Understanding how COVID-19 changed the training model for large organizations
Latitude CG collaborated with Brandon Hall Group to conduct research on the effect COVID-19 has had on the extended enterprise training environment.
Quite often, when discussing the nature and speed of business change, thought leaders compare large organizations to cruise ships that cannot quickly change course when required. But in speaking to some large OEM and franchise organizations, it turns out these companies can and do adjust quickly when necessary.
For both large and small organizations, a consistent theme was that they were impressed with how fast they could adjust and pivot, though they would deviate from standard practices to maintain the training missions. In essence, many training functions were dragging the organization along, saying that these changes needed to occur if the company wanted to keep doing what it needs to do.
| Despite the pandemic, they were able to keep people trained & certified. Companies that did adapt indicated they had never seen their training teams change as quickly as they did to address the demands created by the pandemic. |
For example, one major automotive OEM said that in the beginning, they shut down their technician training centers and were immediately uncertain how to move forward. But the technical trainers worked out their own solution.
They used cameras and their technical knowledge to create WebEx training sessions for the technicians, allowing them to continue with training. The organization picked up the momentum and leveraged existing technology to grow the program.
The interviews found that 95% of the organizations adapted their training programs to address the impacts of COVID. The few that didn’t were hampered by the physical limitations of their training — large equipment and machines. Three-quarters of these companies adapted immediately, getting back to being operational within two to three months of shutting down. For half of the companies that adapted, a big reason was they already had initiatives and pilots in place for digital and virtual learning, so they were able to accelerate those programs to meet the needs of the new environment.
More importantly, though, is that half of these companies said they were able to continue their training without any impact or delay from their normal programs.
A PDF version of this series installment can be accessed here.
What's Next?
When discussing the nature and speed of business change, thought leaders compare large organizations to cruise ships that cannot quickly change course when required. But in speaking to some large OEM and franchise organizations, it turns out these companies can and do adjust quickly when necessary.
Look out for the part 3 in The Covid Interruption Series posting soon to the Connection Blog.
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