The modern workplace is constantly evolving and so too is the world of HR. 2018 was a busy year for HR professionals with topics such as Diversity & Inclusion, flexible working, soft skills deficits and learner engagement high on the radar. So which topics sparked the greatest interest over the past 12 months?  Read on to discover what were the Top 10 HR Insights of 2018 published by Learnlight and stay tuned for more HR Insights in 2019. 

1.   10 Must-Know Learning Trends for 2018

This Learnlight Insight from the start of last year looked at the key learning trends that could give HR & L&D professionals a major advantage. The use of Gamification, Mobile Learning, Microlearning and the use of AV/VR technologies to meet the needs of the Modern Learner and increase engagement were some of 2018’s hottest learning trends.

Did your organization implement some of these or is this on your to-do-list for 2019? 

2.   7 Ways Unconscious Bias Impacts Your Daily Interactions at Work

Unconscious bias is rife in the workplace where our background, previous experiences, societal stereotypes, and cultural context, directly impact the decisions we make without us even realizing it.

By helping employees to acknowledge the various types of unconscious bias that we all possess, we can start to address and mediate them. Those businesses that understand the power of diversity will benefit in terms of productivity and profitability.

3.  Cultural Intelligence: The Must-have Skill for Any Modern Leader

With organizations increasingly operating across borders of all kinds and encountering people from diverse backgrounds, culturally intelligent leadership is vital. It’s a skill that could be the key to enabling leaders to do more than merely avoid conflict and misunderstanding, but become more successful despite cultural differences. 

4.  How Can You Measure the ROI of Soft Skills?

Tracking the impact of every dollar spent has now become the norm in every company and every department across the globe. In the case of Corporate Learning, measuring the return on investment (ROI) of any training initiative is high on the agenda for HR and Learning professionals.

With the growing skills shortage and fight for talent, soft skills training now occupies a major share of purse so the need to measure the ROI of soft skills is now more pressing than ever. 

5.   HR Technology Market Disruption: 10 Top Trends for 2018

For a profession that features the word “Human” so prominently in its title, the HR Industry is relying more and more on non-human factors to drive innovation. As the HR technology market finds itself flush with investment capital, new HR tools are being developed and deployed at a rapid pace. 

In 2018, a whole raft of established, new, and developing tech solutions were set to revolutionize HR Technology further. Did your organization adopt some of these new tools or is this on your 2019 list?

Further reading

6.  Five Essential Qualities of a Global Leader

Organizations planning for their future economic health recognize the need to identify and equip their future leaders with a robust toolkit of skills. Current thinking means that many training programs are designed to be bespoke for the learner, drawing on their individual characteristics such as background, priorities, and topics of interest. 

Organizations that provide such a training path have an increased chance of retaining their talent and have invested not only in their future leaders but the future of the organizations as a whole. 

7.  Seven ways soft skills training makes your organization more profitable

Many companies are finding that they are recruiting top technical graduates, who are not living up to expectations. Their performances are satisfactory, but not justifying their promise. These companies are discovering that to go from good to great they need to provide soft skills training.

An investment in soft skills training is an investment in the success of your organization. Has your company made it a priority?

8.  The Top 5 Social Learning Trends for 2018

Learning on your own is not always effective. HR and L&D professionals who forget the human and social element of learning will spend a lot of time and money on training initiatives that struggle against the way our brains are conditioned to learn. Social learning methods reinforce learning by motivating learners to learn, enjoy the process, and see the value of obtaining new skills and knowledge.

This Insight looks at some of the social learning trends that took the L&D world by storm in 2018. 

9.  5 Reasons Why Diversity and Inclusion is Everybody’s Business

The #metoo movement has highlighted how far we still have yet to go to achieve a safe workplace and how diversity and inclusion have now become a CEO-level issue around the world. Despite the huge advances made over the last 30 years, many employees do not feel entirely “at home” in office surroundings. Coffee “banter”, stereotypes or jokes in poor humor are still rife in many office environments.

Good training and coaching can go a long way to help HR teams understand how to tackle these challenges and to help all employees improve their understanding of Diversity and Inclusion issues and adapt their behavior accordingly.

10.  The End to Working Remotely? Why Yahoo and IBM are Wrong

Remote working has been a hot topic in HR Insights for the last couple of years. Several pioneers of remote working are now calling their workers back to the office, claiming that physical presence drives collaboration and creativity. Others say that this back-tracking is influenced by the need to reduce headcount, knowing that many will be forced to leave. What is your organization’s remote working policy?

Looking back on the top Learnlight HR Insights of 2018, topics such as Diversity & Inclusion, how to engage employees with training programs and how to retain talent through skills development were high on the agenda. It will be interesting to see which topics dominate the HR arena in the coming week and months. Stay tuned for more HR Insights in 2019.