Join the 8% this Year: Top Training Trends to Follow in 2017
Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions. As the whirlwind of holiday hoopla begins to wane, millions of well-intentioned folks nationwide will make impassioned vows toward personal or professional betterment. Despite the best laid plans, research shows that only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions will succeed in achieving their goals.
Many MEA Members look to the new year as an opportunity to set and achieve goals designed to drive business, increase employee engagement, and foster organizational growth. Rooted in each one of these objectives is the need for training practices aligned with today’s evolving and nuanced workplace. As a conduit for Member success, MEA wants to help you and your team join the 8% this year. Outlined below are top four training trends to follow if you want your company to triumph in 2017.
1. Less is More…
Long, exhaustive, lecture-driven training sessions are so 90s. Short-form learning has emerged as the preferred and more effective mode of training. Today’s workforce, especially the millennial and Gen Z populations are accustomed to having information readily accessible. They are inundated with information and data from a wide variety of sources and devices and have been conditioned to easily parse out the material they need with a few simple clicks. That is why training sessions need to be interactive. Time needs to be spent where participants can give their insight to the topics learned and talk about how they can apply the skills back in the workplace. This modality is effective in keeping participants engaged and forging a lasting impression.
Simply put, today’s learners do not want to be anchored to a desk. Incorporating short videos, using rich media, and presenting images and infographics across a host of platforms are effective ways of offering interactive delivery and giving learners the feeling of progress.
2. …And More is More.
While more interactive, shorter, micro-learning sessions are desired, quantity should not decline. The 21st century workforce tribe has spoken: they want more frequent training. As the largest generation in the workplace, millennials’ desire for training should not be dismissed or ignored. They regard training as a component that has profound impact on job satisfaction. Still not convinced that it’s worth doubling-down on training? In a recent study centered on Why Millennials Leave Companies, findings show that 60% of millennials will leave their companies in less than three years, with most citing lack of engagement and growth opportunities as key drivers.
Recurrent training not only yields increased retention and employee engagement, it’s also an effective way of bridging the gap between older and younger generations in the workplace. Providing ongoing learning opportunities to accommodate employees at all levels in the organizational hierarchy promotes synergy and agility within the organization.
3. Chart a Course.
Gone is the allure of one-off learning events and obligatory annual training sessions. And contrary to popular belief, they do not define success by fancy, inflated job titles. Instead, employees seek professional growth and development through a linear course. Members of today’s workforce want to travel a carefully designed pathway governed by robust programming designed to bolster skill sets and embolden them to make high level contributions critical to their organization’s success.
So, what can you do to facilitate employee engagement and help forge a learning pathway? Sit down with each team member, discuss succession planning, and develop a customized training pathway aligned with individual goals and job functions.
4. Together Everyone Achieves More
Sure, notable contributions by individuals with a specialized skill set are always valued and recognized in the workplace. However, 2017 welcomes the most diverse workforce yet, with Gen Z officially active in the market. This influx of newbies, who join the large cohort of rising-in-the-ranks millennials, have marked impact on organizational process and design. Not only has the traditional model of hierarchy become all but obsolete, it’s no longer conducive for company success. With tech-savvy rookies and eager millennials saturating the market, companies have transitioned to a flatter, more agile construct where efficiency and collaboration reign supreme. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends report explores and explains this paradigm shifts with comprehensive data and research.
Now more than ever is team-centric training critical. Learning should be centered on developing skills and communication strategies designed to cultivate relationships and foster productivity in a cross-functional and cross-departmental manner. Training should incorporate various methods of content delivery and allow for the collective exchange of ideas and information among diverse populations representing one singular mission. When it comes to achieving business goals in 2017, there is no I in TEAM.
Although 2017 is sure to bring with it unique challenges and hurdles, it’s also a time to capitalize on unique opportunities to grow. Resolve to elevate your business to the next level this year by implementing new and effective training techniques designed to accommodate today’s rapidly changing workplace landscape.