Looking back at the L&D world in 2022 - and ahead to 2023

It seems like we blinked and 2022 was over. What a year! Let’s take a look at some of the biggest L&D trends we saw in 2022 and what those could look like heading into 2023 and beyond.

It pays to invest in Learning and Development

Unless you’ve spent most of 2022 living under a rock, you’ll no doubt have heard about the rising cost of living and the higher than usual degree of economic uncertainty facing both individuals and businesses.  

It’s been a scary time with many businesses looking to cut costs in whatever ways they can. Whether it be funding cuts to certain departments or even going as far as to lay off staff, many businesses have viewed these cuts as a necessary evil in order to keep afloat. 

Despite this, during 2022, 49% of businesses actually increased their L&D budgets. This is compared to 41% in 2021.  

This means that while times may feel financially uncertain, 2022 has made the value of L&D at work seem increasingly essential to the success of a business. 

It will certainly be exciting to see the benefits of this increased investment in L&D come to further fruition in 2023.

It hasn’t all been sunshine and daisies

While workplace leaders increasingly seeing the value in learning and development is certainly a win for the world of L&D and the workplace overall, employee motivation and attitudes towards learning have been their lowest in three years. 

That is one trend we definitely do not want to see continue in 2023! 

So what’s been happening to cause this and what can workplace leaders do to stop this trend in its tracks? 

It may sound obvious but in order for employees to want to participate in workplace L&D programs, they have to see real value in them. It’s not enough just to tell employees that the learning is important, they have to see evidence that it is. 

When pondering whether participation may be worth their while, employees may ask questions like: 

• How will this learning help me to do my current job better? 
• To what extent is taking time to complete learning going to take away from completing my actual job? 
• Does this learning support growth in my career? 
• What can I choose to learn about? 
• Is the learning tool provided easy to use? 
• What features does this learning have to make it enjoyable to complete? 

If workplace leaders are able to provide clear answers to these questions, they’ll likely alleviate a lot of the scepticism or uncertainty preventing employees from wanting to learn.  

Keep it convenient

For some, the word ‘convenience’ may be associated with laziness or a ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude. The world of L&D in 2022 has proved that that doesn’t have to be the case.  

While major changes to the world of work in 2020 like moving to working from home were initially made out of necessity, many of those changes have remained in 2022, to the benefit of employees. 

For instance, many companies have chosen to continue offering a hybrid work model, giving employees the option to work from home, an office or a combination of both. 

It sounds simple but allowing employees to work in a location where they feel comfortable can dramatically increase psychological safety in the workplace. As a knock-on effect, employees will be happier overall at work and therefore more likely to want to participate in activities like workplace learning. 

Going into 2023, another way workplaces can keep L&D convenient for employees is to make sure the learning tools and content are easy to access. If workplaces are unsure of the answer, they can ask themselves questions like: 

• Are clear instructions for how to access the learning tools listed somewhere that everyone in the workplace can view them? 
• How many clicks does it take from initially visiting the learning tool to actually begin participating in learning content? 
• Can participants access the learning tools from home or only on a work specific network? 
• How long will each learning component take to complete? Are there varying lengths? 

Adding convenience to workplace L&D not only makes it easier for employees to participate in that learning but also helps streamline business processes leading to increased efficiency overall.  

You’d be hard pressed to find a business that wouldn’t want more of that!  

Day to day, it may seem as though very little changes but when we look back at an entire year, the transformation is astounding. This is certainly true for the world of L&D in 2022. 

When workplaces take into account the knowledge of experience workers with the refreshing takes of those newer to the world of work, positive evolutions will no doubt continue into 2023 and beyond.  

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter and stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.