Businesses today are currently developing their post Covid19 business strategies. One trend \
that will shape the future of work is the concept of the hybrid workplace. A hybrid workplace is where employees work remotely during the week and in the office the rest of the week.
A hybrid workplace gives employees more flexibility and reduces the need for large office spaces. In a recent survey, 73% of respondents reported that they have plans to implement a hybrid workplace in the future (1).
The implementation of hybrid workplaces significantly impacts the types of training delivery methods that will be the most effective in the future. Online learning environments and training methods that support this new way of working will be critical for success.
This article will share the most modern training delivery methods and popular trends we expect to see in 2021 that support employees through the entire learning cycle.
- Mobile Learning
Designing employee training programs that are mobile responsive can greatly improve accessibility and boost the engagement of your remote workforce. Now that distributed teams and hybrid workplaces are becoming more common, it is important to utilize training delivery methods to enable employees to access training from different devices.
- Virtual Instructor-Led Training
Unfortunately, face to face training is no longer an effective training delivery method for organizations with a remote or hybrid workforce. However, virtual instructor-led training programs can often be an effective alternative. VILT sessions allow for social interactions and activities much like traditional instructor-led training sessions. However, VILT enables employees in different locations to participate.
- Video-Based Learning Content
Video-based training content has recently grown in popularity due to its ability to engage learners and continue growing in the future. Modern video-based content often incorporates interactive components to further facilitate the process of learning.
Video-based content can also be accessed and watched whenever the participants have the time or need. This empowers them to learn at their own pace, which has become an effective training strategy for remote learners today.
- Virtual Mentorship Programs
Virtual mentorship programs allow employees to learn and receive guidance from more experienced employees no matter their location. These programs often use several different methods of communication over a specified time. Mentors and mentees often communicate through email, chat, phone calls, and virtual meetings.
- Adaptive Content Delivery
Personalized learning paths can greatly enhance learning experiences for employees today. It is common for employees to have varying skill levels and learning preferences. Personalized learning paths allow employees to focus on the skills training that is most relevant to their individual needs. Adaptive content delivery is the use of AI and algorithms to curate learning content for the individual user. This form of content delivery is growing in popularity due to its ability to deliver highly effective learning experiences for employees at all skill levels.
- Micro-Learning
Micro-learning is a delivery method where learning content is broken down into small bite-sized pieces of content. This format has many advantages for both modern businesses and learners. This training delivery method is growing in popularity because it is cost-effective and because the content can be developed quickly. This is a huge advantage for businesses that need to make regular updates and changes to their training content.
Micro-learning also helps improve engagement and prevents information overload. This form of training delivery also makes it easier for employees to take the courses that are the most relevant to them.
- Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality and augmented reality can be used to reduce risks employees would encounter during traditional on-the-job training. They are growing in popularity because they can often reduce training costs. For example, firefighters can use virtual reality to practice different fire and rescue scenarios without training safety risks in a real controlled burn.
Final Note
The training delivery methods you select can greatly affect the success of your employee training initiatives. Increasing employee access to training materials and using training methods that provide added flexibility will help you improve training effectiveness. When planning for the future of work, you should also consider training delivery methods that would be suitable for hybrid and fully remote teams.
Learn more about learning effective learning solutions for the hybrid and remote workforce and read the case study, Enterprise Compliance Training for a Distributed Workforce.
