It was only going to be a matter of time for the Coronavirus outbreak to lead to our schools and universities closing in the UK and while some businesses are able to instruct a proportion of employees to work from home, I wonder whether we will see an increased demand in e-learning and m-learning over the coming months.

According to data published by the ONS, approximately 5 million people worked regularly from home before the crisis and this figure likely to accelerate further after COVID-19 passes, so how can we ensure our employees are more motivated and productive?  Having worked remotely for the past few years and adopted many of the digital tools, I find I’m free from the stress of commuting -  and enjoy working more flexibly - which benefits the environment.

We’ve certainly witnessed an upsurge of enquiries for advice on different webinar platforms. After many false dawns, we might finally see this tipping point leading to a real change and desire to embrace digital distance learning. Some of the past concerns to adoption are no longer relevant today – investment costs are lower, mix of different medium to choose from, a variety of proven technology options, improved broadband and mobile connectivity and decision-makers are less risk adverse to digital solutions.  

Increasingly, employees are also more comfortable, and confident using work-based digital and learning tools, to support their development and daily tasks. Some even believe face-2-face training or attending a conference is more disruptive and inconvenient to their normal patterns of work. As more and more conferences and events are postponed over the coming days, we are sure to see more enquiries about alternative digital solutions such as webinars and video conference tools.

Once the current COVID-19 crisis passes will things return to ‘normal’?  Or will we experience sustained increase in learning content going onto LMS platforms as E or M learning?  

From a personal perspective, I surely access further online references when working from home than when I’m in the office. You can access additional insights or thoughts from just one click, rather than writing an email or message to colleagues who may or may not understand the issue. When we develop our digital learning content, we endeavour to integrate a rich mix of internal and external content – podcasts, white papers, case studies, mobile film clips etc. – we want it feeling real and fresh.

We’ve just completed an online marketing and sales academy, and are now in the process of converting part of the programme into 15 languages. We believe the Client and its remote workers will mainly benefit from:

• Flexible access points for different mobile / PC devices
• Highly convenient for workers who can study when it suits them best
• Introduce relevant examples / scenarios from your own workplace, market or territory
• Self / team driven
• Provide additional support from colleagues, coaches or mentors
• Measurable, giving them valuable and constructive feedback
• Open and can help to foster a stronger community / culture

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be keeping a close eye on my Son, as he adjusts to learning away from the school classroom, as most of his lessons will be accessed from Microsoft Teams.  It will hopefully ensure he’s safe and continues to help him develop and understand how we can adjust to a changing world.