Welcome to this month’s edition of “What’s Trending in Learning?” This month, we’re diving into the idea of futureproofing your employees.

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and shifting market dynamics, ensuring your workforce is well-prepared to navigate new changes in skills and technology isn’t just a competitive advantage — it’s a necessity. With the rise of automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the job market is constantly evolving, and employees are tasked with continuously adapting and acquiring new skills to stay relevant.

In this edition, we’ll explore top Go1 content providers for futureproofing, courses to assign to your employees, and introduce you to new providers you can dig into today.

Here are five expert-recommended courses available on Go1 to help you futureproof your teams:

1. Business Continuity: A Cautionary Tale by Mind Tools for Business from Emerald Works (Interactive, 10 mins)

Business continuity management is concerned with how organizations guard against unforeseen disruptions. This short animated video explores what you can do to help your organization ensure it has business continuity covered.

2. ChatGPT Basics and How to Get Better Results by FutureThink (Video, 29 mins) 

Guided by senior futurist and expert Garry Golden, you'll explore the basics of ChatGPT and its impact on digital fields. Learn how to use ChatGPT effectively by creating good prompts, using plugins, and applying GPTs for your goals. Garry will also offer practical tips to improve how you use ChatGPT, solve common problems, and fully leverage its capabilities for different uses. Get ready to change how you use this powerful tool in your work!

3. How to Foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Digital Collaboration by Cegos Training (Interactive, 3 mins) 

Make digital collaboration diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Learn how to create content that’s more accessible and inclusive. By the end of this video, you’ll be able to make digital collaboration accessible, diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

4. Unlocking Innovation - Generative AI in Digital Marketing and E-Commerce by Packt (Interactive Masterclass, 8 hr 28 mins) 

This course extends into the realms of advertising, email campaigns, e-commerce, and personalized marketing with AI. Starting with an introduction to the course, you'll delve into the functionalities of ChatGPT, learn how to generate creative content ideas, develop engaging articles, and manage a content calendar. 

As the course progresses, you'll explore advanced AI tools for creating compelling visuals using DALL-E 3 and Midjourney, with insights into generating and editing visuals that enhance your marketing materials. You'll also learn to integrate AI into SEO strategies, utilizing AI-driven keyword research, building SEO bots, and creating optimized content to boost your online presence. 

You'll discover how to craft impactful ads with AI, plan and execute effective email campaigns, and enhance product listings on platforms like Amazon. Furthermore, the course will teach you to leverage AI for personalized marketing efforts, from tailored emails to custom product designs, ensuring a unique and engaging customer experience.

5. Automation: Executive Briefing by Pluralsight  (Video, 49 mins) 

In this fast-paced Executive Briefing, you’ll quickly ramp up on automation — what it means, how to think about it, and how to implement automation. 

First, we’ll begin with automation from “the bottom up” — starting with your own life and work, and expanding on those ideas to apply them to your team and organization. We’ll then dive into different types of automation — including Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Intelligent Automation and Hyperautomation. Finally, we’ll explore automation strategy, best practices and approaches. 

When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have a much better understanding of how automation can add incredible value to your team or organization.

At Go1, we’re constantly growing our content offering. From fresh content providers to returning favorites updating their offerings, here’s what’s new to Go1 in September.

LeanTech is a new Go1 Content Partner based out of Signapore. LeanTech is a cutting-edge content partner focused on empowering financial experts and driving digital transformation. They specialize in developing tech-savvy leaders and helping organizations cultivate strong digital cultures. They’ve added 201 courses, covering topics like Digital Transformation & Mindset, Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics, Cybersecurity & Customer Experience, Product Management, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, ESG & Sustainability.


OutThink has just added 1,197 new courses to Go1! Search their courses for cybersecurity and compliance topics like Anti-Fraud Awareness, Business Email Compromise, Phishing Tips, GDPR Heroes, Travel Security, and more.


Blinkist has added 281 new Blinks, available only to Go1 Premium Pro subscribers, on Personal Growth, Financial Wisdom, Productivity Strategies, Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership Development and more. At this time, these courses are only available in English.


SimonSez IT has added 261 new courses on three main topics: Microsoft Outlook Essentials, Microsoft Word 2019 Basics and Advanced Techniques, and Data Analysis with Excel. At this time, these courses are only available in English.

🇬🇧 A special notice to UK employers and workers! 🇬🇧

UK Worker Protection Act, which comes into effect in October, places a legal duty on UK employers to actively prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace. Our Content Partners are making strides in ensuring you’re following this act:

Access Group updated their Bullying and Harassment course to reflect these changes.

Bob's Business updated their course content to reflect these changes.

Me Learning will have updated content as of October 1

Three content providers that we’re loving in September

Packt helps tech professionals put software to work by distilling and sharing the practical knowledge of their peers. As an established global provider of technical learning content with over twenty years of experience, Packt delivers premium, rich content from groundbreaking authors on a wide range of emerging and popular technologies.

With a multimedia portfolio that includes thousands of books, eBooks, audiobooks, and video courses, Packt's titles have global relevance. These resources are designed to equip IT professionals with actionable knowledge, enabling them to achieve their goals, whether by gaining expertise in emerging technologies or enhancing skills in established tools.

Topic coverage: Technology, Programming & Coding, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity

5,000+ courses in Premium, some shorter videos to comprehensive courses. The catalog includes eBooks

Top Courses: Introduction to Internet of Things; Data Visualization with Python: The Complete Guide; What is IoT?

FutureThink is an award-winning skill-building company that transforms how leaders and teams work. Their groundbreaking techniques can be immediately applied to real business challenges, resulting in teams that are more productive, collaborative, and innovative.

Topic coverage: Business Skills, Communication, Leadership, People and Communication Skills, Time Management

21 courses in Premium in 7 languages (147 LOs total) ranging from 15 to 30 minutes in duration

Top courses: Choose to Simplify; Boost Daily Simplicity, Identify New Business Opportunities; Ignite Disruptive Thinking; Turn Threats into Opportunities

Mind Tools for Business from Emerald Works

Emerald Works is committed to helping individuals and organizations realize their full potential. Mind Tools for Business from Emerald Works provides on-demand performance support and learning resources designed to help people overcome workplace challenges. Their insight-led learning solutions help millions of people around the world develop essential management, leadership, and personal effectiveness skills to build happy and successful careers.

Topic coverage: Leadership & Management; Sales & Customer Service; Communication; Teamwork; Business Skills; Personal Development; Mental Health & Wellbeing; Health & Safety 

Approximately 100 courses in Premium, the majority of which are 60-minutes in duration

Top courses: Anti-Bribery 101; Five Customer Service Parables; Health & Safety 101; Data Protection 101

As we wrap up this month’s edition of "What's Trending in Learning?" we hope you’ve found valuable insights and resources to help futureproof your employees. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial in today’s dynamic world, and Go1 is here to support you every step of the way. Be sure to check out our upcoming webinars, customer stories, and blog posts for more in-depth information. Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to continuing this journey of learning and growth together.

Stay tuned for next month's edition, where we'll continue to bring you the latest trends and resources in the world of L&D.

Stay ahead of the latest skills and learning content. Sign up for our newsletter to receive valuable L&D resources and tips directly to your inbox.

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This month is all about futureproofing. Read the full article to find course recommendations and new content providers to help your employees prepare for what's to come.

What’s trending in learning? Futureproofing in September 2024

Discover the latest providers, trends, and courses to futureproof your employees and keep your workforce ahead of the curve.

Managing organizational change is a common challenge for leaders, especially in highly regulated industries like finance, manufacturing, and healthcare. Despite change being an essential piece of any thriving business and the majority of leaders needing to adapt their business every two to five years, only 34% of change initiatives succeed.

Changing regulations, while often seen as huge disruptors that upend current working habits, are essential to success. Beyond more mandatory changes, like staying up to date with regulations and compliance policies, the opportunity to learn at work can reduce employees’ rates of absenteeism.  

How can highly regulated industries make change not only a seamless part of their operations but a positive aspect of learning and organizational culture?

Challenges employees face in accepting regulatory changes

Change can be hard for anyone, but when it comes to business, evolving regulations and adopting new ways of work present a few major challenges. Common challenges include:

Lack of inclusivity: Despite 74% of leaders saying they involve employees in creating a change strategy, only 42% of employees report feeling included. When employees aren’t brought into the process of change in a thoughtful and intentional way, they can feel uncertain, frustrated, and forgotten.

Limited resources: Though change happens often, especially in highly regulated industries, many organizations struggle to provide the right resources for seamless and successful change. In fact, a recent survey of employees showed that 83% say they were not provided enough resources to adapt.

Few insights into progress: As seen in a recent study by CEB on change management, though change is crucial to success, 50% of leaders are unsure if recent organizational changes have succeeded, and 51% of employees, including managers, say their leaders don't outline clear success metrics for change. When employees can’t see their efforts materialized into tangible results, they’re unlikely to want to engage at all.

Time commitment: Employees are busy and compliance training can be lengthy. Given that, employees often procrastinate or avoid training altogether, leading to poor comprehension (from rushing through programs) and even learning bottlenecks.

Change fatigue: Employees may feel overwhelmed by the additional tasks and documentation required to comply with new regulations, leading to frustration and burnout that could be avoided. And in industries like finance, manufacturing, and healthcare — where teams are often burdened with hefty physical and mental work, too — additional training can be overwhelming.

By preparing employees with the right tools and training leaders to champion new initiatives, L&D teams can make change a positive part of learning and organizational culture.

One of the best ways to seamlessly and successfully implement change into organizational culture is through the use of the right resources and tools. 

When choosing L&D software to facilitate change, leaders should look for providers that offer an extensive range of courses and content that is regularly updated. Beyond that, organizational leaders should be selecting tools that allow for customized learning paths that align with specific regulatory changes and organizational goals. Plus, they should offer a variety of learning formats, like self-paced microlearning and interactive modules that make it easier for employees to fit training into their busy schedules.

L&D leaders should also choose software that integrates with various Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other HRIS platforms, making it easy to integrate existing workflows and systems. When your technology is streamlined, learning becomes a unified and consistent experience across the organization that prioritizes delivery and engagement.

If not built into any of these systems you choose or already work with, leaders should invest in progress-tracking and evaluation tools that allow them to monitor employee progress, completion rates, and engagement levels. Most learning software and content aggregators, like Go1, have this built in to make work easier and effective. Organizations can use the analysis tools to assess and verify all employees have completed necessary regulatory training, reducing the risk of non-compliance and keeping teams engaged.

For long-term success and buy-in amongst employees, team managers are the way in. L&D must ensure a close relationship with leaders and a comprehensive understanding of the new regulations. When leaders are well-informed and included in change management — from inception to deployment — they can confidently guide their teams through the transition. Let’s face it, teams are more likely to listen to their leads, than L&Ds who are often pushing training their way.

To build an effective workflow, L&D should provide people managers with a digital toolkit, including change management templates, checklists, and best practices. Likewise, they should supply leaders with a series of communication workshops focusing on crafting clear messages, active listening, and addressing concerns as they come up.

Making change a positive part of your organization

While change is often seen as a necessary evil in highly regulated industries, it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right strategy, change can become a positive part of any learning culture, in any industry.

While historically, regulation training is static and pretty boring, tools like quizzes, real-life simulations, and podcasts can make learning about changing regulations memorable — especially for those who struggle with traditional learning methods.

Go1 can help you through changing regulations

Adapting and learning about regulatory changes doesn’t have to result in change fatigue and employee frustration. With the right tools and strategy, you can make change an integral, successful part of your organization, while staying compliant.

Go1’s extensive collection of courses cover topics for even the most regulated industries. Your L&D teams can find coverage specific to financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, and more, all in one subscription. Find microlearning options, immersive courses, podcasts, practice labs, or even work with our team to build out a course specific to your needs. Go1 can help any organization get up to speed seamlessly and successfully.

Plus, with partnerships with over 70 LMS and HRIS systems to deliver courses directly through existing tools, highly-regulated industries can make learning an everyday, integrated part of daily operations so everyone can learn on the go.

Ready to see Go1 in action? Book a personalized demo to discover how our platform can

Struggling with change fatigue in your regulated industry? Discover how L&D can help employees adapt to new regulations, overcome challenges, and embrace change as a positive force for organizational growth.

Overcoming change fatigue in highly regulated industries

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping landscapes across industries, its integration into the development of soft skills presents both promising opportunities and intimidating challenges. We invited L&D and AI Strategist, Scott Provence, to a recent webinar where he explored the nuanced interplay between AI and soft skills, particularly focusing on communication, empathy, and leadership.

Scott delved into how AI could be leveraged to enhance these essential interpersonal skills, covering the ethical considerations of AI deployment in professional settings. Scott emphasized that human values and integrity should always support AI applications and explored how AI could be utilized responsibly to foster significant improvements in workplace dynamics and personal growth.

What were Scott's key insights on integrating AI with soft skills development? Let's look at his recommended strategies, cautions, and methods for employing this transformative technology effectively and ethically.

AI as a catalyst for soft skills enhancement

AI's role in soft skills development is becoming increasingly pivotal. Tools like Large Language Models (LLMs) aren't just technological marvels; they're becoming essential in simulating realistic conversations that aid in practicing and honing communication skills. These AI-driven interactions can provide immediate feedback, allowing individuals to adjust and improve their communication strategies in real time.

Scott emphasized the importance of using AI as a catalyst for soft skills enhancement rather than relying on it as a replacement for human interaction. He stressed the need for a balanced approach, where AI is used to supplement and enhance traditional learning methods, not replace them entirely. Additionally, he cautioned against using AI in a way that could reinforce biases or perpetuate harmful stereotypes that can tear apart an organization and its culture. Instead, Scott encourages the use of diverse and inclusive data sets to ensure ethical and unbiased AI interactions.

Scott argues that empathy, a soft skill often difficult to measure and quantify, can be fostered and improved through the use of AI. In the webinar, he highlighted the potential for AI to standardize elements of empathy, such as active listening and the ability to understand others' perspectives.

By using AI to track and analyze these skills, teams can receive personalized feedback and guidance on how to improve, making empathy training more accessible and consistent across different demographics and professional fields.

This not only benefits individuals but the organization as a whole, as empathy is a crucial component of effective communication and collaboration. With the help of AI, we can continue to develop and enhance this important soft skill in the workforce.

But how do we do this? AI can be used to simulate scenarios and interactions, providing employees with a safe and controlled environment to practice and develop their empathy skills. This can be particularly useful for industries where face-to-face interactions are limited or difficult, such as remote teams or customer service roles. AI can analyze data from these simulations to provide personalized coaching and feedback, allowing employees to focus on specific areas of improvement.

But to have such success with AI, organizations must first upskill their teams on prompt engineering — one of the most crucial skills in the generation of AI.

Prompt engineering involves creating prompts that elicit specific responses from AI and then analyzing and interpreting those responses to assess if the desired state and response were met. It requires a combination of scientific methods and creative thinking to design prompts that accurately measure soft skills. Without prompt engineering knowledge, results from AI may not be reliable and could hinder the effectiveness of your training program. We'd recommend an organization using AI invest in upskilling their teams on prompt engineering to ensure AI use is effective, unbiased, and reliable.

The application of AI in soft skills training is intricate and will require meticulous prompt engineering skills and measurable, empirical heuristics. In the webinar, Scott emphasized the importance of understanding the capabilities and limitations of AI in this context. The design of AI prompts and the interpretation of their outputs must be handled with precision to truly benefit soft skills development.

While Scott was far from discouraging, it's important to not forget that the integration of AI into soft skills development comes with challenges. Measuring intangible qualities like empathy through AI poses significant ethical and methodological questions. The discussion highlighted the need for ongoing research and dialogue to navigate these complexities effectively.

There are valid concerns about the potential for bias in AI algorithms. If the data used to train the AI is biased, it can lead to biased outcomes and perpetuate discrimination. This is a particularly important issue in the context of soft skills development, where cultivating diversity and inclusivity is crucial.

Scott stressed the importance of ethical guidelines and continuous monitoring and evaluation to ensure that AI is used responsibly and inclusively. AI shouldn't replace human interaction and feedback in soft skills development and should instead be used as a tool to enhance and support the learning process. This requires collaboration between AI developers, educators, and employees to create effective and ethical solutions. Scott brings a great use case for AI in soft skills development, but like any new tool, there's a responsibility for careful consideration and ethical implementation to avoid negative consequences.

As AI continues to evolve, its potential to enhance soft skills like empathy, communication, and leadership is immense. However, as Scott Provence aptly pointed out in the webinar, understanding the nuances of soft skills and the mechanics of AI is essential. The future of soft skills development lies in the balance of leveraging technology while understanding the human elements that define these skills.

Watch the full webinar to hear Scott's detailed advice on building out successful soft skills training that utilizes AI for more interactive and an extra level of quantified learning.

Using AI for Soft Skills Recording

From our webinar with L&D and AI Strategist, Scott Provence, explore the role AI can play in enhancing soft skills training: the challenges, ethical considerations, and real-world applications..

Employees who work in highly technical roles, like financial services, tend to put most of their focus on building and honing the practical skills they need to accomplish their day-to-day work. While sharpening these existing skills and learning new ones is critical, many professionals focus only on the hard skills, often forgetting about the softer, personal skills altogether. But while soft skills can seem more abstract and non-essential, they’re more important now than ever — for both individual employees and organizations as a whole.

From the ability to make critical, fast-paced decisions to communicating through industry-specific jargon, prioritizing soft skills can be the difference between a thriving financial services workplace and a struggling one.

What are soft skills, and why do they matter?

Soft skills are interpersonal abilities that enable effective interaction and performance in both professional and non-professional settings. Unlike hard skills — like analytics, forecasting, etc. — soft skills are more intangible and generally applicable across different roles and industries.

Despite this intangibility, some of the most essential soft skills in financial services include emotional intelligence, teamwork, creativity, judgment, and decision-making. Each of these competencies, which can be taught through the right training, help both individual employees and their organizations progress:


Individual success: Financial companies are increasingly seeking job candidates with soft skills instead of only technical or cognitive skills. This means the more that employees are adept at competencies like organization, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication, the more likely they are to both climb the ladder and ensure long-standing employability.

Company-wide success: When individual employees thrive, so do the companies that employ them. Mastery of soft skills across a workforce fosters effective collaboration and teamwork, drives innovation, and creates a workplace culture that employees want to be a part of. As companies become increasingly global, helping employees create human connections with colleagues and clients through skills like communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence, can give a financial services company a competitive edge.

Why do financial services companies struggle with soft skills?

Of course, developing employees’ soft skills is easier said than done, especially in highly technical organizations. 

When it comes to incorporating soft-skill-building in the workforce, organizations often struggle with:  

Determining and communicating training results: Unlike hard skill proficiency, which can often be more easily measured through practical tests, exercises, and overall outputs, the mastery of soft skills can be harder to measure and understand — leading to both a lack of organizational and employee buy-in.

 Finding the right training and resources: Many L&D platforms and content are outdated and don’t offer the comprehensive, hands-on training that soft-skill-building requires. Because learning soft skills often requires employees to change behaviors embedded within them, training has to be continuous — and many L&D programs are not.

Building employee engagement: Technical employees tend to be very hands-on and outcome-focused, so building soft skills can often be seen as less critical to their role or career progression.

How to integrate soft skills development into the financial services industry 

To make soft-skill development a reality within the financial services sector, and nurture well-rounded employees who have both hard and soft skills, L&D should offer:

Diverse learning formats: Every employee has different learning preferences, so using a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Instead, L&D should offer diverse learning formats, like microlearning, immersive courses, podcasts, practice labs, and more on subjects like emotional intelligence, communication, and the like.

Relevant, curated content: As technology rapidly transforms and expectations change, financial services employees need updated, hyper-relevant content that speaks to the skill gaps within their specific industry. L&D should offer content that’s customized to speak to a variety of skills and roles, and curated to fit specific learning programs in order to enhance engagement and retention. In essence, employees should feel that the content they’re learning is relevant and tailor-made to their careers and everyday life. 

Mentoring and coaching: Building soft skills is an inherently social process, and real retention often requires face-to-face interactions and feedback. By establishing both formal and informal mentoring programs for employees to learn from their peers — with mentorship guidelines that outline expectations, meeting frequency, and goals for both technical and soft skills growth — employees can better retain and apply their learned new competencies. 

Experiential learning: Like mentoring and coaching, practical exercises involving soft skills can improve client interactions and team dynamics. For example, L&D programs should offer access to case studies or learning scenarios that are industry-specific. Likewise, cross-functional project collaborations can help to break down silos and improve communication and teamwork skills.

Assessment of results and success: To motivate employees to engage and get organizational buy-in, L&D programs should offer 360-degree feedback systems that evaluate both technical proficiency and soft skills. L&D teams can also measure the success of these professional development programs by informally discussing with employees and taking a “fly on the wall” approach to monitoring success. 

Continuous learning: No matter the soft skill training and upskilling your team wants to provide, ensure that it can fit within the flow of work so employees can learn and grow without having to completely remove themselves from their technical skill development and daily work. This might include encouraging self-directed learning, mobile-friendly programs, or using platforms that offer microlearning tools, like Blinkist, which is available through Go1 Premium Pro. 

Use Go1 to make learning soft skills simple and effective

Content aggregators like Go1 are one of the best ways to ensure organizational soft skill development is engaging, results-driven, and accessible to busy financial services employees.

With Go1, L&D teams can offer employees a library of world-class content that covers everything from communications to developing emotional intelligence, and even those technical skills your team needs as well.

Plus, with gamification tools, microlearning modules, and so much more, L&D teams can make the intangible tangible and create a work environment where everyone thrives.

Learn about essential interpersonal abilities, their impact on organizations, and how targeted training can enhance these skills for professional growth in financial services.

Addressing soft skill gaps in financial services

To succeed today, companies are adapting quicker than ever and are forced to stay flexible. Training your employees on how to stay agile in changing times makes each transition or hardship they face, easier. By equipping your employees with the necessary tools and knowledge to handle change or adversity, you can significantly enhance their capability to respond to market dynamics, technological advancements, and unforeseen challenges.

Developing an agile workforce requires a comprehensive approach to learning and development that's well-rounded, prepares your team to meet current demands, and equips them with the resilience and versatility to tackle future challenges. So, let's get into some courses and providers available in your Go1 subscription that you can add and prioritize in your learning programs.

Here are five expert-recommended courses available on Go1 to help your employees stay agile:

1. Flexibility and Agility - Infographic by Hemsley Fraser (Visual, 5 mins) 

Agility is about speed and flexibility and how quickly your organization responds to change. Find out more about why agility is so important to businesses in this short infographic.

2. Introduction to Agility by Coorpacademy (Interactive, 8 mins) 

Switch to agile mode! You may think that "agility" is only for start-ups and digital companies. That the methods can't be applied to other more traditional organizations. Agility is a state of mind that anyone can use for the greater lasting satisfaction of their customers. If you need to improve your product vision, organize your team and work, and really get to know your users, this course is for you. You'll uncover new ideas on how to make your processes less rigid.

3. Emotional Agility by Blinkist (Audio, 19 mins) 

Available to Go1 Premium Pro subscribers, the Blink to Emotional Agility, provides theories and tools to emancipate yourself from the fickle rules of your own emotions. If you can distance yourself from the knots of anger and fear in your stomach, you can gradually learn to unwind and heal.

4. The Case for Flexibility by Symmetra (Interactive, 15 mins) 

Several global disruptions have reshaped how organizations involve their people in the execution of their work. In the current environment, organizations must recognize that flexibility is a crucial strategy for enhancing engagement, performance and for attracting and retaining a diverse pool of talent.

5. Agility and Flexibility by ej4  (Video and Downloadable, 9 mins) 

We know what it means to be agile and flexible on the football field or in gymnastics, but what does it look like in an organization? Explore agility and flexibility as they apply in the business world. Learn why organizations should seek to embody both attributes, and how they should be practiced company-wide.

At Go1, we’re constantly growing our content offering. From fresh content providers to returning favorites updating their offerings, here’s what’s new to Go1 in August.    

Outthink is one of our newest partners, and has just added 1,083 new courses! Search their courses for cybersecurity topics like Social Engineering, Cloud Security, and Phishing Prevention. Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, German, Italian, and more!

With 414 new courses, SimonSez IT hopes to help you on three main topics: Microsoft Office and Productivity Tools, Financial Risk Management and Analysis, and Excel VBA and Advanced Techniques. At this time, these courses are only available in English.

Blinkist has added 315 new Blinks, available only to Go1 Premium Pro subscribers. Dive into these audio and visual summaries on topics like Persuasive Copywriting, Personal Development, and Strategic Thinking. At this time, these courses are only available in English.

Offering 286 new learning opportunities this month, Tech Commanders LLC offers great educational topics for creatives like using Canva, eBook creation, and design essentials. At this time, these courses are only available in English.

Three content providers that we’re loving in August

Who said learning couldn’t be fun? Coorpacademy offers short, engaging content, for everyone to learn at their own pace, throughout their career, all while having fun. Coorpacademy’s value proposition: a selection of premium, exclusive content to engage all employees in a company! Coorpacademy’s wide range of courses cover all the top soft skills that are identified as key by the World Economic Forum for the future of jobs! In French, English, and German.

Topic coverage: Soft skills, Leadership and management, Digital skills, Communication, DEI, Sustainability, and more!

6400+ courses in Premium ranging from 8-56 minutes in duration 

Top courses: Adopt an agile mindset; Become a modern manager by embracing uncertainty; Big Data; User experience and the ‘User First’ principle; Disability awareness

*Every Coorpacademy title is available in English, French, and German + a subset of courses are now also available in Spanish & Italian!

Hemsley Fraser is a complete learning and talent development provider with a long-standing reputation as a world-class provider of engaging, performance-boosting and change-enabling learning and development services.

Hemsley Fraser creates, delivers, and manages learning experiences that engage individuals, teams and the entire workforce. Passionate about learning, and the transformative effect that it can have on today’s work experience, their team's mission is to transform how people learn, engage, and develop in the rhythm of their work … wherever they are.

Every solution is built out from our three core capability pillars (content, technology and learning services), enabling us to create custom solutions.

Topic coverage: Leadership and management; Personal development; Diversity and inclusion; Hybrid teams; Problem Solving, Creativity; Innovation; Communication skills; Managing change; Influencing skills; Finance; Performance management

135+ courses in Premium, with a duration from 5-215 minutes 

Sarder Learning brings together some of the world’s best business practices from Fortune 1000 corporate leaders, Ivy League professors, and best-selling business authors. With courses produced by subject-matter experts, Sarder Learning provides employees with content grounded in real-life business scenarios.

Sarder Learning has partnered with Go1 to offer over 1000 courses in our Content Hub.

Topic Coverage: Leadership; Management; Human resource management; Marketing; Sales and Customer service; Finance, Communication; Health and wellbeing

Top Courses: Best way to communicate with remote workers; Championing the Change; Future of digital marketing; Best practices to manage remote workers; Learning from the mad men era of advertising

As we wrap up this edition of "What's trending in learning," we hope the course recommendations and insights provided have inspired you to prioritize your team's emotional, professional, and team agility. And remember, Go1 is always here to support your team's development journey, too!

Stay ahead of the learning curve. Sign up for our newsletter to receive valuable L&D resources and tips directly to your inbox.

This month is all about agility. Dive into the article to find course recommendations and new content providers to help your employees upskill and grow on the topic.

What’s trending in learning? August 2024

This month is all about agility and agile methodologies that can help your team adapt to almost any situation. Dive into the article to find course recommendations and new content providers to help your employees upskill and grow.

What’s trending in learning? Agility in August 2024

As workplaces continually shift and change, cultivating belonging on your team is more important than ever. In our recent webinar, Wendy Gates Corbett, author of The Energy of Belonging, available on Blinkist, provided research-backed insights into how HR and L&D professionals can help employees feel connected, respected, and protected. 

In a previous role, Wendy found that despite her best efforts to connect with colleagues, her coworkers seemed uninterested in building relationships. This left her feeling like she didn't belong in the organization. As a result, Wendy stopped actively participating at work and eventually left her job feeling like a failure.  

This experience led Wendy to ask the question: What is it that creates a culture of belonging in the workplace? She compiled a survey about belonging at work and has received nearly 3,000 responses, and counting. Wendy has used these responses to build the following framework, designed to help teams and leaders grow and strengthen a sense of belonging in their business. 

Belonging is an outcome, but it's also an emotion. It's about creating a space where employees feel genuinely appreciated and integral to the organizational fabric. Wendy leveraged the results from her survey to create her own definition of belonging. According to Wendy, belonging is "the sense of security and support that results from feeling welcomed, valued, accepted, and safe as a part of something meaningful that’s larger than ourselves," but explains there is always room to add another comma to build on this definition. 

From her research, Wendy has also identified three common themes essential to nurturing belonging: connection, respect, and protection. 

Connection is the lifeline of employee engagement. To feel like they belong, employees must feel connected to both their colleagues and the organization as a whole. They need to feel seen and heard, and believe that their coworkers are genuinely interested in them. 

Wendy highlighted a few practical strategies to enhance interpersonal relationships within the workplace, like remembering personal details about coworkers, engaging in meaningful conversations unrelated to work, and sharing funny moments together. These small yet impactful actions have the potential to build deeper bonds among colleagues, fostering a stronger sense of community. 

Here at Go1, we have tons of interest-based Slack channels — including channels where employees can post photos of their pets, chat about a cause they’re passionate about, and share their hobbies. These are great spaces for our remote workforce to connect over common interests, get to know colleagues outside of their team, and have conversations completely unrelated to work. 

Respect isn't just about acknowledging someone's skills but also valuing their contributions to the organization. Wendy emphasized the role of leadership in embodying and promoting respect through transparent communication and consistent actions. This not only uplifts morale but also encourages a culture of mutual appreciation and acknowledgment. 

Wendy noted that employees must be respected not only by leadership but also by their peers. Colleagues can show respect by asking each other for advice or input and expressing appreciation for their work. Getting to know your coworkers makes all the difference here — while some team members may prefer to be thanked for a job well done publicly, others may prefer a private message or email. Paying close attention to these details demonstrates a level of care and consideration that fosters a positive and respectful work environment. 

Protection, or psychological safety, is crucial for employees to express their thoughts and perspectives without fear of retribution. In psychologically safe workplaces, employees feel comfortable engaging fully, experimenting, and bringing innovative ideas to the table — which are all elements of a healthy organization. In the webinar, Wendy explored how creating a safe space for open dialogue encourages innovation and honesty, which are critical for organizational growth and development. 

For employees to feel safe at work, they need to trust that they're being treated fairly and that their colleagues are being as transparent with them as possible. It's also important for individuals to realize that they may be doing something that makes someone else uncomfortable and be open to that feedback. For example, you might copy a colleague’s manager into an email simply so they have insight into a project — but it may make that colleague feel like you don’t trust them to manage the project on their own. 

Employees can foster a sense of safety by backing each other up, aligning their actions with their words, and being careful not to interrupt colleagues, which is common, especially in remote settings. Remember to listen to understand, not listen to respond. 

Measure engagement to track your progress 

It's crucial for organizations to measure the effectiveness of their belonging strategies so they know what’s working and where they need to take a new approach. Wendy emphasized the importance of using existing metrics and tools to assess the levels of engagement and belonging among employees. 

For example, regular feedback and surveys can provide invaluable insights into whether your team feels connected, respected, and protected. You might also consider developing and implementing a leadership program that enables your leaders to be more intentional about creating a culture of inclusivity and belonging. 

Whether you're a leader working to create a culture of belonging, an employee whose team members have checked out, or if you yourself are struggling to feel a sense of belonging at work — you can do your part to create the environment you want to be a part of. By being a catalyst for belonging in your workplace, you'll drive the change towards a more inclusive and engaging environment. Choose one or two of the examples Wendy outlined, start practicing them with your team, and you'll be on your way to making a tangible difference in your organization. 

Watch the full webinar to learn from Wendy how you can make a huge impact on how included and comfortable your team feels at work, even in the smallest of ways. 

Amplify belonging: Practical strategies for HR and L&amp;D professionals

Want more strategies to create a supportive environment that boosts your team’s mental health while simultaneously increasing productivity and job satisfaction? Check out our article on building a wellness-focused workplace. 

Want to create a thriving workplace culture? Start by prioritizing belonging! Our webinar with Wendy Gates Corbett gives you the strategies needed to make it happen.

Amplify belonging: Practical strategies for HR and L&D professionals

Frontline employees play a valuable role in the manufacturing, distribution, and logistics industries, and it's important that they continuously build their skills to stay up to date with the latest tools, technology, and compliance standards. However, these employees often have busy workdays filled with tight production deadlines and physically time-consuming labor, which can make it difficult to find the time for professional development. 

In this article, we’ll explore some of the challenges frontline employees face that can get in the way of learning and offer practical strategies to help you and your teams overcome these barriers. 

Challenges to learning on the production floor 

Time is a precious commodity for frontline employees — and the most significant barrier to learning. The pressure to stay on top of production or launch timelines can be all-consuming, making it difficult to step away from the immediate tasks at hand and make time for learning. This lack of time can be a major obstacle to professional growth, and to the company's ability to innovate and respond to market changes. 

Frontline employees may also face a lack of access to learning materials and resources. Unlike office workers, they don't usually have the luxury of a quiet cubicle or a personal computer with internet access to dive into online learning. Some can’t even bring their phone into work! And even if you offer online learning that employees can engage with outside of working hours, it’s important that you don't assume every employee has internet access at home or the time to pursue L&D in these off hours. 

Additionally, while some frontline employees may be eager to grow and progress in their careers, others may be resistant to change. Some folks are hesitant to embrace new ways of doing things due to a fear of the unknown, or they may just be comfortable with their current ways of working. Regardless of the reason, resistance to change can lead to missed chances for growth and innovation. 

Finally, for employees who aren't native speakers of the language for the region of your organization, language and literacy barriers can add an extra layer of complexity to learning. Misunderstanding training materials or struggling with instructions can make it harder to pick up new skills, and asking for help can be intimidating. It might even hold employees back from fully engaging in group learning activities and discussions, leaving them feeling disconnected from the learning process. 

A comprehensive approach is key to tackling these hurdles. It involves creating time for professional development, making sure resources are accessible, and nurturing a culture of continuous learning. By doing so, companies can empower their frontline employees to see learning as not just something that’s possible for them, but a lifelong experience. 

Creating an accessible learning environment 

To make sure factory floor employees are always growing, it's important that they have access to spaces that are conducive to learning. To make this happen, you can establish dedicated learning spaces that provide access to computers, the internet, and a library of training resources in multiple languages and formats. There are a few different approaches you might take to setting up these spaces. 

First, consider converting underutilized areas, like an unused meeting room or storage space, into learning spaces with desks and computer stations. This will enable employees to get away from the noise of the production floor so they’re better able to focus. Alternatively, you can take advantage of existing multipurpose spaces and add a computer where there's room. For example, you might set up a computer in the break room so employees can use it during their lunch break. Keep in mind that you may want to set these computers up with security measures in place and enable them to work only within certain time frames. 

If you don’t have any spare space on-site, you could invest in portable devices, like tablets or laptops, that are pre-loaded with training materials and security measures. These can be easily moved to different locations on the floor for quick, on-the-go learning or if your team is comfortable with it, loaned out for access. 

To keep up with the fast pace of the production floor, employees must be empowered to set aside time for learning. By making learning an expected part of employee routines — and a team-wide norm — taking time to learn won't interfere with their daily tasks and deadlines. 

Managers are key to this process. Managers should make learning a priority and help their employees schedule time for professional development. This might mean that every employee on their team has a designated time set aside each day for professional development, or maybe each employee is assigned an hour or two per week to spend on learning. 

Microlearning can also help employees fit learning into their schedules. By offering small, bite-sized pieces of learning content from apps like Blinkist, employees can spend just a few minutes in between tasks taking in new information. Rather than sitting down for hours to learn a new skill, they can make the most of their down time and learn in short bursts. These small moments, when added up over time, can lead to significant growth — all without missing a beat in productivity. 

Providing on-the-job training and collaboration opportunities 

On-the-job training is a powerful way to enable your team members to learn and grow in their roles, while simultaneously remaining productive at work. By offering hands-on experience and immediate application of new skills, you can help your team members develop a deeper understanding of their work. 

One strategy to consider is job rotation. Cross-training employees on multiple functions and rotating roles and responsibilities gives employees a chance to try their hand at different tasks on the floor. This not only broadens their skillset but also makes them more adaptable. From there, they can decide which skills they're most interested in and pursue training that helps them grow in these areas. Plus, if ever needed, they can assist in someone’s absence to fill a skill or role gap. 

Learning looks a little different for employees in manufacturing, distribution, and logistic roles who don’t work from an office. These strategies will help frontline teams make time for learning without delaying production.