Employee training was already undergoing a digital revolution when the pandemic happened. Now, using virtual channels for training employees (and anyone, really) is the only practical alternative left.
Thankfully, we already had the required technology for delivering training in a virtual environment.
With elearning technology, businesses have been creating and distributing training material over the cloud for several years now.
However, as the years have passed, even elearning technology has become more advanced. Today, elearning technology encompasses tools and platforms that enable businesses to deliver an engaging and impactful training experience, to each one of their employees.
Naturally, in today’s environment, when social distancing is a norm and lockdowns are commonplace, these emerging elearning tools and technologies have come into the spotlight.
Let’s learn a little more about the elearning technologies and tools that are trending in 2020:
Video Conferencing Software
Most businesses engaged in training realised the impact of a blended training experience (combining self-paced learning and instructor led training) long ago. However, providing employees with a blended training experience suddenly became a challenge as businesses around the globe were forced to shut their offices and allow their employees to work from home.
Video conferencing software emerged as a viable solution to this problem. With these tools, instructors were able to continue delivering live training to employees and learners distributed all across the country and globe.
The best video conferencing software offer training specific features like virtual whiteboards and built-in video recording, making them a great multipurpose tool
It is expected that this popularity of video conferencing tools is not going to die down anytime soon.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is not a new technology by any measure. However, its applications are still being explored and the technology is being employed by an ever lengthening list of industries.
AR’s application in employee training scenarios is still not widespread. However, the technology has shown a lot of promise, especially in the case of training on technical matters.
Aviation giant Boeing used the technology to train their technical staff in electrical installation training and reported a 40% boost in the productivity.
The best part is, most modern learning platforms and devices that we use (especially smartphones), already have all the tools needed to implement an AR training program.
This means that introducing an AR element in your training program will not entail a huge investment and can even be done by smaller businesses.
Virtual Reality
Mostly mentioned along with augmented reality, virtual reality technology is actually very different. While the former superimposes virtual objects on real ones, the latter can be programmed to create a digital ‘training space’ for your employees.
Naturally, developing a virtual reality training program and buying the right VR headsets and other necessary equipment is not cheap.
In fact, this cost is one of the biggest deterrents that is preventing many businesses from incorporating virtual reality in their training programs.
With that said, VR technology has become much more affordable than the price at which it was launched. As a result, many businesses have been able to use it to train their employees.
It is expected that the technology will become even more accessible and affordable in the future and will find widespread applications in training professionals from a variety of industries.
Conclusion
These were the three technologies that are currently trending in the employee training space. In the future, you can expect to see their implementation in many more industries. Of course, early adopters will enjoy an edge over their competition. So, if your organization is engaged in training remote employees, you may want to consider adopting one of these technologies to improve your employee training experience.
