How Technological Advancements are Changing Workplace Training

The modern landscape of today is defined by technology. Various fields like manufacturing, medicine, and even education are all experiencing paradigm shifts in the way their practices are being planned and put into action. The emergence of automation and artificial intelligence have created a lot of opportunities for various industries in the same way that they have created losses for those same industries.

The technological revolution has now transformed the landscape of the workplace. More and more companies are shifting towards fully digitalizing their work processes in the near future. Skills related to artificial intelligence and machine learning have become a priority for many employers. What this also means is that the traditional methods for workplace training are slowly becoming obsolete.

At the moment, companies will have to invest in new tools and practices for educating their employees. These new technologies, for sure, will have a considerable impact along the lines of human resources and training and development.

Changing the Way We Train

Because of how fast-paced the advancements in technology are nowadays, businesses will need to adopt more efficient methods of nurturing their employees. In the workplace, the kind of learning that is conducted in training new hires is experiential. In other words, training comes in the form of hands-on activities where new hires know what it's like to handle a tool or piece of equipment. 

Sure enough, this preference for experiential training has opened up numerous opportunities for businesses to enhance their training modules. Using specific programs and tools, they can provide better guidance on certain tasks that require technical knowledge and, thus, reduce risks.

Utilizing technology in workplace training is a change that most companies should welcome with open arms. Augmented reality in education has the potential to replace slideshow presentations and other printed materials that can quickly become outdated. Furthermore, augmented reality is less expensive and can help new employees acquire the needed skills before they are deployed to the real world. Surgeons, for instance, can use this technology to hone their skills for complex procedures such as lobotomies and cystectomies.

Continuous Learning in the Workplace

It has been a known practice for employers to replace employees who have challenges in keeping up with new staff that have more technologically relevant skill sets and competencies. Over the course of time, employers have since learned that constantly replacing workers for fresher and more skilled ones is a costly move for the business. From sourcing potential employees to training them for the work they will be doing, the costs slowly add up over time.

Currently, organizations are rolling out continuous learning and improvement programs that help employees acquire new skill sets. For example, many businesses in the B2B industry are now implementing online sales training to help their salespeople learn the skills that will help them deal with their target audiences. This would involve handling different CRM tools and data management platforms that can help streamline lead generation and appointment setting.

Through these re-skilling programs, employees are able to keep up with the demands that their industry requires while employers are able to retain valuable labor and reduce the negative impact that replacing employees can have to the business.

The Need to Upskill

The advent of artificial intelligence has created a significant challenge on the part of employees. No doubt, experts across several key industries — engineering, finance, and healthcare, among others — are seeing many tasks that could be handled by robots and virtual assistants. A large portion of the world's workforce are expected to be displaced as companies begin to realize the value of investing in AI. 

Interestingly, AI will not merely displace employees in these industries. It will also bring numerous opportunities for businesses to optimize the way they train new people. As new tools are becoming increasingly accessible over time, employees will have to acquire new skills or nurture existing ones. The value of personnel will no doubt depend on how well they can adapt to the climate of digital transformation.

The Future of Workplace Training

Apart from the changes in learning that are occurring in the workplace, it is important to take note of the impact technology has on the future of training. Currently, a hybridized form of learning is slowly becoming the normal method of teaching in most training environments, especially in the workplace. 

Blended learning is a form of learning that combines traditional face-to-face teaching with electronic and online media such as videos, self-paced online modules, and digital aids. For sure, this will prove to be an advantage, especially now that businesses are beginning to accept the "work-from-home" culture that many employees have started to advocate for. As freelancing steadily rises, companies will have to update their tools to better train their own corps of freelancers in handling specific processes. 

This is further proof that while advancements in technology are phasing out outdated methods and structures, they are also creating new pathways to propel the world forward. The workplace will have no other path to take.