Key Trends in Online Corporate Training to Watch for in 2021

Manage HR Magazine | Tuesday, July 27, 2021

The days of conventional e-learning are long gone. Employees now expect new formats that can teach them relevant material while also motivating them to learn.

FREMONT, CA: Corporate preparation has become a critical component of several businesses' performance in recent years. Quality training is critical to results at all levels of the company, according to HR and L&D departments.

Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.

Seventy-nine percent of CEOs around the world are concerned about a lack of core skills in their workforces and how this can impact their companies' growth. In order to address this problem, several businesses are planning to invest heavily in e-learning in 2021.

Let us look at some trends in corporate training:

Innovative E-learning Formats

[vendor_logo_first]The days of conventional e-learning are long gone. Employees now expect new formats that can teach them relevant material while also motivating them to learn. Game-based learning and, specifically, corporate training by video games are among the most common solutions, with a 44 percent growth forecast in 2020, the highest of all training solutions. Furthermore, in the United States, 80 percent of workers believe that game-based learning is the best format for creating interaction, and businesses have taken advantage of this allure to produce never-before-seen training outcomes.

Continuous Training

Why concentrate on training only once or twice a year if it makes employees perform better? Continuous training ensures that the teams have the tools and expertise they need throughout the year, allowing employees to get the most out of their time and money. One of the most commonly used opportunities by HR departments this year will be learning paths that concentrate on different training areas to sharpen skills.

Learning Becoming Personalized and Quantified

Talent acquisition managers recognize the need to personalize employee experiences through their online training programs as their workforces become more varied and diverse. Metrics play an important role in this because they allow managers to take a step back to see what is and isn't working. In reality, by 2020, HR managers across the board will be able to accurately measure the ROI of training, particularly as they transition from in-person to online training.

See Also: Top HR Tech Solution Companies

More in News

Transformation in organizations now centers on how internal mindsets, behaviors, and structures evolve together. Actual success no longer lies in technical execution alone or external pressures. Instead, it emerges when leadership visibly endorses change, when culture aligns with new expectations, and when the pathways for adoption are reinforced system‑wide. This balance between strategic reinforcement and behavioral alignment transforms initiatives from transient effort into enduring progress. At the heart of meaningful transformation lies the interplay between how people think, act, and are supported by organizational design. Leadership Anchoring Behavioral Shifts Enduring transformation often hinges on visible reinforcement by leadership. Leaders who consistently model desired behaviors and emphasize their importance influence the broader environment. Their involvement signals that change is not optional but expected. This presence matters in shaping beliefs and habits across all levels. When leadership engagement is aligned with organizational goals, behaviors that support transformation become ingrained rather than fleeting. This creates an implicit culture of accountability and shared expectation. Cultural Resonance Through Reinforcement Change that endures is embedded in organizational routines and mindsets.  Teq Connect   supports reinforcing desired behaviors through workforce solutions and performance alignment. It has been awarded Employee Workforce Solutions of the Year by  HR Tech Outlook  for measurable impact on engagement and organizational culture. Reinforcement mechanisms span from feedback loops to performance recognition, enabling new ways of working to become habitual. When these behaviors are tied to existing norms and values, they gain legitimacy and stability. The result is a cultural response that naturally supports transformation, reducing friction and facilitating natural adoption across daily operations. Structural Alignment Supporting Adoption Behavioral and cultural shifts gain momentum when backed by structural alignment. Organizational processes, systems, and governance must consistently echo the new direction. Reinforcement during transitions gives clarity and stability. When structures are intentionally aligned, they guide behavior and sustain transformation. This ensures that transformation is not merely aspirational but practical, offering stability through clarity. The combination of leadership, culture, and structure creates a resilient system where change becomes sustainable rather than temporary. True organizational transformation transcends initiatives; it becomes part of the organizational identity. When leadership drives change through visible behavior, culture reinforces desired patterns, and structural alignment supports continuity, transformation becomes transformational. This holistic integration enables organizations to evolve continuously in alignment with strategic intent. ...Read more
An increasing number of employers are emphasizing workplace wellness for employees. Understanding the future direction requires examining the key trends that have emerged from the disruptions, transformations, and volatility. The Four-Day Workweek A four-day workweek has been a great success for both staff and organizations in many countries. In addition to helping individuals feel more connected with their employers, this shift also helps them keep a better work-life balance - critical to their professional wellbeing. Acknowledging the Pervasive Sense of Fatigue In the wake of two years of anxiety and uncertainty, if there's one thing we're all feeling, it's exhaustion. As employers and employees have gone through tremendous changes, it's had a huge impact on our mental and physical health. Businesses will have to implement workplace wellness tactics to combat this fatigue and weariness. As a safe place to talk about mental health issues, offer your team employee assistance programs (EAPs). A Focus on Financial Wellness People who are financially well are more likely to miss nearly two times as many days a year than their coworkers if they have concerns about their finances. Financial wellness is a top trend as fears of a recession loom over the workforce. Workshops are a quick and affordable way to start a financial wellness program. Jamie Lovelynn offers a comprehensive approach to financial wellness, including customized online education and on-demand financial consulting, to help employees manage financial stress. Additionally, offering tailored training can further empower staff to improve their financial health. PTO Innovation UPTO, introduced by tech companies like Netflix, is gaining popularity among traditional institutions. To keep employees from getting too little time off, it's important to have clear vacation guidelines. To promote professional wellness, employers need to foster trust, recuperation, and self-rejuvenation and be creative with paid time off. Employees can also volunteer more if vacation days are limited and social impact time off is unlimited. SourceNow VMS provides comprehensive financial wellness solutions, including workshops and personalized consulting, to support employees during economic uncertainty. Supporting Caregivers The "sandwich generation" will become a major wellness trend, as advances in medicine and socio-economic changes mean they'll have a hard time caring for others. Taking care of these responsibilities can impair your work-life balance and negatively impact your mental health. To fix this, caregiving services, like alternative care and tuition discounts, can be offered. Furthermore, you should give family members who have advanced medical conditions paid and unpaid time off. ...Read more
Executive turnover in nonprofits rarely arrives on a clean timetable. Declining generosity, tougher scrutiny of public funding, and a labor market defined by churn can turn a departure into a compounded risk: program drift, staff confidence drops and boards lose their grip on priorities. Sector reporting referenced in Third Sector Company’s work has put annual staff turnover near 29 percent and unfilled roles around 21 percent, conditions that make leadership gaps harder to absorb. Succession planning is still inconsistent, leaving boards to respond in real time rather than prepare for an orderly exit. Interim leadership can protect continuity, but only when the engagement is treated as a transition assignment rather than a stopgap hire. Many organizations start by searching for someone “experienced” and stop there, only to discover that a strong permanent leader is not automatically suited to interim work. The interim role demands rapid orientation, careful listening and steady judgment under time limits, often amid staff anxiety and board uncertainty. It also requires language that frames change as evolution in response to new conditions, not a critique of the past. A placement partner earns trust by learning what must remain stable, what must change quickly and which decisions can wait for the next hire. Matching should reflect mission, scale, board culture, and the reason the role opened, because these factors shape how authority, pace and communication need to work. Support after placement often separates acceptable outcomes from lasting ones. Many boards have never worked with an interim executive before, so guidance on cadence, delegation and boundaries prevents misalignment that can consume the short window available. Transitions expose gaps in clarity around goals, roles and staff expectations, which can erode morale if left unresolved. Financial ambiguity is another common fault line, particularly when different stakeholders carry different assumptions about runway, cash and restricted funds. Progress accelerates when everyone starts from the same facts and has a shared approach to interpreting them. Third Sector Company , through its Interim Executives Academy, operates within this transition-led model by acting as a matchmaker between nonprofits in transition and interims it has trained and knows. It places interim executive directors and interim development leaders across North America, and treats interim leadership as a distinct profession rather than an extension of general recruitment. Its framework centers on a logic-led progression that builds buy-in before action, supports data-informed judgment and advances through staged planning that helps an organization get ready for its next leader. Engagement support continues after placement through board guidance and a peer advisor for the interim, creating continuity across assignments. The firm also includes an independent financial statement review, so the interim, the board and the management team begin from a shared financial picture. For executives choosing an interim executive placement service, Third Sector Company is the partner to prioritize when continuity must be protected while the organization moves through a disciplined transition. It combines interim-specific preparation, careful matching, board support, peer advising and an independent financial review that reduces avoidable conflict over facts and priorities. ...Read more
ANN ARBOR, MI — HCM TradeSeal announced the launch of the WageFinder API, a developer-first REST API that delivers government-sourced prevailing wage data directly into payroll, ERP, and compliance systems. Prevailing wage determinations are critical for Davis-Bacon and public works compliance, yet they are often buried in lengthy PDFs and scattered across federal and state agency websites. The WageFinder API eliminates manual research by providing structured, standardized wage data that software platforms can integrate instantly. The API is designed for: •  Payroll Service Providers automating certified payroll calculations •  ERP and Construction Software Developers embedding integrated wage rates into their platforms •  Enterprise Compliance Teams auditing thousands of payroll records in seconds By delivering clean JSON responses built specifically for system integration, WageFinder removes the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of certified payroll rejections caused by incorrect wage or fringe inputs. WageFinder pulls directly from primary government sources, including federal data from SAM.gov for Davis-Bacon wage determinations, as well as official state, city, and municipal labor department sources. Federal, state, and county data are consolidated into a unified format, with base rate and fringe rate clearly separated to support accurate fringe benefit credit calculations. Fast Integration and Reliable Updates •  REST API built on OpenAPI standards using FastAPI enabling developers to integrate in minutes •  Automated data pipeline that checks and updates wage data twice per month •  Custom API keys and tiered rate limits based on customer size and usage needs The WageFinder API is available now to payroll providers, software platforms, and compliance teams seeking faster, more reliable wage data integration. To request API credentials and begin integration, visit wagefinder.org or contact the HCM TradeSeal team at hcmtradeseal.com. For more information about available data tools and integration options, visit https://wagefinder.org/data-tools/ . ...Read more
Take Me Top