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We thought we’d lend a helping hand to your new year’s learning journey by examining the foundational skills you’ll need in 2022. Whether you’re learning as a New Year’s resolution, to upskill at work, or just for the sheer love of knowledge, there are a few essential skills that you’ll need to succeed this year. 

We’ll start by analysing an in-depth report by McKinsey, which outlines the skills we will all require in the future world of work, before honing in on the importance of digital literacy, understanding biases, and adaptability as key skills for the year ahead. 

In recent years, there has been plenty of discussion about how to develop ‘future-proof’ skills. That is, skills that will be in constant demand, surviving any technological or workplace evolutions. The thirst for future-proof skills is understandable, given some estimates show that 37% of workers are worried about losing their jobs due to automation.

For context, the World Economic Forum finds that 71% of total task-hours are currently completed by humans, compared to 29% of total task-hours completed by machines. However, if current trends continue, these numbers are expected to shift to just 58% of total task-hours completed by humans and 42% completed by machines within four years.

Perhaps most alarmingly, McKinsey believes that by 2030 “375 million workers — or roughly 14% of the global workforce — may need to switch occupational categories as digitisation, automation, and advances in artificial intelligence disrupt the world of work.” 

Accordingly, many employees have focused their upskilling efforts on developing foundational, future-proof skills. A recent report by McKinsey sought to define the skills citizens will need in the future world of work by identifying these foundational skills Following a survey of more than 18,000 people in 15 countries, they landed on 56 ‘distinct elements of talent’ (DELTAs) that will shape the future world of work. They then divided these DELTAs into four categories: Cognitive, Interpersonal, Self-leadership, and Digital. 

According to McKinsey’s report, these DELTAs are vital to the future of work because “these skills showed that higher proficiency in them is already associated with a higher likelihood of employment, higher incomes, and job satisfaction.” Examples of DELTAs include resolving conflicts, collaboration, digital learning, empathy, self-confidence, data literacy, active listening, and many more. 

You can read the full report, including all 56 DELTAs, here. However, we have identified the top three foundational skills from McKinsey’s DELTAs that stand above the rest in their importance to the future of work. 

According to McKinsey’s analysis, digital literacy is “the ability to handle digital data, use popular software, access digital services, and interact with AI…individuals regularly use the internet, access services digitally, use popular software, and understand that online activity creates data that others can use.” Notably, McKinsey also found that the digital literacy DELTA had the highest correlation to education.

We’ve discussed digital literacy extensively in the past, but it’s worth reemphasising how significant digital literacy will be as a foundational skill for many years to come. Given the sheer volume of new technologies we are now exposed to at work — from video conferencing and chat tools to word processors, AI, clouds, and everything in between — a foundational level of digital literacy is imperative to thrive in the future world of work[1] . Without a working understanding of digital literacy, many employees are likely to be left behind as new technological trends continue to arrive at breakneck speeds and the demand for digital skills grows exponentially. 

Despite this, many teams have not yet taken action to improve their digital literacy. For instance, 39% of L&D teams say they are overwhelmed and under-equipped due to the pace of technological change. More alarmingly, ​​digital literacy expert Elizabeth Marsh recently found that 88% of organisations have not taken any action to address their employees’ lack of digital skills. Given this, while digital literacy is clearly in demand, many people still lack this skill, making it a key area of focus in 2022.  

For more insights on the importance of digital literacy, be sure to read our blog on ​​Steps to improve your team's digital literacy. 

Understanding implicit and explicit bias is fundamental to creating a healthy and productive workplace culture. According to McKinsey’s research, people who understand biases are 10% more likely to have higher job satisfaction[2] . They define the ‘understanding biases’ DELTA as “individuals are aware of biases in their thinking and can usually ensure they do not impair their thought processes and decisions.”

Examples of unconscious workplace biases are pervasive. For example, research shows that candidates with stereotypically ‘foreign-sounding’ names receive 50% fewer interview callbacks. Similarly, in America, 15% of the male population are taller than 6 foot. Yet, 60% of corporate CEOs are 6 feet or taller. Finally, a study by Yale University found that a group of male and female scientists, who were all trained to be objective, were more likely to hire men, consider men more competent than women, and pay men $4,000 more per year than women. 

As such, biases influence almost every aspect of workplace culture — whether we realise it or not. Often, these biases cause us to make unconscious judgments. While overcoming bias is not a straightforward process, it is necessary to foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces.  

Behavioural scientist Dr Pragya Agarwal offers insightful advice on acknowledging and overcoming biases. She explains, “the more we talk openly about our biases — individual, interpersonal, and systemic — the more it helps...as does having more conversations involving different communities.”

For more insights on understanding biases, be sure to read our article on Unlearning unconscious biases in L&D. 

Adaptability and coping with uncertainty 

It should be no surprise that these two skills are in particularly high demand in 2022. Given the challenges of the pandemic, adaptability and coping with uncertainty are now non-negotiable skills. This trend shows no signs of slowing down in 2022, meaning adaptability and coping with uncertainty will continue to be essential foundational skills in the future world of work.

In fact, according to McKinsey’s research, adaptability and coping with uncertainty are the two highest indicators of employability. Respondents with a high level of adaptability were 24% more likely to be employed, while respondents who scored highly in the 'coping with uncertainty' DELTA were 18% more likely to be employed. Notably, ‘self-motivation and wellness’ was the DELTA with the highest indicator of job satisfaction. Respondents who scored highly in this category were 23% more likely to be satisfied with their jobs.

Further research demonstrates how important adaptability is in the modern workplace. According to PWC, 63% of CEOs are unable to find talent that can adapt to the requirements of the business. Likewise, Barclays Lifeskills finds that 60% of employers believe adaptability has become more important this decade than ever before. Despite this, only 8% of employers actively offer adaptability training. What's more, just 15% of people list adaptability as a skill on their CV.

As such, there is a significant disconnect between the skills employers crave and the skills that many employees are currently developing. If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that adaptability is now one of the few constants in life. Therefore, adaptability and coping with uncertainty are vital foundational skills to hone in 2022. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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A new year often brings new learning opportunities. Given we’re all about lifelong learning at Go1, there is no more exciting time of year. Hopefully, you’re entering 2022 feeling refreshed, relaxed, and rejuvenated, meaning you’re in the perfect headspace to learn new skills and approach new challenges.

The foundational skills you’ll need in 2022

A new year often brings new learning opportunities. Given we’re all about lifelong learning at Go1, there is no more exciting time of year. Hopefully, you’re entering 2022 feeling refreshed, relaxed, and rejuvenated, meaning you’re in the perfect headspace to learn new skills and approach new challenges. 

The relationship between learning and memory is incredibly close and intertwined. It is almost impossible for an individual to truly learn something without also having the memory to retain what they have learned. 

In episode 22 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, we are joined by Learning Scientist Lauren Waldman and Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr Elliott Jardin to talk about learning and memory, the operational function of our brains, and how understanding humans in the workplace can translate into more effective learning design. 

Check out some of our favourite highlights below.  

The complicated relationship between stress and memory 

When it comes to memory, there are plenty of studies that show us that stress is not a bad thing when it comes to learning memory encoding. It's the level and how much we can take however that has become a hot topic, especially as we find ourselves adjusting to this new world of work.  

So, how much stress is good, and how much stress is bad? And, is there a particular threshold that people pass where it starts to become detrimental to their ability to memorise, learn and retain information? Dr Jardin dives deeper into this below. 

The complicated relationship between stress and memory

The importance of learning about our brains 

So how does knowing about our brains help us as learning professionals - and everyday humans for that matter?  

Having a baseline understanding of our own cognitive resources allows us to not only be more aware and understanding of the limitations of those around us but enables us to help to protect them as well.  

For those who are responsible for designing learning, it gives a higher awareness of what can be done in the design itself to make it more operationally functional for the people who are on the other side of the screen or sitting at the other side of the desk, as Lauren explains below. 

The importance of learning about our brains

The value of sleep when it comes to learning 

One of the biggest preparations for your brain to learn is giving your brain adequate rest.  

Research suggests that the quantity and quality of sleep have a profound impact on learning and memory. So whether it's connecting different ideas or different types of motor learning, the importance of sleep really can't be overstated, as Dr Jardin explains below. 

The value of sleep when it comes to learning

When you learn something new, the best way to remember it is to sleep on it. 

In our daily lives, we're constantly bombarded by stimuli all around us. These are noises, colours, scents and much much more. With everything around us, there is only so much we can pay attention to at any one time. We need to be strategic about what we focus our cognitive energy on so that we can prime our brains to be in the best position for learning. This can be assisted through the practice of mindfulness. 

Mindfulness as a tool for the brain

If you haven’t already, listen to the full podcast here to learn more. 

We look forward to continuing the rest of the series with L&D professionals already scheduled to join us from Italy, Cyprus, Eqypt, Oman, Finland, The Netherlands, Australia, USA and many more. Stay tuned!  

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D. And hear how other organisations are navigating through this ever-evolving landscape. 

Episode 22 of the Learning with Go1 podcast is now live! Joining us is Learning Scientist Lauren Waldman and Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr Elliott Jardin to discuss the importance of preparing your brain for learning.

The importance of preparing your brain for learning with Lauren Waldman and Dr Elliott Jardin 

Episode 22 of the Learning with Go1 podcast is now live! Joining us is Learning Scientist Lauren Waldman and Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr Elliott Jardin to discuss the importance of preparing your brain for learning. 

The importance of preparing your brain for learning 

We all know by now that consistent learning and development is essential for just about every industry. What may be less obvious is how to best carry out this learning to ensure participants are getting the most out of it. What are some techniques that L&D leaders in all industries can bring to their learners and how can we help learners to then apply those techniques in their everyday work?

In episode 21 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, Lars Ruud, Global Learning and Development Partner with Wilhelmsen Group, joins our host Craig Hamill to discuss effective implementation and maintenance of workplace L&D strategies. 

Throughout the podcast, they share insights into their personal experience with how L&D leaders can create a learning culture that keeps participants coming back through specific techniques. They also discuss how these techniques not only help with learning but with the implementation of that learning in participants' work outside of the training.

Check out some of our favourite highlights from the podcast below.

What are the benefits of digital training?

One of the biggest changes to workplaces all over the world in recent years has been an increase in digital communication. More than just emails, workplaces are now turning to instant messaging and video conference platforms as a major means of communication, whether it be for day to day tasks or training.

In this section of the podcast, Lars goes into detail about how conducting training digitally can help eliminate some of the inefficiencies that can often occur when attempting to gather people from all over the world for training.

The benefits of digital training

It's a no brainer that when we are excited about a task that we are more likely to be motivated to complete that task. Lars provides insight into how we can harness technology to help bring excitement and emotion to digital training and therefore provide more benefits for the participants. Craig then shares how people that work in L&D are often very passionate about what they do and if they are able to relay that passion to the workforce, "we're on to a winner".

Excitement as a motivator

How do you know when you've achieved success?

We've mentioned before that L&D is something that is essential for just about every industry; it can therefore seem difficult to measure the success of L&D in a way that's as universally applicable as possible. Lars discusses this challenge and how determining this success is often easier in industries like sales where success is measurable through statistics.

"When it comes to the salespeople success stories, we have people who have officially come out and said, hey, I tried this and I finally closed the sale. And that's something that's really very powerful in terms of helping other people see that maybe I need to do something different. Maybe I need to try something new."

If you haven’t already, listen to the full podcast here to learn more.

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D and hear how other organisations are navigating this ever-evolving landscape.  

Episode 21 of the Learning with Go1 podcast is now live! Joining us is Lars Ruud, Global L&D Partner with Wilhelmsen Group, to discuss creating and maintaining an effective learning culture.

Creating and maintaining an effective learning culture

By highlighting content gaps and areas where we want to fill out our offering, we hope to influence your roadmaps for the year ahead and position you strongly within our library!

The big headlines: Customers want language options. The more the better. As Go1 becomes increasingly global, our customers want European and Middle Eastern languages on top of English. Additionally, having courses discoverable in foreign languages through the search function is a strong preference. Though having language options through a dropdown menu function is also great.

Having multiple language options for courses drives consumption for customers with a global workforce, which are typically larger in size, and it extends your content’s reach to new markets.

The top five languages in demand from North American customers are: Spanish, Canadian French, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. For Europe, they are: French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and German.

In terms of topic areas, based on an internal survey of our Account Executives and Customer Success Managers in the US, UK, and Australia, this is what we’ve learned:

*Language Learning is in greater demand from our EMEA markets while Anti-Harassment trainings are requested more in the US.

We also see requests for courses in Coding, Smartsheets, Autocad Civil 3D, Forex, and Web Development (software applications such as Maven, TeamCity, ELM and Grafana). Finally, related to DE&I, we also have demand for Allyship and Intersectionality as topics.

Beneath the headlines: There is a strong demand for continuing education credits, as well as course certifications embedded in your SCORM files where appropriate. These credits are particularly important for medical, nursing and health sector customers. For the US, OSHA certified is also sought after.

Harassment trainings are widely requested and having these courses reflect specific business and industry settings enhances our ability to service different verticals. For instance, a sexual harassment training with video that is set in an office environment is of little interest to customers servicing construction-site based workers.

For leadership courses, there is a demand for subtopics like giving feedback, conducting a performance review, and being a first-time manager. There is also a strong demand for these courses to showcase actors in business-casual, rather than formal business attire. Business suits, for instance, do not reflect many of our prospects’ workforce, especially in the Covid-era. Retail, pharma, and healthcare are just some verticals where these content requests are coming from.

For Finance/FinTech courses: there is a need for non-banking compliance, high quality general finance, and interactive content that brings the topic to life. Many finance-related customers and prospects do not specifically need banking content but rather more generalized courses.

For 2022: We plan to build on the insights here and available to you in your dashboard. We are currently surveying partners to better understand what is important for you, and we will be making modifications in the year ahead to deepen the value you get from being in the Go1 family of content partners.

In the meantime, Happy New Year from Go1 Content Partner Success!

As we move into 2022, Go1's Content Partner Success Team share some topline insights from our enterprise prospects and customers.

2022 Insights for Content Partners!

As we move into 2022, the Content Partner Success Team wants to share some topline insights from our enterprise prospects and customers, as well as internal Go1 stakeholders. 

For many professionals, the start of a new year is the perfect time to map out career growth and development plans. We look ahead and seek out learning or re-skilling opportunities while considering how our current employer lines up with our own career plans.  

If an organization wants to retain its best employees, this is the time to align with each team member's plans for growth.  

When an organization focuses on recognizing and developing in-house talent, they have a competitive advantage. Creating solid (and personalized) leadership pathways for employees is no simple set and forget task, but rather requires collaborative and invested participants and programs.  

Deloitte recently emphasized the need to seek to apply rigorous, structured, scientific approaches to succession planning and development, aiming to identify potential leaders earlier and fast-track them into leadership positions. 

With successful leadership pathways in place, an organization attracts many positive impacts, three of which are highlighted here, Retention, Diversity, and Engagement. 

A lack of career development has consistently been a leading reason employees quit. The Work Institute reported it as the primary reason people left for a consecutive nine years up to 2019 and Deloitte’s 2020 Talent Report identified it as the main reason respondents begin searching for new employment.  

A staggering 87% of millennials also cite access to professional development as being very important to their decision to stay or go in their current jobs. Considering millennials now make up the largest generation group of employees in the U.S., whatever is crucial to them should be considered crucial to any organizations wishing to retain them.  

This isn’t a case of ‘promote anyone who is considering leaving’, but rather a longer-term involvement in each employee’s career progression plans, then mapped against clear leadership pathways.  

Much of this will often fall on direct managers, and their ability to hold regular conversations around career and learning goals. These conversations are then best supported by larger learning and development, mentoring and internal recruitment structures.  

Developing a diverse leadership cohort in-house has widespread positive organizational impacts, from engagement and innovation to employee feelings of belonging and inclusion.  

Unfortunately, many barriers remain in place to encouraging leadership equity within an organization. Namely, a lack of mentors and role models, stereotyping and preconceptions of roles and abilities and exclusion from informal networks of communication have all been identified as significant barriers to career advancement for women and people of color.  

Even within companies with diversity plans in place, there is often bias and stigma affecting career progression. 88% of surveyed diversity and inclusion managers see bias in their organization’s career development and promotions.  

This identifies a need for structured and empathetic pathways that support career progression for current staff of diverse or traditionally marginalized backgrounds. This goes hand in hand with any external recruitment's diversity plans, and together help address the attraction, retention and development of a more diverse workforce and leadership panel. 

The American Psychological Association notes that the identification and development of diverse talent is a critical intervention to the chance that women and people of color will find work environments inclusive, fair and be willing to stay and progress.  

In 2017, Gallup research found that only 33% of American workers were engaged at work, with another 52% just showing up and 17% describing themselves as actively disengaged. Scary numbers to say the least.  

Boosting your employee's engagement will always be a complex and ongoing process, as was discussed in a recent webinar where Go1’s David Hastings was joined by Lauren Waldman, Chief Learning Scientist, and Alex Bailey, CEO of Bailey & French. You can catch up on the recorded version of this insightful webinar here.  

Two of the greatest impacts on employee engagement, as identified by Quantum Workplace research, are: 

The leaders of the organization value people as their most important resource 

The organization makes investments to make employees more successful 

When employees see their future selves prioritized at work, they show up more authentically and engaged. Your investment in each employee’s career says a lot about your culture, fostering trust and increased innovation within teams. 

Wharton similarly state that employees want to be invested in. Providing formal growth opportunities shows that you value your people. 

So, as many of your employees consider their future career progression, ensure your organization has suitable leadership pathway structures in place. You will retain and develop more engaged, diverse and innovative employees and will stabilize future organizational growth with established leaders.  

For more insights into training and developing your workforce, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter. Or you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

You may also like to read, L&D's role in addressing the Great Resignation.  

What happens when organizations choose to focus on developing leaders in-house.

Finding organizational magic in leadership pathways

2021 has been a year like no other. Not just for the Learning with Go1 Podcast, but for the entire world. We have seen and experienced so much this year in the world of L&D, so how can you recap a year like 2021? 

Well, if we take a look back at the catalogue of podcast episodes released in 2021, you may notice many similar themes running through them. From hybrid learning to upskilling & reskilling to closing the skills gap, there are many commonalities between our various guests who have shared their perspectives on how the L&D industry has evolved over the last 18 months. 

If you're ready to take a trip down memory lane and explore some of the best bits from the Learning with Go1 archive, keep on reading below!

What is hybrid learning and what's its impact on L&D? 

In this episode of the series, Craig was joined by the founders of Quantum Rise Talent Group, Erica Farmer and Hayley Bird, to talk about how hybrid learning can drive digital transformation. 

As businesses look to adopt new approaches to workplace learning with varying degrees of flexibility, hybrid learning allows L&D teams to rise above and reshape their learning experiences, as Erica explains below.  

How can hybrid learning drive digital transformation?

The skills gap is increasing faster than we are educating people  

As the flow of work changes, learning will change with it. David Blake, former CEO & Cofounder, now Executive Chairman of Degreed joined us to discuss whether universities need to do more to support the lifelong career of their students.  
 

The need for lifelong learning

In this episode, Global Head of Learning Design & Technologies Josh Novelle, joined us to discuss the experience and challenges of launching digital learning for the first time.  

L&D calls for people who challenge the status quo, who can dig deep to get to the root of a problem and understand it to its core. This requires a skill that is not often thought about but is essential when it comes to building a successful L&D strategy - and that is, curiosity. 

Listen as Josh explains the growing role of curiosity in L&D below.   

Developing a practice of curiosity

What skills do L&D teams need to succeed? 

With the evolution of technology, organisations are starting to diverge in the way they operate. The skills that were once needed may not be as relevant anymore, and we’re seeing a shift of focus onto developing future ready skills so that L&D teams can stay up-to-date.  

In Episode 12, Head of Learning & Development at Vitality, Seb Tindall discussed the skills L&D teams need to deliver high performing L&D programmes in 2021 and beyond. 
 

Are your team's L&D skills still relevant?

The future of skills and learning technology 

Only 1% of L&D believe learning will go back to what it was before the pandemic. 

Considering this, Fosway's David Perring came on to discuss how L&D can choose the right digital learning solutions and get more involved in directing the talent development of their organisation, as well as measuring learning success with increased data points. 

Measuring the success of L&D

We’d like to give a huge thanks to our amazing guests this year for helping us make this podcast happen. And to our listeners for your support and overwhelmingly positive encouragement and feedback. We will be back next year to continue the conversation about how other organisations are navigating through this ever-evolving landscape of L&D.

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D. While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe!  

2021 has been a year like no other. If you're ready to take a trip down memory lane and explore some of the best bits from the Learning with Go1 podcast, keep on reading...

Learning with Go1 Podcast - taking a look back at 2021  

Professional development is not only beneficial to your employees, it also has many advantages for your business overall. By boosting the professional skills of your people, you help them achieve their career goals and enable them to provide a better service to your customers and clients.

There are many factors that go into being a good employer, and one particularly important aspect is professional development. But what is professional development, and how can you ensure you’re allowing your employees to learn, grow, and achieve job satisfaction?

Professional development can take several forms, but all have the same purpose: to offer employees training and development to upskill them, increase their confidence, and keep on top of ever changing technology and business landscapes.

With the right professional development training, it will help your people to: