Craig Mitchell: I think 2013 may finally be the year when social learning finally starts to gain some real headway in many organizations. It will need some high-profile case studies to show how some big organizations have made it work and the benefits flowing from it, but as staff use Facebook and Twitter amongst others on a daily basis, acceptance of this method of learning will grow.
Ranjit Khompi: I think 2013 would highlight the need for individually focused L&D opportunities for a person. Now the people are looking for inputs to ‘Tackle MY problems’ in this rollercoaster of changes happening in the outside world. We will have to develop ability to customize and help follow through our interventions, not just do some carpet bombing-type rollouts.
Rae Cook: Curriculum designers have to stop thinking like academicians (teach concepts, give experiential learning to a captive student body) and more like businesspeople (what is useful right now, most efficient and exactly matches my needs). Leaders don’t want to watch videos about corporate offices, and they will, in 2013 and onward, be much more vocal about not attending training or education that does not exactly match their world.
Adam Zaller: The year 2013 will be the year of social learning. As millennials become a larger percentage of the working population it will be incumbent on training teams to figure out how to deliver meaningful learning opportunities in that medium.
Wendy Axelrod: In 2013 companies will put greater emphasis on learning in the workplace during the workday instead of sending folks to classroom or online training. This means better equipping managers to know how to expertly provide challenging developmental work assignments, take their coaching skills up a notch to help employees create learning breakthroughs, target great development partners for their employees and shape the work environment to provide abundant development opportunities for all.
Don McIntosh: We have known for many years that games and simulations are some of the most powerful learning tools we have. It is time that someone other than the aircraft industry used them. Video can be very effective, but must be used carefully and where appropriate. One-hour talking heads are not the way to go.
Carol Gajus: I believe the biggest trend is the weaving of development within talent management. We should be partners with our business leaders of divisions and departments who create their human capital plans. Influence employee development as a key component in their plan. I see the performance consultants within learning organizations as key partners in making this happen throughout an organization. Corporations need to adapt their human capital plans to emphasize increased partnering between the business leaders and the business partners/learning partners for strategic decisions.
Deidre Alves: Discernment is the key for us — the responsible stewards of the learning experience — knowing when to use what method for what specific purpose. Trends will come and go but discernment will be the constant that helps to navigate this fuzzy terrain. Humans love the bright and shiny objects and there are many out there in learning and development, but the key is to discern what approach will work for the various learning situations and needs. Lectures are good for some purposes, experiential learning for others, TEIL (technology enabled informal learning) for yet some more, collaborative social environments and the list can go on and on. The focus should be in the approach or philosophy (discernment) in creating the experience.
Trellis Usher: I think in 2013-14 we will see more emphasis on structured IN the job learning and developmental opportunities — the best way to ensure application and impact of skills is to keep learning as close to the job as possible. We will also see more partnering with external vendors on the design and development of leadership programs; ability to leverage best practices across industries and domains.
Lindsay Ryan: The big trend I see is MOOCs (massive open online courses) that enable people to register for a range of online courses, provided by some of the most well-known universities in the world, for free. While these courses (currently) do not provide credit toward accredited education and training programs, as an employer that really is a secondary consideration if the organization is seeking to train or up-skill employees.
Sandra Wesley: Practitioners must have a solid platform in place that facilitates the measurement of learning programs delivered. There must be agreement across the board on how the measurements will be conducted, as well as timing, and reporting so that a learning organization becomes real, aligned and supportive of the corporate goals.
What do you think? Join the discussion here.
