Potential Impact of Training Technologies in the Post-COVID-19 World

Photo credit: Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

As I begin this article, I must apologize to all readers. I should have published this content at least two months ago. But I suppose I became afflicted with “sheltered-in-place” syndrome, the tendency toward procrastination and mismanagement of time and activity due to lockdowns, remote working, and any number of possible unexpected factors due to the current pandemic-related trends. 

At any rate, I would like to contribute to the continuing trend in training specifically and related processes due to the so-called “new normal.” I will really try to avoid the current clichés during this writing. I hope to address a number of considerations, though briefly and from my current professional and personal perspectives:

• The current reality
• The growing trend toward online and digital learning alternatives
• The importance of sound instructional design practices and processes
• The importance of good selection criteria for digital training vendors
• Challenges and opportunities in the online training landscape

Background – Sort of . . .

In preparing for this article, I thought to reference an earlier – much earlier – article that I had published: Siddiq, Ibrahim (1999). User Considerations for Interactive Multimedia Training Projects. Performance Improvement Journal, Volume38, Issue10, 29-33. It has been so long that the article is now archived, but you can still find the reference with a good Google search. 

I had written that article as a result of my experience dealing with different vendors and consultants while we were exploring the potential to convert classroom-based training content to interactive multimedia. Mind you, this was the time of laser discs, multiple, non-compatible formats, DOS or Windows based authoring software, and a host of other technical challenges, including the high cost of development at that time. Also, my article focused the need of organizations to have some idea of what they wanted to do before having conversations with vendors and consultants. This would help the client organization have some level of control over the initial understanding as well as the outcome of the project, which in those days could have become a major endeavor. 

Current Reality

In my role as a professional coach, an important topic to discuss with any client would be to identify or define the current reality. This is also part of the G-R-O-W model that many professional coaches will use during the coaching process to help clients move through their goals. G-R-O-W stands for

• Goal
• Reality
• Options / Obstacles
• Way Forward

You can find variations to the G-R-O-W model if you are interested, however this is not the primary objective of this article. We can discuss coaching and its impact in future conversations. If you want to know more about G-R-O-W, Wikipedia has a pretty good basic description. Another interesting article, with examples is, “What is the GROW Coaching Model? (incl. Questions + Examples).”

So . . . what is our current reality?

Well, the major impact has been the slow-down, or stoppage of many organizational processes due to COVID-19 related restrictions put in place to try to help contain the spread of the pandemic that has swept the world affecting all societies regardless of their economic or political position in the global landscape. Over the past four to five months, government and private sectors, all levels of education, and commercial enterprises were forced to restructure basic processes and activities due to the rapid spread of the virus and ease and speed of infection among people.  Health services and personnel have been taxed to their operational limits with new cases and the need for equipment, medication, and protocols to stop the spread of the virus, not only among patients, and more importantly among the selfless health care professionals and support staff who braved this health crisis since the beginning. 

Appreciation and gratitude to our front line health care workers and first responders!

Because of the slowdown in business and other operations, organizational budgets have been reduced in efforts to sustain workforce availability and maintain some level of operational and corporate continuity. This trend has posed challenges across the corporate and operational landscape. Some sectors have been affected more than others. For example, the commercial airline industry, where I currently work, has been impacted for so many angles: 

• Revision of operational regulations and compliance guidelines
• Passenger and staff screening and treatment protocols
• Equipment integrity
• New processes for air travel and cabin services and procedures

Indeed any sector that involves direct interaction with the public has been affected. Restaurants have closed; social and physical distancing protocols have been implemented; new processes for customer and client impact have been introduced across all sectors. Have you noticed the face protectors and partitions in your supermarkets lately?

These are just a few examples of the rapid changes that took place over the past few months as governments and societies have come to grips and tried to manage the so-called “new normal.” 

So what does training have to do with all this? 

The Growing Trend toward Online and Digital Learning Alternatives

As I had mentioned above, my first effort in discussing technology based training was back in 1999. So, the discussion about using technology in learning and teaching is not a new subject. This discussion has been alive since the eighties when the first discussions about computer based teaching and learning gained attention and momentum . . . and a bit of initial resistance (think the need for change management). 

In the current landscape, the Internet and web-based technology have played important and significant roles in advancing learning options across sectors. New methodologies have sprung up to not only meet the need for continuous learning, but also, and just as importantly, the need to provide learning opportunities in a way to help manage time and expense. 

• We now witness the growing impact of MOOC (massive open online courses) offered by a plethora of learning institutions around the world. 
• We now witness the ever-evolving impact of web-based training and learning with its variations on the theme, such as blended learning, self-learning, etc.
• We now witness the rise in micro-learning, where learners can access appropriate content in small, essential chunks to help them manage time and other work-related tasks. 

In all this development, and in light of the current reality described above, as well as potential other developments as the world slowly regains momentum after the end of the pandemic, a unique growth opportunity has opened for training companies, consultants, and technology providers. Training managers now receive continuing emails and correspondence presenting new learning methods, tools, software, services, and what have you to help meet continuing training demands and requirements, which actually did not stop just because the virus decided to take a tour around the world. 

There have been major players in the techno-training landscape even before the pandemic. These major players – we can all identify many of them – have good position and momentum in providing services and options for organizations to help meet their needs. Also, some organizations are making use of current technologies usually used for online meetings in a manner to introduce at least some content in a training context. Zoom and Microsoft Teams, though designed more specifically for web meetings and collaboration, have drawn more attention as possible platforms to deliver training content.

The Importance of Sound Instructional Design Practices and Processes

For corporate and workforce productivity development, online delivery could be very useful for some applications. However, in an operational environment, end-users will need to meet not online content specific requirements, but more importantly regulatory guidelines that are established by state regulators or the technical industry that oversees organization operations and standards.

In the airline industry, for example, there are standards set by state regulators that airlines must meet to be able to continue their operational approvals. Pilots and cabin crew must also meet continuing licensing and safety guidelines, especially in light of new passenger service and screening guidelines presented by state regulators and endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). Maintenance and ground operations staff also need continuing training and re-training to stay up-to-date to maintain their operational licenses or to meet new developments in aircraft or airport processes.

Regardless of the specific training requirement, or the selected delivery method, training providers and organizations will still need to apply proven and consistent instructional design and training development standards and processes. This one fact is even more critical as more and more products and services become available for review, trial testing, or implementation. 

Training professionals are mostly aware of the essential elements of training design and development, so I will just list them here:

• Analysis of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to perform job functions and processes
• Identification of target learners, their characteristics, their work environment, etc.
• Defining measurable or observable objectives and methods to assess success
• Development of appropriate content
• Design of the content in useable segments that meet learner needs
• Testing and delivery of the content
• Evaluating the development process and impact on learning and performance

The above elements are evident throughout the training world, and most if not all organizations will apply some form of the above in their development processes. It doesn’t matter if the organization will use an external provider or depend on internal training staff. The above principles form a mainstay of training development. 

The Importance of Good Selection Criteria for Digital Training Vendors

Given the principles mentioned above, it then becomes important to ensure that vendors of the new technologies can demonstrate how they apply those principles to the services and products that they present. For the most part, training providers, and end-users would have to have to consider at least the following elements:

• Extent of the vendor experience in development / delivery of alternative training solutions
• Appropriateness of content to specific job functions
• Learning record keeping and management of results
• Registration of learners
• Security to ensure learner identity as well as content integrity, especially testing and assessment
• Cost-effectiveness of development
• Ease and stability of online delivery
• Ease of adaptability into the current training infrastructure

Other considerations would have to be considered as the many training providers tune their marketing strategy to attract more interest in online training alternatives for businesses and organizations. 

At the same time, training management and internal training staff must be diligent in screening and verifying the claims that vendors make when presenting their solutions. It is also important to remember that in many cases, the initial contact for a training vendor might be a marketing representative rather than a training development specialist. While the marketing representative might have all the features and benefits mapped out, he or she might not necessarily have answers to the questions of standards, methodology and design processes that end-users will need to know in order to make the best decisions possible, or to convince executives or purchasing departments of the practical rationale for specific costs. It will be critical to know what you want before discussing with any vendor. In general, vendors will assume that you don't know what you want or what you really need, and banking on this assumption, they will be poised to try to offer you a solution that might not necessarily meet your needs. If they are not listening to you, then it might be better to thank them for their visit and respond with the proverbial, "We'll get back with you after internal consultation" reply.

Ideally, there should be some trail period where the software or service can be tested. This will be very important if the product is a development platform that can be manipulated to hold or present content to meet specific internal requirements. It is also important to consider that not all training can be delivered online. Therefore a blended or partially classroom offering might still be warranted. 

Challenges and Opportunities in the Online Training Landscape

One challenge is to ensure that the training technology will meet specific training requirements and performance needs. This can be more easily applied and observed in so-called soft skills training where the focus is on areas of personal or professional productivity. 

However, when technical training is involved, the need for hands-on and actual work process learning becomes more important. For example, CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) training in many cases will require the use of the practice mannequin so learners begin to get the feel for chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, if still applicable. Engine maintenance training must require hands-on practice to identify and trouble shoot engine areas and execute repair processes. Health care staff undergo rigorous training with hands-on practice where needed. While some simulated training might be presented through technology delivery – either live online or through some computer based application – there would still need to be some verification of practice to ensure correct learning. 

This poses a challenge for regulatory guidelines that in general based their approvals on the demonstration of observable practice. However, in some cases, where access to learning applications is available, regulatory agencies might be able to render some form of conditional acceptance to allow training to proceed, especially in the current circumstances. 

Another challenge is the acceptance and willingness of training professionals to adapt to the new technologies. Back in the 1980s, when computer-based training was first introduced, many teachers and learning professionals had initially opposed the new technologies. One reason was the opposition to the intrusion in the classroom, and another reason was the sheer fear of new technology and the reluctance to learn (again read change management). 

In the current circumstances, training professionals may need to adapt to increasing introduction of new technologies not only to meet immediate training needs, but also to adapt to possible new financial and fiscal policies with regard to external training and purchasing agreements. Online and technology based training is not, and probably never will be a cure-all. However, the trend toward new technology will continue, not just because of global circumstances, but also because of the rate of information distribution around the world. Classroom training will always be needed and warranted. The additional of, or inter-connectivity with technology should allow for even greater and more effective opportunities for training, learning, and collaboration in performance. This should lead to greater productivity and efficiency in organizations. 

Conclusion

This article is not meant to state a position in any direction. Training professionals have always had a wide variety of opinions and attitudes as to what would work and how training should be handled. A lot will continue to depend on establishing standards, and staying flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances.  The bottom line is always to ensure the best in productivity to support the organization and operations in the most efficient manner and at the best cost possible.