The demand for learning and development (L&D) specialists has almost doubled around the world during 2021, immensely increasing pressure and reducing time for personal learning to a minimum, says LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning report. L&D experts questioned for the report mentioned technology use as one of the key areas they need to improve to overcome the growing workload, alongside developing their leadership and analytical skills. Let’s take a look at some innovative technologies that can support and enhance L&D activities in 2022.
Connect Learning by Ecosystems
Probably the most game-changing technological trend in the L&D industry, learning ecosystems are definitely here to stay for the next few years. The term “learning ecosystem” refers to a digital environment that brings together training content, learning analytics, and feedback tools and is available to all employees regardless of their geographical location. Because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for a learning ecosystem, it’s crucial to decide which components are important for your team before selecting the vendor. Typically, components of a learning ecosystem include a learning management system, a knowledge database, an intranet, survey tools, data management and reporting features, etc. A well-customized digital learning ecosystem can save a lot of time on managing various aspects of corporate learning separately, reduce costs related to classroom training expenses or purchasing access to multiple software platforms, and simplify collecting data about all the learning happening in the company.
Intensify Learning Through Mobile
With the global workforce expected to be 75% millennials by 2025 and the overall volume of mobile media consumption having increased by 460% over the past 10 years, mobile learning seems to be a must-have format for the companies willing to keep up with the rapidly evolving digitalization. Being able to learn on the go has a lot of benefits. For instance, there’s evidence that employees using mobile devices complete courses 45% quicker than those using laptops. Thus, the ability to adjust your learning content for mobile platforms should be a crucial factor when building your learning ecosystem. However, apart from finding the right technical solution, you might also need to adjust your content for a mobile format, which means breaking it into short and precise pieces, as mobile learning goes hand in hand with microlearning.
Personalize Learning Content through AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to transform and optimize the L&D industry unlike any other emerging technology. There’s no reason for L&D professionals to ignore AI tools in 2022, as they can improve almost every aspect of our work. AI-powered chatbots integrated into your company’s learning ecosystem can ease employees’ navigation through learning materials and knowledge databases while collecting and analyzing data about the most frequently asked questions. Adding AI algorithms to your learning system can personalize content for every user, helping them achieve their learning goals quicker. AI-driven language tools like AI Voiceover for Business can save you up to 70% compared with the cost of traditional voiceover used for learning content localization. Last but not least, AI-based predictive analytics tools can be used to analyze users’ performance and feedback and identify areas where more courses are needed.
Create Content Faster with Authoring Tools
There’s a big variety of authoring tools that may help when you are overwhelmed with the growing amount of learning content to produce. Depending on their functionality level, such tools can provide you with prebuilt course templates and tutorials that you can adapt for your organization. Another advantage of using content authoring tools is that most of them will guide you step by step throughout the course design process, helping you build engaging learning materials even if you have little experience with that. When opting for an authoring tool, it’s worth paying attention to the types of content it supports. The most advanced tools can help you create various types of learning materials—articles, videos, audio, quizzes, etc.—while some of them are only focused on one type of content.
With more and more companies reconsidering their approach to corporate learning as a consequence of the pandemic, an increasing demand for L&D specialists seems to be a new normal. In this regard, one of the most important challenges for L&D professionals is optimizing their workload and allocating time for personal learning and development. The ability to adjust quickly to the new reality and embrace innovation to automate your work would be our main competitive advantage.
Julia Staszak is the Head of People and Culture at Milengo, a translation & localization company.