KEY TRENDS for 2015: TRANSFORMING THE TRAINING FUNCTION

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1 KEY TRENDS for 2015: TRANSFORMING THE TRAINING FUNCTION

2 by DOUG HARWARD The true measure of success for any training organization is the positive impact it has on the performance of the business. In the 2014 Key Trends Report, we recognized that training organizations have begun the important shift to being more focused on the needs of the business in its approach to training management. We see this trend continuing in 2015, with corporate executives and learning leaders alike, looking for ways to transform their organization by ensuring training activities are aligned to the needs of the business. There is less interest in carrying large curriculums of courses if they are not aligned to specific business needs. Executives are more focused on how much money is being spent relative to the value it creates. Transformation is not about changing out curriculums and designing new courses it s about re-engineering the training function to solve business problems, eliminate waste and drive value. Taking a look forward, here are some important trends to consider in the coming year. TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER2015 I 29

3 STORYTELLING ONE Learners want training to prepare them for real-world situations. Recognizing they are expected to apply the training on the job, learners want training to simulate real-world experiences. Storytelling has become a popular approach to leveraging practical information and shared experiences. Utilizing improvisational skills allows learners to role-play and prepare for situations they will encounter. It also enhances recall and improves retention as learners associate the new skills with the heart of the story. USE OF BIG DATA ANALYTICS Big data has become a popular term that refers to the growth and availability of information that is important to business and society. Big data provides a wealth of intelligence about our business, our employees, our clients and our markets. Our opportunity is in leveraging big data analytics to curate intelligence to drive improvement in our learning solutions. It s in using analytics of a constituent s data to provide relevant and targeted training. The analysis of big data in the corporate setting reveals root causes of failures, organizational underperformance, the source of product defects, and employee issues that could be impacting our customers. We need to better leverage this information by incorporating it into training programs, allowing leaders to make better decisions, drive operational efficiencies, reduce costs and mitigate risk. TWO FORMALIZATION OF MENTORING AND COACHING THREE The growth in the application of models like 70:20:10 has taught us how to better leverage informal content. These new approaches to learning and development require us to review the support structures we have in place to enable the success of less formal learning. The impact of successful mentoring and coaching can be enhanced by formalizing the informal processes that reinforce training. Just making mentors and coaches available to learners is not enough the key is properly preparing coaches and mentors to provide good leadership to reinforce training so that it becomes more sustainable. WORKFORCE READINESS There is a growing focus on how to prepare learners for the workforce. Many corporate and educational leaders say that the current approach for preparing knowledge and skills-based labor is highly inefficient many dollars are being spent with limited return for the investment. Leaders contend that collaboration between educational institutions and corporate training must grow. But collaboration alone is not enough. There is a movement toward designing new systems for intelligence gathering on how the needs of labor and the needs of employers align. Big data may be a part of this future solution as larger organizations seek ways to extrapolate intelligence gained from companies in any single vertical market (e.g., finance or pharma) and leverage that into developing new workforce learning solutions together with leading educational institutions. FOUR 30

4 CUSTOMER EDUCATION CONVERGING WITH MARKETING FIVE Customer education has become the cornerstone of effective content marketing. Customer education has evolved from being a post-purchase experience focused on how to use the product, to a pre-purchase, due diligence exercise to engage new and prospective customers through the use of learning principles that reinforce marketing messages. Best practices include using mobile apps and online gaming tools, as well as informational videos designed to teach the customer about the products and service attributes that reinforce why it s a good decision to purchase. MICROLEARNING TO BRIDGE GENERATIONAL GAPS Creating bite-sized learning objects is not a new concept. The focus has been on creating short, consumable learning objects to appeal to the younger, entry-level workforce because they are accustomed to learning on demand in short windows of time. What we are finding most interesting is the high adoption rate of microlearning by the older workforce, especially baby boomers. Developing short, consumable learning objects makes good business sense and is also a practical way to learn, no matter the age of the learner. Bite-sized learning efficiently provides learners what they need, when they need it. SIX GAMING FOR REINFORCEMENT SEVEN The use of gaming mechanics for learning purposes is another trend that is not new. A traditional approach to gaming has been to create online games for a standalone learning experience as a means to replace the course itself. A more successful approach to gaming is embedding the experience within a training program, or to use it as a method of reinforcement after the training experience. The use of mobile app gaming post-training is gaining traction. The design allows the learner to leave the training experience or to continue the experience post-classroom. We have found that embedding gaming within the training improves learner engagement and retention. Using the tool post-training extends the shelf-life of the training program and increases the likelihood of application on the job. TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER2015 I 31

5 CORPORATE SPEND FOR TRAINING INCREASING EIGHT Since the economic recession that occurred six years ago, many companies cut overall costs, including their expenditures for training. This went a long way to making companies leaner and more efficient. Now that the economy is trending up, corporate earnings are strong and companies are spending on training at a pace we haven t seen since before the recession. Last year, we expected corporate spend for training to increase by a conservative 1 to 2 percent, but now reflecting on 2014 it appears spend is up by as much as 5 to 7 percent across most industry segments. We expect that trend to continue into 2015, with growth in spend for training services to grow in excess of 5 percent. OUTSOURCING GROWS WITH EMPHASIS ON TRANSFORMATION The use of external service providers to develop, deliver or manage training activities is growing at a faster rate than previously seen in the last five years. The growth in spend has been driven primarily from an increase in variable labor and a flexible workforce. Content design and delivery is a primary example. What we are finding quite interesting is the focus on the transformation of the training function. Corporate executives expectations on the value of training are increasing, which is generating a renewed interest in using outside companies to drive change and quality of service improvements. This is translating into more complex and sophisticated engagements, larger deal size and multiple year engagements. We expect this trend in re-engineering the training function to continue for quite some time. NINE JOB MARKET FOR TRAINING PROFESSIONALS IS UP TEN It s a good time to be a training professional in the job market. The demand for experienced training professionals and in all skill areas of the training function is the strongest it s been in six years. Instructional design, facilitation and strategic management are all roles with good opportunities. Last year, we found that the growth in jobs was primarily on the supply-side. Now, the demand for experienced talent is on the buy-side as well. The difference, however, is the positions most in demand for buyers of training are in management and administrative roles. The growth in instructional design and delivery are stronger on the supply-side of the industry, with a focus on combined skills associated with web design and instructional design. One skillset that often gets overlooked in training are business development professionals with a training background. These are in high demand for account management roles to support the growth in training outsourcing. Doug Harward is CEO of Training Industry, Inc. and a former learning leader in the high-tech industry. Doug. 32