Enterprise live learning in 2023: 16 predictions from the Electives team

Work life has never been more complicated, and the jobs of human resources and people operations professionals have never been more stressful. According to a Gartner report, “HR leaders face a historic amount of disruption, and their timeline from planning to action keeps shrinking while the imperatives increase.” The Gartner report defined these five top HR priorities going into next year:

• Leader and manager effectiveness
• Organizational design and change management
• Employee experience
• Recruiting
• Future of work

Here’s a look at 16 ways the Electives team believes enterprise live learning will support HR priorities in 2023.

Enterprise live learning will support leader and manager effectiveness in 2023.

In its report, Gartner notes that “today’s work environment requires leaders to be more authentic, empathetic and adaptive” leading to a new call for “human leadership.” Especially as younger generations join the workforce, leaders are recognizing that employees want to be seen as people, not cogs.

Here’s what we predict when it comes to leader and manager effectiveness in 2023:

1. Learning will be democratized across the organization.

Too often, the who, what, when, how and why of corporate learning is decided at the top, with little input from the people who are the actual learners. In 2023, we see this changing, with employees having more opportunity to share what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. Throughout the year, L&D leaders will collect more data on learning interests, and that data will drive their learning strategies and execution practices.

2. Difficult conversations and effective feedback will be top priorities in manager training.

Being a people leader is very different from being an individual contributor – especially when it comes to giving feedback, sometimes to people who were recently peers. Training on how to provide constructive feedback and have difficult conversations while leading with empathy and humanity will be taught more frequently in 2023 as part of new manager training, with regular reinforcement training for all people leaders.

3. Empathetic and inclusive leadership classes will be more often requested by business leaders.

The old way is out, and many business leaders are realizing they need some help learning how to be more empathetic and inclusive. Classes on topics like active listening, authenticity and empathetic leadership will be more frequently requested and attended by business leaders who are self aware.

Enterprise live learning will support organizational design and change management in 2023.

We’ve all gotten used to change, but that doesn’t mean we like change. Whether it’s tied to internal circumstances, like workforce reduction or acquisitions, or external forces, including civil unrest and the economy, business leaders are continuing to deal with the ramifications of change – and how their people react to change.

Here’s what we predict for organizational design and change management in 2023:

4. Learning & development (L&D) leaders will shift from being “content creators” to become “content strategists.”

For years, L&D leaders have had to do it all, but that’s about to change. At Electives, we believe L&D leaders are starting to realize they cannot do all the strategy and all the execution all of the time. We predict L&D leaders will increasingly focus on developing the strategy while partnering with external content and expertise.

5. The creator economy will enhance the corporate training market.

Corporate training is often conducted by corporate trainers and less often by people currently doing the job. But the creator economy has the power to change that dynamic. We predict people who historically have never taught enterprise live learning will be discovered with data used to improve instructor vetting, matching and outcomes. As a result, more people will be learning from “doers” with recent experience than ever before.

6. Live learning will become more targeted to support unique needs and circumstances.

Subsets of people within companies will engage in live learning to support specific circumstances, with the content, the audience and the learning format customized to meet their needs.

Enterprise live learning will support companies that prioritize employee experience in 2023.

Employee experience is a broad term that covers everything from career pathing to culture, and HR leaders seem to be responsible for making sure all of it is buttoned up, yet fun and encouraging.

Here’s what we predict with regard to employee experience in 2023:

7. Employee experience and learning will intersect.

For many employees, learning is an asynchronous process in which they learn on their own schedules without creating employee connections. But, with the focus on employee experience in 2023, we see enterprise live learning taking center stage as a medium to connect employees, letting them grow together.

8. Employees will take more live classes with peers from other companies than ever before.

For generations, the majority of corporate training has been either internal to the company or asynchronous, without opportunities to form peer-to-peer connections. In 2023, we expect to see more employees enrolled in live classes that bring them together with peers from other companies for learning, connections, networking and growth. Peer-to-peer learning opportunities will result in employee experiences that incorporate new ways of thinking, new innovations and new ways to solve problems, learned from peers that have done it before somewhere else

Enterprise live learning will support recruitment (and retention) in 2023.

Recruitment – and retention – have been hot topics for the past few years, and we suspect this will not change any time soon. Gartner recognizes three specific recruitment strategies that are needed in 2023: building an intelligence-based sourcing capability, creating an equitable internal labor market and building onboarding for engagement. Based on partner conversations, we’ve also realized a need for equitable and bias-free (or at least bias-reduced) hiring and retention practices.

Here’s what we predict with regard to recruitment and retention in 2023:

9. Enterprise live learning will be a differentiator.

Live learning will increasingly be the centerpiece of employee development plans, with learning supplemented by robust and ongoing wraparound resources. Job seekers will ask questions about professional development and learning opportunities, onboarding experiences and career pathing, and the companies that excel in these areas will see recruitment gains.

10. Learning opportunities will become a reason to stay at a current employer.

Because enterprise live learning will be helping teams connect and grow together, learning opportunities will begin to have a retention impact. People will stay at current employers because they feel more connected to their people, because they believe in their company's values and because they are experiencing growth opportunities – within their current jobs, future roles and in their personal lives.

11. “Cross training” will pick up steam.

Corporate training is too often focused on building role-specific skills – which means it’s not supporting internal recruitment goals. In 2023, we anticipate more companies will “cross train” their employees by giving them opportunities to learn skills that are indirectly important to their roles to prepare them for opportunities across the company.

Enterprise live learning will help define the future of work… in 2023 and beyond.

The pandemic changed the face of work practically overnight, and we’ve all been catching up since. Certainly company and industry factors impact whether companies can stay remote (completely or in part). But, no matter where and when people are working, they want to be respected and included.

Here’s what we predict with regard to the future of work:

12. Learning cultures will be aligned with modern company core values.

Company core values can be “set it and forget it” words that appear on the about page of a website or they can be guiding principles that are lived by every employee because they are brought into the employee experience. We predict more of the latter in 2023, with companies increasingly taking fresh looks at their company core values. And the companies that prioritize their people, innovation and inclusion will invest more in live learning.

13. Workplace wellbeing 3.0 will include live learning experiences.

Workplace wellbeing became more important during the worst days of the pandemic, as employees were dealing with physical and mental health challenges and employers realized the importance of helping their people prioritize themselves. Rolling into 2023, we predict companies will offer more opportunities to learn about physical health, mental health, financial wellbeing and more. HR and business leaders will execute live learning and provide tools to help employees practice work/life balance and be equipped with strategies for managing uncertainty alongside work and life demands.

14. Enterprise live learning will address proximity bias.

Especially within hybrid workplaces, proximity bias is a real risk for the future. But when it comes to live learning, proximity bias can be removed from the equation with remote or  hybrid events that allow people to learn where and when they’re most comfortable and productive. Even when instructors are live, in-person, Zoom will be leveraged to bring in remote employees – as participants, and not just listeners. And when flexible schedules make it tricky to get everyone live at the same time, live class recordings will allow everyone to experience the same content on their timelines.

15. DEI content will be strategic with an eye toward action.

As companies scrambled to get DEI programming in place, one-off speakers were often used to check a box. Moving forward, DEI programming will be more strategic, more continuous and more action oriented. Starting the conversation is important, but turning that conversation into action and results will be the objective.

16. DEI and ERG programs will require more historical data and analytics.

With ERG leaders rotating in and out and increased spend across DEI learning, company leaders will be increasingly seeking historical data and analytics to understand long-term performance and impact of DEI programs.

From inclusive leadership to holistic benefits, enterprise live learning can support initiatives that put people first. The Electives team is excited for what’s ahead, and we look forward to supporting you as you help your people grow and connect.

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