Recently, I had the opportunity to revisit some of the top L&D trends that we predicted for 2022 with my colleague, the brilliant, Naomi Titleman Colla. If you missed it, you can watch the replay here. (And be sure to download our 2022 trends report here.) As with all these conversations, it’s hard to distil down 3 key takeaways, but here’s what I’ve been thinking about since our chat.
1. You’re going to get hybrid wrong, so get over it.
When it comes to figuring out new ways of working with people in different places than their cubicles, an experimental attitude is the right one to take. Trying things out, keeping what works and redesigning (in collaboration with your team) what doesn’t will help organizations find the right balance. But remember, to have a hybrid workplace strategy, you first have to get people comfortable and wanting to return to the office. Many organizations are leap frogging over that issue and moving too quickly to mandates which are fuelling talk of ‘quiet quitting.’ Which leads to the next point…
2. The big resignation and quiet quitting are indicators of bigger issues.
For executive teams, it’s critical to focus on rebalancing the conversations between results and people. If the pendulum in your organization has swung too far towards results expect to see employees doubling down on boundaries. And, if you’re organization has created too much of a people-centric culture at the expense of the organization (it can happen), conversations about results may need to be amplified. And speaking of results,
3. Relentless prioritization will be the winning strategy for 2023.
The 1980s mantra of doing more with less is going to give way to do less better. Simplification and focus will be the rallying cry for leaders seeking to deliver results while keeping the mental health and engagement of people at the forefront. Where can you eliminate 50 page power point decks, reduce complexity and cut out the clutter? A great book to help you with thinking about this that I read this past year was Essentialism by Greg McKeown.
Stay tuned for our 2023 L&D trends report which will be dropping in early January. To get an advanced copy, click here to join our HR Exchange community. You’ll receive special invitations to webinars and advance notice on trends and articles of interest on a sporadic basis over the year.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear your observations and trends that you’re seeing starting to emerge. Reach out to me any time.
