Like most “hot” topics that become drivers of change to businesses, the “Acceleration of the transformation
to digital,” which has become mainstream for most corporate functions, is now (finally) dramatically impacting the world of Talent Development. And it’s about time!
In many business functions including Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and R&D the transformation to digital has been happening for years, and it has almost become passé to speak about in terms of wonderment of the next big thing. However, for Talent Development, which always seems late to the party, COVID has become the primary catalyst for the acceleration of the greatest change in the history of the function.
Gone Forever
As we look around us and understand the new normal, we see that the way people shop and acquire supplies has been transformed through digital ecommerce. Many experts feel this has changed forever as many retailers are closing never to come back. Just this week, Godiva chocolates announced they are closing 128 stores in North America as the entire process of shopping has changed.
In the world of healthcare, the COVID disruption has also changed the distribution model of delivering healthcare forever. As patients and providers realize the benefits of telemedicine, they are using technology-based tools to both increase efficiencies and offer better care. Many professionals believe that in-person healthcare visits of the future will only be for emergencies and when there is no other choice. There are some experts who predict that because of wearable technologies and other advances, more than 50% of all healthcare will be administered remotely by 2030. The standard wait-in-the-doctors-office visit will be gone forever.
Disruption of Talent Development
The trends of ecommerce and telemedicine were happening well before COVID. Unfortunately, it took a pandemic and the inability to travel and gather in-person to accelerate the digitalization of Talent Development. As I look at the industry over the next few years, it is clear that there are elements that have been industry mainstays that will also be gone forever, only to be replaced with new technologies that will end up being better and more effective in terms of developing the skills needed to run and execute the strategies of business organizations.
Here are 10 things that I think will be transformed by the digital transformation of Talent Development:
| Gone Forever | Replaced With... |
| Stand-up, multi-day training events | Virtual learning journeys, live networking reinforcement events, curated playlists for continuous learning. |
| Lectures | Omnichannel of learning including content, business simulations, building personalized learning journals. |
| Linear mass learning that takes years | Systemic scalable learning that can be deployed in months. |
| Scheduled training events | Work/Learning/Life Balance. |
| Case studies |
Hands-on, simulated activities |
| Role Plays | AI-driven conversations with immediate best practice feedback. |
| Videos | Avatars |
| “I am the expert” |
“We are the experts” – customized best practices content and learning experiences driven by organization culture not by academic research that is not practical. |
| Participant Workbooks | Digital eBooks that are updated and used in real world application. |
| Uncomfortable, biased, non-inclusive learning environments | Safe learning environments that use technology to create psychological safety. |
In summary, the next 12 months and then the next 3 years will see the most change in Talent Development since the invention of the personal computer. This time, the industry will not be able to push it off and hide like it did in the 1990s and learners and their businesses will benefit greatly. My hope is that those of us who lead the change will come up with disruptions that are greater and more impactful than seen and experienced in other core business functions.
