Three lessons to pickup from 2021 to boost workforce competitiveness

During the pandemic, several businesses underwent significant transformations. On the one hand, it stalled businesses in some areas, but on the other, it accelerated the acceptance of unfathomable levels of change and technology. Some strategies failed miserably during these abrupt changes and transformations, while others functioned brilliantly. More than anything else, there was a substantial shift in the learning and development of leaders’ strategic thinking.

While we all anxiously await the end of the pandemic era, we must seize the opportunity to reflect on some significant lessons that need to be learned. Here are three lessons you can learn from 2021 trends to help leaders build a power-packed and competitive team in the workplace:

1.Beyond efficiency and productivity, the corporate sector needs metrics.

As we have approached 2022, it’s become critical to keep track of how long it takes employees and teams to become completely productive in various roles across the company. Implementing a comprehensive methodology organization-wide or across chosen departments to assess and baseline time to the workforce’s competency in key tasks is an essential aspect of this approach. Then, in order to reduce that time, systems and tactics must be implemented. By doing so, you gain a significant competitive edge.

Understanding the workforce’s previous and current performance to deliver business-specific results, the average time it takes to achieve that performance, and a business-driven aim to reduce that time are all required for measuring time to proficiency.

2.  Speed remains an unrivaled competitive weapon.

Traditional L&D tactics proved ineffective in offering the same value to consumers when the pandemic struck. A majority of businesses implemented new technologies, processes, and ways of working. It became necessary to move quickly.

This year, the competition will be fiercer than ever before, and new solutions will be in high demand. To stay ahead of the competition, leaders will need to prioritize speed in employee development as a critical strategy. To keep up with the pace of their business, employees will need to be enabled and prepared to grasp new skills. Employees’ expertise in new skills, technologies, solutions, and situations will need to be developed at a much faster rate, which will result in long-term benefits.

3. An integrated ecosystem succeeds separate initiatives.

When a crisis arises, employees frequently seek assistance from their immediate colleagues. They require basic coaching for some issues and specialized instruction for others. Some challenges can be remedied by utilizing what the organization already has, while others require technological automation.

We now understand that individuals require support from a variety of sources, including managers, peers, coaches, technology, subject matter experts, and the work environment altogether. To create a speed-enabling environment, all of these factors must function harmoniously.

Given the degree of transformation certain lessons have created, many of the lessons learned in 2021 are here to stay. Organizations must acknowledge that the speed with which employees develop remains an unrivaled competitive weapon in the aftermath of a pandemic. However, in order to attain that speed, companies should think far beyond conventional L&D initiatives. It’s time to take advantage of the entire ecosystem surrounding any given professional obligations.