Top 5 L&D trends for 2023

Let’s get ahead of the curve and take a peek into the latest learning trends:

1. Personalization – “I want training relevant to my position and goals.”

Learners are looking for training they can put into action. You’ve probably sat through a training seminar before that truly wasn’t relevant to your job. Or maybe you’ve logged into your LMS and were met with a list of hundreds of courses – most of which had no relevance to your role! 

Frustrated doesn’t even begin to cover it! And engagement levels will drop off the cliff if you don’t have buy-in for training. 

You can leverage personalized learning by providing tailored, individualized, and flexible workloads for your learners. 

How to add personalization to learning:

• Choose an LMS that segments learning into personalized dashboards, along with clearly-marked areas for learners to explore based on their interests.

• Add value and attract talent by creating and mapping learning tracks for each individual role that go beyond the onboarding process.

• “What skills will help X to level up in 6-9 months? 12-15 months?”

• Have managers meet with their team members to have each person’s ideas and personal growth goals in the discussion.

2. Upskilling and Reskilling – “I want to develop my long-term skill set.”

82% of employees say it’s important for their organization to see them as a person, not just an employee. Upskilling and reskilling do just that, pours into both the individual employee and the wider organization. 

Upskilling offers a big morale boost for disengaged learners – 71% who participated in upskilling said it enhanced their job satisfaction.

It will add significant value to help your team members develop new skills and abilities in the new year. This will make them more confident and prepared for changes ahead – whether in your organization or the market at large. 

It’s also worth mentioning the significant savings from upskilling a team member vs. hiring new talent! Hiring new talent instead of upskilling your current team requires a hefty investment of finances, time, and energy. Ultimately it leaves you waiting much longer to see the growth you’re hoping for.

How to add upskilling & reskilling:

• Choose an LMS that helps you to tailor learning based on departments, geography, or custom variables.

• Encourage your team members to be open about skills they want to learn – 70% say they don’t have the skills they need to do their jobs! This helps create the roadmap for their personalized learning plans.

• Bring joy back into learning with an LMS that makes learning fun and accessible…and give time for your learners to invest in their own development.  

3. Microlearning – “I can’t sit through 4 hours of training!”

Did you know that the average person works for 11 minutes before an outside distraction interrupts them? Rather than bemoaning the short attention spans, we've got to buckle down and maximize those minutes for all they're worth. 

Plus, research is catching up to the trend, showing that learners do best with bite-sized chunks when distractions are momentarily kept at bay. Microlearning results in 4x higher engagement rates and better overall retention. 

Workers in info sectors like tech and business are also constantly using messaging apps. It’s a great strategy to embed training reminders and learning resources into those platforms for maximum effect. 

How to add microlearning:

• Look for an LMS with deep integrations with frequently-used apps like Slack, Google Calendar, MS Teams, and more. Make it simple for learners to access training from where they already work.

• Evaluate your courses from a high-level and break down concepts into as many small chunks as possible. 

• Leverage the integrations with your tech stack to prompt your learners with reminders of blips of information they’ve recently studied. 

4. On-demand training – “I need to find this answer ASAP!” 

On-demand training puts ownership over learning back in the hands of individual employees. Remote and hybrid work have certainly accelerated this trend – gone are the days of swinging by someone’s desk with a quick question on policies.

Providing on-demand training will support organic learning within your teams. It can also really save on valuable resources like time and finances – reducing your spending on facilities, equipment, and travel needed for traditional in-person training.

How to add on-demand training: 

• Establish a central source for training documents, policies, and other important information, like an LMS. Make content easy to search so your learners can reference with ease – whether it’s a statistic from a recent webinar or a quote from a training manual. 

• 48% of employees say they would be more likely to access learning from a mobile device. Be sure to choose an LMS that can be accessed remotely from any device!

• Implement microlearning to make it easier for your learners to find information they’ve absorbed and to queue up new courses to mix learning into the everyday. 

5. Coaching and Mentoring – “I’d love support from someone more experienced.”

As remote work rises, more and more team members are collaborating across screens and across the world. Employees are thankful for the flexibility, but longing for the real-life interactions and learning experiences that the old work model provided. 

In 2023, you’ll see more businesses try to combat this isolation through coaching and mentoring. Coaching and mentoring initiatives provide the accountability and support that learners need to apply new information and really make training stick. 

Coaching and mentoring are also great ways to build and improve soft skills, like communications, problem solving, and flexibility. 

How to add coaching and mentoring: 

• Choose an LMS with social features – not just pictures or emojis, but a way to see & celebrate others’ progress and connect over shared interests.

• Leverage mentoring to help learners target and identify skills they want to master and a career path they want to aim for – learning from someone a few steps ahead is inspiring!   

• Once your coaching program is up and running, consider giving each employee an ‘allowance’ of targeted coaching sessions to use throughout each year – to help them work through ‘stuck’ points, new, or intimidating situations. Knowing that someone will be there to step in and coach will do wonders for morale and confidence! 

Conclusion

We’re excited for the open door L&D has in the new year. Businesses will face economic challenges from market forces outside of their control. That’s why it’s so important to redefine achievement beyond profit. As an L&D leader, you can target metrics like employee retention, innovative ideas, and higher engagement as markers of success. 

With this perspective shift, you’ll see opportunities to develop your learning culture without going over budget! A simple way to start? Make sure your teams feel heard in the process and provide them with meaningful opportunities to explore their interests and expand their skills. 

Maybe you’ve got some budget earmarked to explore a new LMS in 2023 – lucky you! Be sure your choice makes it simple to incorporate these trends and provide the meaningful, bite-sized, actionable learning your teams desire. 

An LMS platform is one of the best ways to incorporate and leverage each of the 2023 trends.

‍Continu is the LMS built for modern teams, helping you to provide tailored learning for employee-led growth. 

If you’re looking for strategic support to upskill, engage, and retain your teams, Continu offers the powerful reporting tools, deep native integrations and smart segmentation you need. 

Trends come and go, but we feel strongly that these shifts to your L&D strategy will reap benefits for years to come! Time to get to work and bring a big impact to your teams!