Everyone has their reasons as to why working remotely works well for them. Be it finding more time to spend with family or being afforded the opportunity for longer lie-ins, there are many perks to this modern way of working.
But it has to be said that a work-from-home (WFH) setup does have its drawbacks. One in particular that may have slightly gone under the radar is it can be more difficult to stay on top of personal progression. Whether that’s because people have struggled to prioritize their time at home, or have simply had other things on, training and development has gone by the wayside for many professionals since the pandemic began.
Research suggests that it’s the younger generation who are suffering the most. 34 percent of working adults under the age of 35 revealed they’re worried about falling behind their peers regarding knowledge and professional development. And just 22 percent of people surveyed said their employer has invested in developing their professional skills during the pandemic.
With the assistance of modern technology, there is no reason why personal development should suffer as a result of a remote setup. So, with home working set to stay, what can employers do to support the progression of their workforce?
Set time aside for personal development
Finding a healthy work-life balance away from the office has been a challenge for many professionals since the pandemic transformed how millions of us work. With many people taking on greater workloads since starting to work from home, it’s become increasingly difficult to set time aside for additional training opportunities.
One of the biggest barriers to enrolling in training courses is the distraction of their core professional responsibilities, which quite rightly should come first. But dedicating a set amount of time to training in their calendars will allow workers to feel more comfortable in pushing back their regular duties for this short period and focus solely on the course.
Creating a culture that nurtures employees’ personal growth will not only help to create a more productive workforce, but it’s also more likely to help with employee retention.
Leverage technology
Even if in-person training days no longer feature in your team’s professional calendar, there are so many other ways courses or talks can be delivered. For instance, you can make the most of video conferencing to allow for collaborative learning sessions.
One key benefit of using programs such as Zoom or Google Hangouts to live stream sessions is that they can be recorded, giving anyone the opportunity to rewatch or catch up later. If these sessions are found to be useful, they can be saved and stored to be used for onboarding any future staff members, too, saving you time and money on going through the information again.
You can also encourage your team to investigate online courses to work through on their own. Whilst many online courses still cost money, you may find them far more affordable than in-person sessions.
Create a sharing culture
A common reason why people neglect training and development opportunities is due to a lack of information, be it regarding available opportunities or background around why these courses would be valuable to them. The sharing of information can be more difficult in a remote setting, where emails or messages can often get lost.
As a manager, it’s your responsibility to communicate the importance of training and personal development effectively. This could even be accompanied by a training plan or end goal of some sort to help put your staff on a clear path to personal progression.
You could also encourage your team to contribute ideas by setting up a company-wide learning board that centralizes the resources people have used. Websites such as Trello are perfect for keeping track of any resources people have shared, and they can be accessed in their own time, making it a far more flexible option than live sessions.
