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The world has undergone rapid change in the past few decades. Skillsets often become outdated as we gain new ones. We expect learners of today to learn and enhance their skills constantly. With some organizations forced to turn to remote work quickly and others forced to make radical changes to protect their workforce and customers from the pandemic outbreak, employee training and development went unnoticed in 2020. In order to build and maintain a positive workplace environment, continuous employee training and development must be a priority for every organization. 

A high-quality employee training program is vital for both your business objectives and for retaining a dedicated workforce. Until one and a half years ago, nobody would have believed that education and employee training in the future would be conducted remotely and online. And yet, here we are in 2021, surprisingly capable of handling remote training seamlessly. Before the pandemic, companies and educational institutions were examining and developing eLearning on their terms. These new trends have now become the norm in this remote work era. 

eLearning is well suited to today's "always-connected" remote world because it offers several advantages to learners and organizations alike. There's no denying eLearning's popularity has exploded over the past decade, regardless of your level of expertise. 

Before we dive deep into the top eLearning trends, let discuss how remote employee training became the need of the hour. 

Employee training in the new normal of remote work

As remote work becomes the new norm, organizations can access a pool of talented and qualified employees and enhance productivity and retention rates. Remote work encourages employees to perform better and allows them to maintain an improved work-life balance. Today, training remote employees have become a more critical aspect of the business. It is because continuous learning is a key element of a healthy work environment. 

Due to this, many companies and educational organizations have been pivoting to adopt remote training methods even though they are prepared for these sudden shifts. And it has become important for organizations to organize effective and proper employee training and development sessions as it keeps the workforce motivated and empowers them to use their skills smarter. There's a growing trend towards developing employees in a diverse manner rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. It involves designing learning paths specifically tailored to each employee's current as well as future position. 

If you're reading this, it's clear that corporate training is crucial for keeping employees engaged and competitive. This article will look at eLearning, its benefits and top corporate eLearning trends that will be the driving force behind the successful future of employee training. 

What is eLearning?

eLearning refers to the delivery of education and training via the internet or any other digital resources. eLearning refers to the delivery of education and training via the internet or any other digital resources. Despite its formalized roots, eLearning is done through electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones connected to the internet. You can use various techniques in an e-learning course: audio and video recordings, presentations, quizzes, surveys, games, discussion groups, etc. It enables learners' easy access to the training whenever and wherever they want without much hassle. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the entire world on alert, helping to spur the demand for eLearning platforms. The pandemic has also transformed the class room-textbooks mode of learning into remote learning - e-books. 

eLearning for Employee Training

Integrating eLearning into your organization is a great idea, as it is advantageous to employees as well as employers. eLearning provides valuable communication and real engagement in today's remote employee training world through excellent course design and engaging content. In addition to keeping your employees updated on company policies, you can use many eLearning methods to help your employees gain product knowledge. Employee training is often used for numerous reasons, such as onboarding new employees and enhancing overall employee performance. A learning management system (LMS) boosts the efficiency of employee training by formalizing it. eLearning, as compared with traditional training, promotes knowledge more effectively and instills an eLearning culture. 

The main advantage of eLearning methods over conventional training is that they save time and money. Moreover, it removes distance-related constraints helping you to provide effective training to your workforce in remote locations in a standardized and structured way. 

Here are the top benefits of eLearning for employees. 

• Convenient and flexible access
  
  
• Cost-effective method
  
  
• Saves time and effort
  
  
• Advanced learning with multimedia features
  
  
• Programs tailored to the user needs
  
  
• Enhance performances and productivity
  
  
• Independent and self-paced learning experience
  
  
• An interactive and collaborative strategy
  
  
• Consistent and standard training
  
  
• Results that can be measured and reported
  
  
• Ensure on-time feedback to both team leaders and team members.
  
  

Now let's look at the eLearning trends that will rule in 2021 and beyond. 

Top E-Learning Trends Shaping the Future of Employee Training

There is no doubt that eLearning is at the top of the innovation curve, as learning is a central component of everyday work-life. The research of Global Market Insights states that the global eLearning marketplace is predicted to reach USD 1 trillion by 2027. 

To enhance the learning experience of employees and students, multinational companies and educational institutes use multimedia training, video conferencing platforms, and eLearning solutions. Thus, collaborative platforms like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom and Slack are rapidly gaining traction among schools and businesses. The report of Guide2Research says that the eLearning trend is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.1% between 2018 and 2026. 

The following are a few ways that organizations can incorporate eLearning into their corporate training programs: 

1) Virtual Training

There has been a strong trend towards virtual training over the past year, and it is set to continue in the future. Virtual training refers to training provided on a computer screen in a virtual atmosphere or when the learner and instructor are at different locations. In such instances, the tutor or instructor connects to the learners through video conferencing apps like Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet etc. This type of learning can also include virtual whiteboard presentations, quiz apps or wp quiz plugins.

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However, virtual learning doesn't always have to take place remotely. With virtual training, you get a lot more flexibility than conventional classroom training sessions, as it allows employees to interact with the instructor and peers, use built-in features, conduct polls, and more with real-time data.

Benefits of virtual learning

• Anytime, anywhere learning
  
  
• Execute real-time tests
  
  
• Provide immediate feedback
  
  
• Asynchronous Conversations
  
  

2) Mobile Learning or M-learning

By far, mobile learning is the most underrated and underexplored eLearning trend by companies, education institutions, and other organizations. A mobile learning platform delivers training materials or provides learning support through a mobile device such as a smartphone and tablet. Employees can engage in distance learning and communicate with their colleagues and tutor using smartphones. It does not require extra equipment or devices for learning to become more fun and engaging. The information that a learner needs can be found on smartphones.

According to the statistics of BankMyCell, the current number of mobile phone users is 4.88 billion (both smartphones and feature phones), accounting for 62.07% of the global population. Even though smartphones offer personalized and comfortable learning opportunities for learners, most companies and educational institutions have failed to develop a mobile-friendly eLearning platform. Fortunately, the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the adoption of mobile learning by organizations to continue their employee training and development strategies.

Benefits of M-learning 

• Self-driven, self-paced, and flexible
  
  
• Promote diversity in education
  
  
• Supports the learning process, rather than being a part of it.
  
  
• Smartphones are generally lighter than thick books, laptops and desktops.
  
  

3) Microlearning

Microlearning has become a hot topic in the past few years. It will remain a key part of the learning strategy for both large-scale and small-scale companies. Microlearning is collaborative learning in bite-sized digital content delivered in texts, images, videos, quizzes, games, etc., within three to five minutes.

According to the report of SHIFT, employees often forget about 50%-80% of things they learned soon after the training event. This will affect the overall performance of the workforce and eventually affect the business ROI. That's where microlearning comes in.

Microlearning is a quick, effective and cost-effective learning approach that focuses on overcoming the learner's forgetfulness curve as it concentrates on covering one topic per module, making it easier for learners to retain information. RPS research indicates that microlearning helps enhance focus and long-term retention by 80%.

Since microlearning contents are accessible on any electronic device, including smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets, etc., it is more prevalent in corporate training. Today, most companies have started adopting this eLearning trend like never before to train their employees during the onboarding process.

Benefits of Microlearning

• Cost-effective and easy to implement
  
  
• Effectively improves knowledge retention
  
  
• It makes learning more engaging
  
  
• Fill skill gaps
  
  
• Anytime, anywhere and on any device learning
  
  
• Boost employee engagement and productivity
  
  Read More: Here are five reasons why microlearning improves employee training and performance
  
  

4) Gamification

Though the concept of gamification sounds like a simple one, it can generate notable results for an organization. In eLearning, gamification refers to integrating game design elements into a non-game context. Research conducted by the University of Colorado found that gamification of learning elevated users' performance on factual and skill-based learning assessments. The study also states that gamification in the workplace boosted employee retention as well.

This eLearning trend allows organizations to create employee training more engaging and powerful. In addition to learning something new, employees become more comfortable executing duties with ease, resulting in them performing the best while on the job.

5) Social Learning

Social learning is a cost-effective learning approach for companies to help their workforce develop necessary skills. Social learning methods use advanced technologies to connect people and promote knowledge sharing outside of traditional training programs. In recent years, social learning has become a popular form of learning in organizations.

As the ongoing pandemic and remote work have decreased the possibility of direct observation, employees can still benefit from group discussions and content creation. In social learning, learners and trainers share things such as forums, chat rooms, and files. There is no doubt that this eLearning trend is the need of the hour in this unprecedented time because of its efficiency.

Benefits of Social Learning

• Less time required to learn a topic
  
  
• Better retention of knowledge
  
  
• Encourages teamwork
  
  

Conclusion: eLearning to boost employee engagement and adaptability

It is true that education providers and the corporate world experienced major interruptions in 2020 due to the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus. However, 2021 is a year reshaped by pandemics and remote work. 

Having a personal connection with your employer is integral to employer-employee relations. Investing in eLearning trends symbolizes that the organization is paying attention to the latest trends in employee training culture here. It is crucial that you stay up-to-date with the latest technological advancements to maintain your eLearning materials and enhance your employee experience. 

The growth of technology trends like adaptive learning (AL), artificial intelligence (ai), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are the other factors shaping eLearning. The advancements of these technologies allow businesses to adapt to the constantly evolving and exciting landscape swiftly. ' 

Undoubtedly, eLearning is a robust tool for training your remote employees. So, the above mentioned are the top eLearning trends we think will dominate the eLearning industry. No matter what trends come and go, it is sure that eLearning is here to stay. 

Let's hear what you have to say! 

Share your thoughts on other eLearning trends that will help to boost employee training during 2021 and beyond.