What will Covid-19 change for L&D?
Corona virus is changing the world. It has made us follow a ‘social distancing’ exactly the way earth and other planets are used to following with the Sun. The governments all over the world are busy creating economic packages to help us come out of this stalemate. Whatever be the outcome, one thing is sure, we are going into a recession. How will it impact you and your L&D?
The recession is going to kill many businesses but those who are going to re-evaluate their operations and build a capability to deliver the new value will be able to thrive.
To be honest the world will now be classified as Pre-Corona and Post-Corona.
The Post-Corona world, will have new ways of delivering value. L&D of course will play a major role here because they are going to be the architects of institutionalising this change.
But L&D will have to sharpen their axe. Old ways of learning will not work in these tougher times.
L&D has to follow a new theme. Output/Input : L&D has to deliver more output with a lesser input in everything they do.
Here are the challenges your L&D is going to face in brief:
1) Output : Right Trainings to Right People
Whatever trainings you plan, must be focused with a specific output from defined audience. Each and every training that you deliver has to be measured. Gone are the days when trainings were treated like a ‘good day off’.
2) Input : with lesser cost
The recession is going to demand you spend much lesser to get a good ROI. You need to adapt to online learning for the same. In addition to that the Post Corona world will be about WFH : Work From Home. Online learning is going to help you there as well.
3) More number of trainings
As your organisation prepares for re-evaluating the operations, you need to design and deliver more number of trainings in lesser time. This can be due to the need to prepare your organisation for a completely new positioning, new offering, a new organisation structure, a new way of working with WFH.
4) Employee Engagement
This is going to be a major challenge you will face. You employees are already fed up with the lock down and whatever you promise they are going to feel insecurity from inside. Inevitable pay freezes are going to add to their woes. In addition to excessive WFH will keep them dis-engaged.
In the midst of all this, how are you going to engage you employees. The answer of course is not simple and definitely NOT generic. It is specific to your organisation, culture. Keep a tab on it and use it to the fullest to minimise the disengagement at least.
5) Undesired Attrition
In these testing times, your organisation does not want to lose the best of the talent. Already you will be left with the BEST of the talent as you might have to let go talent due to recessionary pressures, and to add to your woes loosing talent which is required will not do good to the organisation.
6) Growing Protectionism
Technology brought the world closer but the Corona pandemic is now increasing the distance. Unfortunalely the social distancing is going to increase its spread to the countries, politics and mainly economics as well. This is, of course, going to favour a few of the countries. You need to assess the impact this is going to bring on your industry and organisation and accordingly plan your strategies.
Conclusion :
To summarize, When the going is good no one looks at L&D. But when going gets tough, everything changes and L&D gets a chance to prove its worth. If this opportunity is tapped properly, it will help your organization survive and so will you. No rocket science here, L&D simply needs to deliver more output with a lesser input in everything they do. Yes everything they do.
