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How can companies ensure they stay on the right track when it comes to building learning strategies for our current situation?

COVID-19 Calls for Learning Strategy Tweaks

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies world over are suddenly witnessing unprecedented times. The workforce, especially the leadership is called upon to be agile and quickly adapt to new realities.

Everyone, from the top to the bottom rungs is working from home. Such an arrangement was unimaginable, in normal times. In the past, several companies have prohibited work from home arrangements citing regulatory or privacy reasons. But in order to keep the show running, additional measures such as data security precautions, reliance on digital platforms, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity, have been pushed to the forefront.

So, what does this mean for learning? How can companies realign their learning strategies to fit the current situation? To answer this question, we must consider the employees’ current realities vis-à-vis pre-pandemic days. We must consider their psychological state, their physical wellbeing, and their surroundings. We must also consider how they spend their time given that they aren’t working in a formal setting now. Based on these factors we can draw relations to how learning is impacted and what needs to be altered in order to cater to the changing realities.

Changing Reality	Learning Strategy Tweak
Pre-COVID Mind space was free of the fear of contracting a virus Current Situation Mind space is continuously occupied by thoughts about COVID-19 Result Reduced attention spans; distracted mind	Prioritize inclusion of short (1-minute videos, infographics) that can be sent over an email to quell health and psychological fears
Pre-COVID Free to move within the city/town or even across borders Current Situation Confined to the home Result Availability of time due to no prospect/client visits	Increase upskilling and reskilling training plans for employees, especially the sales team; there is no better time than downtime for training
Pre-COVID Traveled to work Current Situation Confined to the home Result Availability of time due to the lack of factory/site visits	Leverage virtual reality/augmented reality modules if already created; if not, then budget such modalities as a risk mitigation strategy for times such as COVID-19
Pre-COVID Had dedicated workstation Current Situation May or may not have a dedicated space to work at home Result Cannot dedicate continuous periods of time without distraction	Increase mobile learning interventions; push short bits of learning that can be consumed over mobile devices because such devices have become an integral part of every second of our lives
Pre-COVID Work timings were defined Current Situation Although the timing is still defined, many tend to spread their work tasks over a longer duration to accommodate domestic chores Result Cannot dedicate continuous periods of time without distraction	Increase mobile learning interventions; push short bits of learning that can be consumed over mobile devices because such devices have become an integral part of every second of our lives
Pre-COVID Everyone in the immediate surrounding environment was committed only toward office work Current Situation The immediate environment could have family members with no-work related commitments Result Cannot dedicate continuous periods of time without distraction	Increase mobile learning interventions; push short bits of learning that can be consumed over mobile devices because such devices have become an integral part of every second of our lives
Pre-COVID Colleagues could meet and discuss in person Current Situation Colleagues have no option but to meet virtually Result Only virtual classroom	Increase use of video conferencing tools; encourage job shadowing, collaboration, and mentoring activities; such activities will address the social networking needs and keep colleagues motivated

Overall, there will have to be a shift in the learning delivery mechanism. Companies will have to factor in scenarios where learning happens completely online in short spurts. Increased virtual learning sessions will have to not just aim at increasing competencies and bettering skills, but also on addressing mental health issues if any, making the employees feel secure, and keeping them engaged.

The importance of learning is and will always be critical. And therefore, pandemic or no pandemic, learning interventions will still have to be rolled out; learning strategies will still have to be executed. However, the current reality of employees calls for keeping the learning strategy agile and dynamic, at least until we come out of the lockdown situation.

– By Vidyut Sonde, Director – Instructional Design at MPS Interactive Systems

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Building Learning Strategies for our New Reality

Building Learning Strategies for our New Reality

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