5 Training Trends in 2018

5 Training Trends in 2018

5 Training Trends in 2018

As technology evolves, it seems that virtually every aspect of business is evolving with it, including employee training. While there is still much to be said about the importance of instructor-led training, the way the instructors are leading these trainings is becoming much more advanced. 

Here are some of the top training trends you will see in 2018:

Interactive Video Learning

Interactive Video “is a type of digital video that supports user interaction.” Interactive video learning uses the concepts of interactive video to engage the learner throughout the content. These interactive videos are just like regular videos but add the element of interaction by requiring the user to complete a task that is a part of the video.

These tasks, from a learning perspective, can be used to answer questions, go through activities, and more, throughout the lesson.

What makes this type of learning attractive to many areas of development is the ability to add gamification or real-life scenarios to the training.

This gives the learner the ability to actively put into practice what they are learning, while they are learning it.

Increased Focus on Metrics

As employee training and development becomes more and more important to an organization’s success and ability to attract and retain top talent, developing strategies and measuring results is becoming increasingly important. Organizations will begin putting more thought behind their training philosophies in 2018.

Many organizations already have training effectiveness measurement practices in place. Many organizations also don’t know what to do with those measurements.

Training should be a strategic initiative within the organization and therefore be influenced by business needs and skills gaps. In order to figure out what type of training the organization needs, they can begin by conducting a training needs assessment. From this training needs assessment, the organization can then set training-related goals and develop evaluation methods based around those goals.

A few measuring tactics include scorecards, skills assessments, competency models, pulse surveys, and even entire models of evaluation such as the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation.

Microlearning

Microlearning was also included on our list of training trends in 2017 and is as relevant as ever. The concept of microlearning revolves around efficiency.

Microlearning takes a robust, full-day, or lengthier learning course and breaks it into smaller bursts of information. The reason microlearning is becoming more popular is due to the increased flexibility it gives to the learners.

Employees want to learn, it’s just hard for them to find a full-day or big chunk of time to dedicate out of the office. If 54% of Americans left over 662 million unused vacation days on the table in 2016, it’s time for organizations to be more flexible with employee training.

Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)

Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) “refers to training that is delivered in a virtual or simulated environment, or when instructor and learner are in separate locations.” Live webinars are a perfect example of a VILT.

These types of virtual environments allow learners to get all of the benefits of typical classroom-based, instructor-led training without having either party endure travel and travel costs. There is also an increase in convenience and ease of scheduling, and physical space is no longer a point of discussion.

Users can participate in VILT while sitting at their desk eating lunch. They can participate and interact with 80 of their co-workers from all around the country, and even the world, in the same exact training session as one another.

Gamification

Gamification was also featured on our list of training trends in 2017, and just like microlearning, is as relevant as ever. With the increased capabilities in artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology, gamification will be going through advancements.

On the applicable, and fiscally-attainable for many organizations, side of gamification, trainings such as Zodiak are bringing an interactive experience with motivations to course material.

Gamification takes the traditional course material and positions the lessons and key takeaways in a way that motivates employees with competition and rewards.

On the cutting-edge side of gamification, organizations can utilize virtual reality to train employees. This type of technology puts employees in “real-life” situations, virtually, and enables them to practice by going through these situations as they would in reality. One interesting example of virtual reality gamification training is Walmart.

Walmart has 187 employee training centers that use virtual reality gamification to train and prepare for “situations like Black Friday or emergencies where you can’t set up a simulation in a store, learning customer service, and teaching operational stuff like how produce should be stacked and arranged.”

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  • Liz Maier-Liu

    Liz Maier-Liu specializes in writing high-quality, engaging copy across all channels, including email, web, blogs, print, and social media. She is passionate about helping ERC build long-lasting relationships with clients and members through storytelling and delightful copy that calls them to action.Since 2019, Liz has supported ERC’s marketing team. She currently manages ERC’s email marketing campaigns, social media accounts, marketing automation, and websites. Liz also executes content strategies that drive engagement, leads, and customer retention.