Reflections on 2021 L&D trends survey

For those in learning and development, 2020 was a year of rapid change combined with uncertainty. The Ken Blanchard Cos.’ senior vice president of products and content, Jay Campbell, says, “Leadership, learning and talent development professionals pivoted quickly in 2020, shifting their focus to digital and virtual in order to keep the development train rolling. While they made the pivot to ensure learners weren’t left behind, they recognized the quick efforts they put in place didn’t always create perfect solutions.”

To present a closer view of the impact COVID-19 had on L&D efforts in 2020, we recently published the results of our 2021 HR/L&D Trends Survey. More than 1,000 L&D professionals took part in this year’s survey, which looked at challenges such as the need to convert face-to-face training designs to digital or virtual formats and plans for moving forward in 2021.

3 great challenges for 2021

One section of the survey included an open-ended question about the greatest challenge L&D teams were currently facing going into 2021. The data revealed three main themes:

• Successfully making the shift to virtual and online learning. Respondents wondered about how to engage learners, missed in-person training, and were concerned about skills gaps in their departments and connectivity issues.
• Helping a workforce struggling with COVID-19 and remote working. Respondents experienced a loss of connection that led to feelings of stress and overwhelm. They felt a great amount of uncertainty in their work, too much change too fast, low morale and fatigue from many sources.
• Concerns about their jobs. Respondents expressed worry about budget cuts, layoffs and questions of manager support. The new year approaching also raised concerns they would face a period of high expectations without the support necessary to help them succeed. “Too much to do, not enough resources.”

The survey responses and participant comments painted a vivid picture of the past year. We cannot deny the circumstances of 2020 were some of the most difficult our people and our organizations have ever faced. It’s gratifying to see how many L&D leaders were able to band together with their teams to overcome challenge after challenge.

Campbell has this to say about the rapid change to virtual and digital offerings: “COVID-19 created a discontinuity in the normal evolutionary path toward digital and virtual. It has accelerated the shift — possibly by as much as a decade.” Wow.

The shift he mentions was made clear in the survey results: Before COVID-19, classroom training with an instructor in the room was at 63 percent, and virtual at 10 percent, of total training. After COVID-19 hit, in-person instructor classroom training plummeted to just 9 percent and virtual climbed to 53 percent. The shift was exceptionally difficult, with more than 40 percent of respondents stating they were experiencing challenges with digital training design, delivery and technology. And just over 51 percent of respondents felt their new digital or virtual offerings were somewhat less or much less effective than the face-to-face designs they were replacing.

The drastic decline of face-to-face training in 2020 is still on the minds of L&D professionals in 2021. While most respondents expect to have classroom training available again sometime this year, they are preparing for a big change in how it is used. A majority of respondents — 57 percent — say the traditional classroom will be used selectively as part of a blended learning experience along with virtual instructor-led training, self-paced learning, coaching and mentoring. The expectation is that L&D leaders will tailor the use of face-to-face training with a specific type of learner in mind.

Both classroom training and digital training work

The great news is that both classroom and online training create a smarter, more skilled workforce. In other words, it’s a “both/and” proposition, and not “either/or.” This makes me happy because the survey results show that once face-to-face options become available again, L&D experts are expecting to use in-person and virtual instructor-led training equally. As a college professor, I love the magic that happens in a classroom. Yet there’s no question that I’m excited about the future of training and development, whether face-to-face or digital and virtual.

I hope you read the survey results for yourself, reflect on your own L&D challenges from 2020, and perhaps gain some ideas for this new year.

My son, Scott Blanchard, our company president, offers encouragement for leadership, learning and talent development professionals: “There has never been a more demanding time to be in L&D — but this is also a time of great opportunity for those who are ready to step into a new future. We learned a lot in 2020. It’s time to boldly — and optimistically — move forward in 2021!”