Human Resource and Learning & Development in the “New Normal” Era

It has been months since Covid-19 hit us hard and “new normal” is one of the most well-known phrase nowadays.

Everyone is talking about this and trying to foresee how new normal will affect all things in our lives. For large corporations, we see that remote working and online learning have become part of their new normal plans. By now, most large corporations should have the new normal procedures plan already in action otherwise they would be left behind and it will be difficult for them to operate their businesses in the post-pandemic world. Actually, companies should take advantage of the current situation by growing and adopting the learning technology in order to support the remote workforce and beyond.

What are some strategies that human resource leaders can implement?

  • Focus on the implementation of digitalization. The lesson from the pandemic gives us clear direction that technology is not just a trend, but a necessity. Managing people remotely, keeping them engaged and motivated, and maintaining the flow of business are all the essential skills for the HR team
  • Continue to re-skill and up-skill employees to keep them engaged. The lock down might end soon but work from home is here to stay. Preparing employees to work remotely will become top priority for HR across industries. And don’t forget that with this new trend of remote working there may come demand for new competencies and that’s why companies should consider switching from F2F training to online learning in order to hone the skills of their employees.
  • Focus on employee safety, health and wellness as the HR team will be responsible of employee well-being once they return to work.

“New Normal” Training: Transition from F2F to Online Learning

There are many reasons why a company should make a transition to online learning.

  • Costs less
    • Online learning is less expensive because of no travel costs, no space renting costs, etc.
  • Flexibility
    • Users can access to the training course anytime, anywhere, on any devices. There is no one-size-fits-all.
  • Consistency
    • Online provides more consistent learning experience as trainers will communicate and present the same materials to everyone. Everyone receives the same messages.
  • Multiple learning styles
    • With online training, you will have more opportunities to customize your learning to multiple learning styles. It could be writing it down for each topic you learned, or you can present that topic by yourself by recording a video or voice. Variety is key to maximizing the learning experience.
  • Shorter training time
    • Online training takes 40 -60% less time to complete than traditional F2F training. Also, the timer for an online course only take 30 – 45 minutes as compared F2F. To conclude, this can help the students to achieve their goals faster with the same learning outcomes.
  • KPI tracking/ monitoring
    • Project managers always need to keep track of the performance of the users. No one wants their students to be left behind. From the online training platform, you can export monthly or weekly report to monitor the progress. This will help project managers to see the results and measure their ROI.
  • Work from home (WFH)
    • Many companies has extended their WFH policies until further notice. Some companies changed their policy to permanently let their employee WFH. This means that HR and L&D will need to shift their training courses to 100% online.
  • Social distancing
    • Many countries have eased their lock down and things are slowly getting back to the “old normal”, but people still need to keep social distance with each other. They need to wear mask and wash their hand. This will affect F2F training in a way that there will be lesser people inside a class but the number of classes will still be high in order for everyone to receive the same training. Ultimately, this will increase costs for F2F training and that’s why online classes will eliminate all the social distancing concerns that you may have.

Flexibility is the key to the “New Normal”

Flexible learning is technology-based. The fact that nowadays people spend more time on their phones, tablets and other devices which we can say that people are getting comfortable with technology. Hence, it’s time for your organization to undergo digital transformation so that your organization can sync to all the devices.

Also, when it comes to learning in an organization, HR and L&D team should provide personalize & flexible learning environment. “Personalization and flexible learning will be the backbone of modern businesses.” (https://www.speexx.com/speexx-resources/personalized-learning/) Personalization is taking space, as almost every organization across verticals is looking at complementing its services with a dose of personalization. This is not a new concept and has been promoted as a key learning approach.  Everyone has a unique learning style, some might retain more information when they watch a video or completed an activity. Others prefer to gain knowledge over reading an article. Thanks to AI & analytic system, contents that match user’s learning style will be automatically offered. Personalize & flexible learning can be beneficial for both corporate & academic settings which will drive transformation on online learning into a tool that could support employees & students to achieve their goals

Preparation of “New Normal” for HR and L&D

There are few things HR and L&D should consider to follow in order to prepare for long term “new normal”.

  • Go digital! Transform your traditional F2F class to online.
  • Build or buy? – Consider which courses or topics that L&D team can create on their own or if you want to spend your budget on a platform that could provide everything.
  • Select suitable Learning Management System (LMS) by making sure that it is able to integrate with other platforms.
  • Select the right courses to Consider that all courses are up-to-date, can use on any devices, Micro & Macro learning, database protection, compliant, award-winning, etc.
  • KPI monitoring – make sure that the LMS provider would be able to track users progress.

There are still other things to consider when planning for a digital transformation for your organization. But one thing for sure, things will not go back to the way they were. We all need to learn to adapt into every situation and make our organization grow faster and stronger.