In case you missed it, New York Fashion Week wrapped up this week. For all you non-fashionistas, NYFW is everything in the fashion world. The world’s leading fashion houses (and supermodels) take the stage, debuting their new clothes, accessories, and styles. Everyone, oohs and ahhs. Trends are born. Art is inspired. Bloggers go nuts. Bank accounts are drained. You get the gist.
What does NYFW have to do with learning, technology, or the workforce?
Everyone loves a hot, new trend. And the fashion industry, like technology, is constantly evolving and growing. Some trends are fleeting, while others are here to stay.
Researchers and analysts gather information and data each year to predict the trends and technologies that will significantly impact the workforce.
What are some of the hottest trends hitting the HR technology scene?
New Gallup research shows employee engagement rates haven’t changed, remaining stagnant at 32% in 2015 (31.5% in 2014), and organizations are still scrambling to figure out how to turn it around. Bersin sees a maturing market for well-being, wellness, and productivity systems. In the U.S., the unemployment rate is at its lowest since 2008 (5%), but the average salary increase isn’t budging.
As productivity plateaus, leadership development, retention, and engagement rank among the top concerns of HR and business leaders.
Christa Manning, Principal Analyst at Eudemonia, has dubbed 2016 The Year of Enablement. These workforce trends directly impact learning and development (L&D) departments and face the reality that it’s time to rethink their career development and skills training approach.
This week, Manning presented a webinar featuring the top 5 trends that learning and development teams should get on board with to help enable and empower their teams. They are:
- Address the employee experience—Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all training programs. Learning leaders need to think about the holistic learning experience. In a world where users can virtually Google anything to gain skills and information, L&D departments need to step up their game and think about different, more engaging ways to enhance the user experience.
- Embrace the extended enterprise—Nearly one in three (31%) of today’s global working population classifies themselves as free agents. That means organizations need to reevaluate how they deliver training to their extended enterprise (partners, customers, resellers, franchises), which represents their brand. Training and skills development shouldn’t be limited to internal folks. L&D departments should consider how and where to extend their learning programs to their external audience.
- Facilitate the who, not just the what – Social learning communities generate more engagement, adoption, and knowledge absorption, which makes sense; people learn from each other. Organizations must ensure their learning technology offers social features that allow users to contribute, collaborate, and share knowledge.
- Curate the contributors – It’s no secret that there is abundant content for people to consume, but when it comes to learning, it’s quality over quantity. Filling a learning management system (LMS) with thousands of pieces of content isn’t how to deliver learning. L&D departments must identify what they need, curate content, and partner with specific content providers who can deliver that information. (Shameless plug: OpenSesame is a fantastic content provider if you’re in the market for one!)
- The comeback of customization – Learning departments must consider how they brand their corporate training software. When the user logs in, does it look like the company’s brand? Or does it look disjointed? The learning platform should represent the company’s values, strategy, and goals to get users active and engaged.