenges: we communicate differently, skillsets are evolving, and we are moving towards a hybrid environment. This means we need to look at training technologies and remote learning with a whole different perspective if we want our employee training to remain relevant.
Working remotely has forced us to change the way we communicate with each other. It has also changed the way we educate ourselves. A crisis is never a good time to do a needs analysis, but a lot of industries had to set aside their instructor-led training and temporarily invest in e-learning platforms. Although some training technologies in place before COVID-19 were a saving grace and helped support our human resources, their limitations also caused some suffering.
Just like everyone around you, you probably found yourself purchasing an e-learning platform that seemed adapted to your remote training needs. But, you are now realizing it has constraints, especially when it comes to post-pandemic expansion. New training technologies are developing at a rapid pace and it is hard to keep up and understand how, for example, AI, chatbot, gamification and VR can be adapted to our needs and offer the best employee training solutions.
What we are seeing are skillsets that are evolving while new skillsets are appearing and others are disappearing. The Future of Jobs Report, prepared in October 2020 by the World Economic Forum, was already predicting that the ‘double-disruption’ of pandemic and automation in the workplace would
“transform tasks, jobs and skills by 2025.” [ii]
In other words, industries, including the manufacturing industry, are facing the challenges of the decrease of manpower and the changing nature of their workforce skills. According to the Deloitte and Insight’s report Creating Pathways for Tomorrow’s Workforce Today [iii], basic human capability skills such as digital agility, resource management, decision making and problem-solving will remain the same whereas specialized skills and technological skills will increase exponentially in the near future. Not being able to fill those positions with properly skilled employees will not only impact productivity, it may have consequences on customer service, R&D and innovation, as well as in trying to respond to market opportunities and increasing growth. We all understand that this has a direct impact on sustainability.
This is where a Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Captivo, which bridges the gap between required competencies and learning activities, can help you invest smartly in the human capital you already have in place by reskilling and upskilling your employees and keep them relevant. The opportunities you can offer your employees to grow professionally will surely increase their engagement and loyalty so that they will want to invest their time with you and become the greatest ambassadors of your mission and core values. However, before you ask employees to commit themselves to your business’ sustainability, you might have to consider that your current value proposition may not be conducive to retaining them.
Even though the majority of companies were reluctant to telecommuting, they had to rally to their own statistics that showed potential for increased productivity. Employee shortage will force industries to accommodate employees who want to come back to the office full time, to the ones who would prefer working from home full time and those who would rather adopt a hybrid solution. The time has come to reassess the existing business models and rethink skilling, upskilling and reskilling training models as well.
Throughout his book, The Leader Who Had No Title,[iv] Robin Sharma keeps stating that change is difficult. We could summarize it by: it’s hard at the beginning, it gets messy in the middle and then it gets easier as you start seeing results. There is no better time to set aside our fears, eat the bug, and start implementing changes by investing in adequate LMS technologies and e-platforms. We think that Captivo’s single and integrated learning ecosystem can help your organization transform itself through learning.
When looking for a learning management system, your needs analysis must take into consideration how you want to train your employees that are working in different environments. You surely have already decided that remote learning for your employee training is a must. Your LMS must offer a type of ecosystem that will be seamless to your different target audiences, scalable to keep up with your growth objectives, and innovative so that it will prevent you from falling into technological obsolescence sooner than expected.
As industries are having to adapt to the new realities of complex communications, lack of human resources and hybrid workplace environments, we have also adapted to the more and more challenging needs of our clients. Our mission is to simplify your integration to our LMS system and be there to support you with the different phases of your project through analysis, collaboration, integration, implementation and then, continuing to evolve with you.
We would like you to give us the opportunity to work hand in hand with you to get you there.
Line Rondeau
Instructional Designer and Training Specialist
References:
[i] Schwab, Klaus Schwab and Zahidi, Saadia, The Future of Jobs Report 2020, October 2020, ed. World Economic Forum, p. 3
[ii] Idem, p. 5
[iii] Wellener Paul, Reyes Victor, Ashton Heather, Mourray Chad, May 2021.
[iv] Sharma, Robin, The Leader Who Had No Title, ed. Simon and Schuster, 2010, 224 pages.