Learning and development: Four enterprise trends for 2022

The recent shift to hybrid working, combined with an increasingly tight labor market and the unrelenting pace of digitalization, means that organizations in every industry sector are reviewing their strategic priorities with regard to the role of learning in the enterprise.

One thing is for sure, today’s employees want to learn differently and increasingly expect to access learning resources ‘in the moment’ directly related to their role and developmental aspirations.

With millennials now representing a significant proportion of the workforce, organizations will need to adapt their learning and development endeavors fast – or risk losing talent to competitors that do more to support their workers’ personal and professional development.

With all to play for, let’s take a look at the top four corporate learning trends on the horizon for 2022.

1. Learning will be a decisive factor in employee engagement

For millennials, on-the-job training is proving a decisive factor in deciding whether or not to accept a position or leave an organization.

With employee engagement a strategic priority for organizations everywhere, 2022 will be the year in which corporate learning becomes established as an integral element of an enterprise’s employee engagement platform. But that’s not all.

In 2022, I expect organizations will double down on evaluating the learning requirements needed to achieve operational excellence.

For many, that will mean going beyond skills-based courses and giving employees far greater freedom to navigate their own learning journeys.

2. Microlearning moves center stage

Today’s post-pandemic workforce is confidently embracing remote learning opportunities such as virtual classrooms, as well as video-based resources that make learning easy to access and digest.

This has spurred a huge surge in demand for bite-sized learning content, together with related ‘Amazon-style’ recommendations tied to a specific job role or set of skills.

Enabling learners to adopt a fluid approach to choosing what topics they want to tackle, when, and at what pace, microlearning enables organizations to support continuous learning that allows employees to receive the right content at the right time.

From quizzes and games to action-led content that enable users to focus on their job more effectively, microlearning for skills development and on-the-job support will be a key corporate learning practice in 2022.

3. Learning will be seen as a journey, not a destination

In 2022, employers must redefine what learning is – it’s not just a phase in an employee’s development, it’s a continuous journey.

As the business climate evolves, there is an opportunity to manage each individual’s lifecycle, providing employees with an effective, engaging, and personalized learning and development for growth.

Organizations must also acknowledge how each stage of the spectrum of learning is critical to the health of the company.

From protecting the organization and employees through training to ensure compliance, increasing employee retention and engagement in a world of skill gaps, to future-proofing the organization through continuous development.

I expect more organizations will utilize a broad spectrum of learning to increase learner engagement and retention over the next year – in a positive move away from the traditional use of training as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for skills building.

4. The rise of learner created content

Ideal for providing video how-to’s and best practice video roleplays, microlearning videos are proving an engaging format for learners – particularly videos created by learners, for learners.

As a result, there will be increased demand for applications like TikTok and Instagram Reels that allow learners to create microlearning videos and share their own learning across the company.

Indeed, given the engagement uptick with this format of social sharing and amplification, more enterprises will actively look to offer a TikTok-style enterprise learning experience. Aragon Research expects that by the close of 2024, 40% of enterprises will have deployed their own version of TikTok for the enterprise.

With the corporate learning strategy key to improving enterprise performance and employee engagement, organizations everywhere will need to focus their efforts on keeping abreast with these key trends that will be key to embedding the continuous learning that boosts productivity and retention.