5 Learning & Development Predictions for 2023

In this chaotic, unpredictable labor market, one thing remains certain: Learning and development is critical to any chance of continued success. Companies that have lost employees to resignations or layoffs will need to rely on the skills of their remaining employees. And thriving companies need to do everything they can to support the development of employees they want to keep. 

Career development is so important that a recent McKinsey & Company report found the top reason workers quit their jobs was a lack of career development and advancement. This came in well ahead of other reasons people chose to quit, including lack of meaningful work or workplace flexibility. 

To help employees reach their full potential, L&D teams need to constantly evolve and grow. But what does that look like for the year ahead? We asked five L&D thought leaders to weigh in and here are their predictions for 2023: 

1. Training will increasingly occur in a virtual space 

Virtual reality — once the purview of science fiction novels and Hollywood blockbusters — is now becoming, well, a reality for L&D. “I think we will see a greater uptake of VR, AR, and XR [extended reality] as the tools become more familiar, more advanced, and more commonly used,” says Cat Ward, vice president of employer mobilization at Jobs for the Future. 

Already, Accenture trains its new recruits in the metaverse, and Walmart has used VR for several years to prepare workers for the crush of Black Friday and to assess employees’ skills for middle-management positions. Google, Amazon, and Target are using VR to advance their DEI trainings. 

The technology is making such inroads that 46% of L&D professionals surveyed by CGS Inc. last year said they plan to adopt AR, VR, or MR (mixed reality) into learning, training, and collaboration programs — and 14% have already started.

2. L&D will shift more toward bite-sized content 

When employees need to learn something, they want to do it quickly, which is partly a reflection of our shrinking attention spans. That’s why L&D will increasingly look like YouTube or even TikTok: Employees who have to learn something (say, how to upload a video to Slack) will turn to short tutorials. The effectiveness of these bite-sized lessons can be outsized: Research shows that microlearning can improve retention by as much as 80% and engagement by 50%. 

The tech recruiting company Austin International is ahead of the curve on this one. “Instead of populating our new learning experience platform with an abundance of e-learning content,” says Amy Williams, Austin’s head of performance development, “we are working with subject matter experts within our business to put together 3-to-10-minute snapshots.” These microlessons offer guidance on everything from how to overcome perfectionism to how to manage your time as a new leader.

3. Hybrid workplaces will lean into community-based learning 

People often learn best when they learn together. But in remote or hybrid workplaces, keeping learners engaged and connected can be a challenge. That’s why Tiffany Poeppelman, director of career development at LinkedIn, predicts that companies will lean more and more into community-based learning. 

Community-based learning blends online learning (which could include a virtual instructor) with social features, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. Here’s how it works: The learning occurs together or asynchronously, and then learners follow up or continue learning through chat or online groups. “With the work environment continuously evolving post-COVID,” Tiffany says, “this is a way to foster more cohesion, collaboration, and learning across employees.” 

The idea has caught on enough already that in the U.K. three-quarters of L&D professionals surveyed by LinkedIn say that community-based learning is more important for their business today than before the pandemic. What’s more, 84% believe that it improves engagement, while 94% believe that when teams learn together, they are more successful. 

4. Leadership training will get an overhaul

In many companies, leadership development programs may be old, limited, or in need of an upgrade — especially in light of how much the workplace has changed over the past few years. That’s why Josh Bersin, founder and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, believes 2023 will be “a good time to refresh these programs.” He suggests that L&D teams meet now with senior executives and revisit leadership training models to adapt to “the new world of hybrid work, productivity, and flattened organizations.”

Josh cautions that there could be a lot of pressure by higher-ups to reduce costs and improve output, but that L&D shouldn’t “let that get in the way of your real, values-based leadership strategy.” L&D teams can also point to a recent Deloitte survey, in which nearly half of respondents said their organization’s leaders are overwhelmed and struggling to identify what they should prioritize in the new world of work. What’s more, only 23% said they believe their leaders have the capacity to lead through today’s disruptions. 

5. Multigenerational management skills will take center stage

There’s never been greater age diversity in the workplace than there is now, with four and sometimes even five generations working side by side. That’s good for business — according to AARP, 83% of global leaders believe multigenerational teams are key to growth and long-term success. But it can also lead to miscommunication and differing expectations. 

“Multigenerational management skills are becoming a big topic as leaders profess that they find it very difficult to understand the younger generations,” says Crystal Lim-Lange, CEO and founder of Forest Wolf, a professional training company. Crystal adds that leaders are struggling to understand the quiet quitting trend and differing attitudes toward work-life boundaries. Because of this, she believes that L&D will increasingly tailor training and certification programs to reflect diverse experiences, while also giving managers the communication skills they need to build strong multigenerational teams. 

Final thoughts 

We hope these predictions help your teams evolve and grow. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the past few years, however, it’s that none of us truly know what lies ahead. But by staying ahead of the curve and moving in the right direction, you’re more likely to ace L&D in 2023.

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