The need for Learning & Development has been felt all the more by organizations, after they moved to the remote working culture, forced by the pandemic lockdown. This blog explains how L&D can help to make a smoother transition.

When the pandemic started in early 2020 and the Government enforced lockdown to contain the spreading of the deadly COVID-19 virus, work shifted temporarily to work from home mode. Most management felt that this is just a passing phase and things would be back to normal in a few weeks. However, despite one year into the lockdown, most of the workforce continues to work from home, with no immediate end in sight.

As the need for remote work continues, companies are increasingly recognizing that the “business as usual” activities they had planned to put off until the pandemic was over cannot be delayed indefinitely. Instead, companies need to adapt to the “new normal” and find ways to address ongoing business needs in a remote workplace.

While remote work has not become the focal concern for organizations of every industry globally, there is a manner in which it can be implemented in the long run, for which some keys have to be considered before rolling out your remote workplace learning program.

Remote culture – Fad or future?

Remote work was already gaining traction much before the pandemic started, with 50% of the US workforce conducting compatible telework to some extent and approximately 40% of the workforce already working remotely at some frequency, according to Global Workplace Analytics. When organized and supported properly, remote work can lead to increased productivity, significant savings in terms of time and cost, as well as happier and safer employees.

New tools and technology make it easier than ever to connect and collaborate from various locations or to even conduct business entirely online. While not all job functions can be rolled out digitally, it is certainly not impossible to incorporate projects and activities for remote work.

Remote eLearning – The future of Professional L&D

Fortunately, Learning & Development is one of the critical business functions that can be managed almost entirely remotely in many industries.Implementing a digital training program provides you with a flexible and sustainable solution that can keep employees engaged, productive, and continuously learning not only during times of transition but as your organization scales and business needs evolve in the years to come.

Although recreating the experience of Instructor-Led sessions in a digital environment can be challenging, it is certainly not impossible. You just need to keep certain points in mind before rolling out your remote workplace learning program, some of which are as follows:

1- Your current learning ecosystem
2- Whom is this learning for? Define your audience
3- Your eLearning Content Toolbox
4- Supporting Your L&D Team
5- Planning for long-term distance learning practices

Conclusion: Learning & Development plays a very important role in this shift of working style to remote working propelled by the pandemic so that the workforce can have a smooth transition with minimum