The COVID-19 lockdowns began more than a year ago, forcing companies to shift everything online, including training. A year later, there’s evidence that virtual training wasn’t just passable—it actually was better.New data from NovoEd (https://www. novoed.com/) shows the impact of remote work on learning and development (L&D), based on a survey of 150 companies reporting $1 billion to $3 billion in annual revenue and across industries. The report uncovered how L&D leaders now are changing their training programs during the transition back to the office, based on how remote training was better, where it struggled, and the benefits of online learning.Key survey findings include:
- Employee training has improved, despite the remote setting. Some 54% of L&D leaders say the quality of their employee training improved during the COVID-19 pandemic while workers have been remote, and 79% of L&D leaders say virtual training actually produced better outcomes than in-person training.
- Online L&D is here for the long haul as it provides more learning opportunities for employees: More than 80% of L&D leaders expect most corporate training to remain online even after COVID-19 has ended, while 88% of L&D leaders believe the move from traditional in-person to digital delivery opens up learning opportunities to more employees.
- Collaboration between employees during training is crucial. While 62% of L&D leaders say collaboration is more difficult when training is virtual only, 95% agree that collaboration between employees is a priority during training.