Corporate professional development is constantly evolving and changing, and it can be hard to keep up. Let's look at a few of the latest trends in corporate development this year:

Speed

The desire for speed and having needs met on demand is usually attributed to millennials, but the truth is most of us expect a certain level of speed these days. We don't want to wait six weeks to take a professional development course - we want to take it now. Employees are beginning to expect on-demand courses instead of scheduled ones. The good news is that this can actually be easier on companies. Instead of having a few trainings a year, you can create a digital training lesson and have it available on-demand. (Not sure how to do it on your own? There are companies who can help.)

Customization

In addition to wanting everything faster, we tend to prefer things that have been customized for us. While one-size-fits-all training used to be preferred, employees expect training that meets their needs. And this is truly a better format for employees and companies. There's no need for an employee to sit through training on a task they never need to perform - that's wasting their time and your money. Instead, create custom learning programs designed for specific roles and departments. 

This isn't as daunting as it sounds. Create shorter and specific trainings for a company-wide learning library and custom learning programs can be created from that pre-made content. No need to recreate the wheel every time.  

Mobile Learning

People are constantly on the go in their personal and professional lives. Offering training courses that are available via mobile technology makes it easier than ever to help your employees stay on top of their professional development. This can mean offering mobile-friendly sites for online learning platforms (like what we offer with our on-demand courses) or developing mobile-specific content. If you're creating training specifically for mobile learning, consider using microcontent like short videos, easy to understand charts and graphs, audio files, and chat features. This microcontent should be written so users can quickly and easily absorb the information. 

Overall Development

More and more companies are offering training on more than tasks or responsibilities. They're also offering training on leadership, empathy, and wellness. Investing in your employee as a whole person, not just a worker bee, sends the message that your company truly cares about them and their overall wellbeing. You get better employees who are more invested in your company - and better and their jobs. 

While all of these trends could be beneficial to your company, you don't have to implement them all at once. And you don't have to do it alone! Partnering with an online learning platform like Illumeo to keep things easy for you and your company.