Learning and development is evolving to meet the increasingly specialized training and skills demands. This, accompanied by the emergence of new technology, has greatly impacted learning and development and continues to shift how organizations approach company-wide training. As a result, what works today can become quickly outdated, which is why it’s imperative to stay in lockstep with the transformation of L&D.

If organizations approach their learning strategy with a mind open to learning transformation, then they will be on track to have effective knowledge reinforcement in 2020. We recently hosted a webcast with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to take a look at what’s evolving in the industry and how learning leaders can leverage these changes for their learning strategies in the new decade. Here are the highlights:

Transformation in the Workplace

The nature of the workplace is a rapidly evolving environment because technology and product shifts are constant. According to a report from the World Economic Forum, predicted that 35% of the core skills people need to do their jobs would change in the 2015-2020 time period and that by 2022, these changes will result in workers requiring a staggering 101 additional days of training to keep pace. The need for constantly updated skill sets, coupled with the changing workplace, goes against traditional learning models. 

Front-loaded knowledge — without continuous knowledge reinforcement — is often forgotten within a month. Today’s employees have less time than ever before to learn and retain the critical business knowledge they need for their day-to-day activities because of the forgetting curve, short-attention spans, and competing priorities. Management can combat this by investing in flexible continuous learning models that keep pace with change and innovation and reinforce the knowledge that they can’t afford their employees to forget.

Transformation in the LMS

The learning management system (LMS) is the core element of many learning programs but when it comes to engaging learners in the learner exercise, does it work? The LMS is more of a compliance necessity that ensures someone took a class, but it does not ensure knowledge retention or performance. 

Microlearning, used in partnership with the LMS, transforms the learner experience to reinforce knowledge and skills with spaced learning and testing principles. 

Transformative Engagement

Engaging learners is key to ensuring knowledge retention. In today’s workforce, learner impatience — the recognition that people are busy, have very short attention spans and therefore have no tolerance of a poor learner experience — and digital distraction are challenging L&D issues to overcome. Organizations need to recognize that people won’t go out of their way to interact with learning content - they need something to be pushed to them within the flow of work.

Microlearning transforms learning content with precision learning challenges that reinforce the critical business knowledge people can’t afford to forget. In just minutes a day, microlearning challenges can meet the user where they are and engage them efficiently and effectively. 

Learning Strategies for 2020 and Beyond

Learning leaders are transforming learning experiences to adapt to the evolving L&D landscape. They are pivoting away from focusing simply on compliance to designing experiences that fuel engagement, increase organizational performance readiness, and meet or exceed business expectations. 

To learn more about how you can transform your learning strategy in 2020 and beyond, download our latest webinar with SHRM or read about our 2020 learning trends predictions here.