10 Learning & Development Trends to Watch
2023 is shaping up to be a dynamic year for Learning & Development (L&D) professionals! As organizations strive to engage and retain top talent, traverse economic uncertainty and address evolving employee expectations, L&D teams will play an increasingly vital role in helping businesses and their staffs thrive.
To optimize programming this year, consider how these top trends might impact your work.
#1 – Using Learning & Development as an employee retention strategy
Recent data has shown that two-thirds of personnel report that they are extremely or somewhat likely to leave their companies in the next year. 64% of staff who are planning to switch jobs are doing so because there are not enough opportunities for skill or career development.
It is imperative that enterprises invest in ongoing learning and provide pathways to future success to retain personnel. By giving team members access to growth opportunities and empowering them with new knowledge, businesses can amplify engagement and support their bottom line.
#2 – Investing in internal talent
Many organizations are limiting their talent acquisition activities as they assess financial markets. If hiring is limited, that does not mean that all of the skillsets needed to realize a business’s long-term objectives are already in-house.
Executives will need to lean on their L&D departments to help team members build additional capabilities. An employee-centric mindset can advance the company’s strategic direction, shore up succession planning and motivate staff in the process.
#3 – Increasing focus on leadership and management effectiveness
Poor management is one of the most common reasons that a person leaves their job. One study even found that 63% of employees with bad managers are thinking of quitting next year. Most staff members want to make an impact and find fulfilling roles where they are encouraged to do their best work. That environment requires effective, empathetic people leaders.
L&D professionals can advance managerial and leadership development by providing trainings and tools like Emergenetics® that expand in-demand capacities such as influence, emotional intelligence and communication.
#4 – Reducing burnout at an organizational level
Across the workforce, individuals are feeling increased stress, often resulting in burnout. More than 77% report that they have experienced this feeling at their current roles. L&D leaders can address the challenge by educating personnel in skills such as personal productivity, time management and stress management.
Concentrating on management effectiveness can also mitigate burnout by providing supervisors with the guidance to identify undue pressure and the tools to address this common challenge. For some complimentary resources, be sure to download our on-demand toolkit.
#5 – Encouraging career mobility
Employees will need to develop new skills to succeed in the future of work, and many will likely change job functions multiple times over the course of their careers. Some may find this prospect to be exciting, while others may feel scratchy.
Talent professionals can use cross-training, shadowing and coaching programs to give individuals a taste of other in-demand functions and help them embrace a non-linear approach to career growth. Through skill building and exposure to alternative paths, people are more likely to succeed as job demands change, which supports personal and organizational growth.
#6 – Embracing diversity and inclusion
While not a new trend, inclusion remains a top priority for many corporations. Belonging is the number one driver of engagement, so it is essential that companies create a psychologically safe environment where all people are welcomed.
L&D teams can promote this sort of culture by evaluating their offerings to include programming such as Emergenetics that encourages individuals to build greater self-awareness, understand biases and embrace differing perspectives.
#7 – Rethinking learning delivery.
With the rise of hybrid work, the way that talent development professionals deliver training must evolve. Even businesses that operate fully in person may benefit from altering their programs to speak to the different ways that people prefer to learn. In doing so they can boost information retention and learner engagement.
Some considerations include classroom or virtual sessions, on-demand experiences like The egLearning Library, virtual communities, job rotations or stretch assignments.
#8 – Reinforcing culture tenets through training.
Many leaders have recognized that their workplace environment must adapt in the face of the Great Resignation and quiet quitting. To support a cultural shift, L&D has an opportunity to focus on reconnecting personnel with the values and purpose of the organization.
By integrating the core tenets and ethos of the business across training curricula, talent developers will help to operationalize the company’s culture and make the core values a part of staff’s daily work.
#9 – Pushing back on compliance culture.
As companies have adjusted to hybrid and remote work, some have focused on compliance. A few examples include businesses that monitor how often a person moves their mouse or types on their keyboard. The measures often end up inhibiting effectiveness because employees do not feel trusted and instead prioritize base-level standards rather than high-level results.
Many organizations have received backlash for using oversight as a method of management and are realigning on metrics that matter like impact and outcomes. L&D professionals can support productivity across the business by teaching managers to become more effective performance coaches.
#10 – Amplifying agility by creating a learning culture.
Change is an inevitable part of business, and it seems the pace of transformation is only growing faster. To stay agile and navigate the speed of change, it’s important to evaluate the role that learning plays in a corporation’s culture.
A learning culture is one where people are encouraged to constantly discover new things and embrace different ideas and approaches, which innately supports agility and resiliency. To cultivate this sort of environment, I encourage talent development professionals to read this post by my colleague.
Successful L&D programs will empower organizations to build thriving climates where staff are engaged and capable. To strengthen L&D initiatives in your enterprise, I invite you to explore our Emergenetics Associate Certification.
Through the knowledge you gain, you can act on many of the trends above. In doing so, you will encourage individuals and teams to utilize their personal strengths and cognitive diversity to improve self-awareness, leadership, collaboration and more.
Get more information by exploring our website or fill out the form below to speak with one of our team members today!
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