New normal. New catchphrase. New L and D challenges?
Saying ‘the new normal’ is the current catchphrase. It is in danger of becoming a cliche.
Working from home (WFH) started as an emergency response. People were asked to slot their jobs and lives into this response. Old stresses and challenges weren’t necessarily dealt with, rather transferred. The increasingly used phrase is ‘the new normal’ to explain how things are going forwards. The idea that organisations are now making WFH and other forms of not presenting for work in a particular physical place the new permanent way of working is upon us.
So how has learning and development (L and D) fared during this time? What can we do in this ‘new normal’ if that is what in fact it is?
What are the challenges for L and D?
I was delighted to be involved in a webinar last week for fellow professionals in L and D and explore what the emerging challenges at work in this ‘new normal’ for the role. What people shared was a mix of work related challenges, skills and behaviours needs and different approaches to L and D. Here are some of the main ones:
wellbeing - top of the list
motivation and engagement
keeping connected and the need to be with others - people are missing learning from others and working alongside them
induction of new starters
new skills needs including technical ones for remote working and upskilling managers and leaders
new methodologies and the move to blended learning, coaching, different use of learning resources and on demand learning
reduction in L and D budgets and an organisation’s view of its value (or not)
Does any of this surprise you?
It doesn’t surprise me.
Blended learning and the onset of mass adoption and use of virtual platforms for work and learning has just been accelerated. It was moving in that direction already.
Wellbeing remains at the top of the priority list. Of course it does. It has become more pressing as the effects of the pandemic that have moved us towards what could be a catastrophic set of stress and mental health issues. WFH has many positives. It also hides things. Failures, stress, performance dips, lack of engagement in learning and development or work purposefulness. Remote and flexible working is changing into the embedded pattern of working for a great proportion of organisations, i.e. this is now how we work for the long term. Not an emergency response any more. It poses a wellbeing challenge all the same.
Coaching as a delivery approach was already moving up the list as an effective intervention that organisations recognised they needed to do more of. So it is not something new to say the new normal will be more ‘manager as coach’ training or that the introduction of a coaching culture is needed.
Methodologies and approaches such as on demand learning are more important in a dispersed, mobile workforce that is increasingly populated with millenials and younger generations. The demography at work is a constant thread with or without a pandemic.
Conclusion 1 - validation. Much of what has emerged isn’t a new normal, it was already there. It has perhaps just arrived sooner than expected.
What is the ‘new normal’ for L and D practice?
I don’t have all the answers yet, as more conversations are needed about what the ‘new normal’ is.
I confess I find the term limited. There’s too much of a connotation of ‘this is how we are going to do things now’ whereas I believe we are in a period of needing the most flexibility and adaptable attiude to this situation as a more ‘moving evolution of opportunity’.
Conclusion 2 - VUCA. Embracing, flexing and moving with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity is a positive advantage.
Five actions for L and D
Here are five useful actions for the L and D profession to focus on:
Work on how to make virtual learning stick. Virtual learning is here to stay although it shouldn’t be a 100% switch. It does involve addressing transfer in a new context, something managers are still ideally placed to hold conversations about. Support managers practically. Give them tools, upskill them, include making learning stick in guidance for holding 1-2-1s remotely; make the learning process visible and accessible. This is worth some effort.
Do the heavy lifting. Someone somewhere needs to invest time and expertise in transferring learning and development interventions that were traditionally delivered in a classroom environment to virtually based ones. Virtual sessions are at present, from what I can ascertain from last week’s webinar, shorter by a significant number of hours. This requires three things:
a clear understanding of your outcomes for that role, that area of work and that business priority in this new context of remote and agile working - and thus what the learning outcomes are (it’s tempting to cut corners and go straight to ‘design using content’ and just chop up something into bite sized webinar pieces - NOT cool or ok);
that you assess in a blended learning context which should remain classroom based where, for example, experiential learning is important or feedback on skills practice, and what other delivery approaches are possible; and,
that the heavy lifting is paid for or time is given to internal experts to do it.
Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of L and D and also of the profession. The more we can collaborate, get as close to the business as possible and respond to the ‘new normal’ the better.
Be proactive. In recognising organisations have accelerated into new ways of working and learning, get out there and find out how you can (with even your limited budget) help everyone ‘learn better’. Self directed learning, encouraging people to share something more widely via a platform they can paste it to, reclaiming classroom based opportunities that people value/need are some examples.
Upskill yourself and keep your CPD up to date. Be the expert on ‘new’ L and D approaches. Stay abreast of trends. Think about the language you use (e.g. stop using ‘training’ when discussing inputs) and how it impacts on how your customers view learning when you are engaged with them professionally.
Going forwards.
Who are we and what are we here for?
We are here to support people to be a healthy, happy and supported workforce, where care about everyone’s wellbeing is paramount.
We are the architects for organisational performance excellence through its people.
We are agile explorers of ways to change thinking (attitudes), skills (capabilities), behaviours and purposefulness that make a difference to peoples’ jobs and working lives and that is practical and useful.
We are culture change pioneers and agents who recognise early on that there is no new normal, just the next hugely transformational step that has been accelererated into our paths and for which we hold many of the threads.
We are partners and collaborators who know how to help people learn exceptionally effectively.
We are authentic consultants who primarily enable others as experts by their experience.
We know our stuff. We are therefore confident we can meet the new L and D challenges as a community of practice.
Onwards and upwards
This is an on-going dialogue and an interesting one. Is ‘new normal’ your catchphrase, or have you found something more fitting?
I’d love to hear what fellow practitioners have identified as their L and D challenges.