Training in the age of IoT

Digital revolution has started haunting entire business world. It is proving to be a serious threat to the traditional ways of running a business. Digitalization has thoroughly challenged old and even successful models that have been integral part of the business for many years. It is changing almost everything that includes systems, devices, means of communication, cultures, interpretation of market research and even emotions. Training and development industry, especially in corporate sector is facing the very challenge and anticipating it as the biggest one in near future.

“What will be the future of training in the age of digitalization and IoT (Internet of Things)?”

This is the question training professionals and consultants would like to know the answer of. They want to know if training will really survive in the age of IoT or not. Will there really be any need of training if the errors in systems and products be reduced with the invasion of digital revolution. Will trainees ever visit training rooms if their issues are being addressed at their workplace and most of the systems are automated?

Apparently, the answer to most of the questions is, NO. However, to find an appropriate answer, we need to look at the business world closely.

It is true that companies are focusing more on digital solutions that encourage customers to purchase their products through online means i.e. websites, apps and even NFC (Near Field Communication) devices. Corporate sector has gone one step ahead by looking for the options where they can reduce customers’ visits to their touch points and by enabling their customers to make changes in their accounts, launch complaints and get their complaints resolved through chat services or online customer care solutions. Going digital and having less of human interaction has made the business far more cost efficient and independent than it was in the previous customer care model.

Organizations are encouraging their employees to go beyond their traditional “Knowledge Management Systems” and share knowledge with each other through already available OTT (Over the top) platforms i.e. Facebook at Work, Facebook pages, WhatsApp groups, YouTube channels, Twitter accounts and other apps. Online free courses are more in fashion. Tech-savvy employees are getting more visibility of top management decisions than others. And they are doing it without getting any formal trainings or awareness sessions.

Access to the best practices of modern business world was not possible before without paying multiple foreign visits however it is now on the finger-tips of the tech-savvy employees. To gain knowledge and staying in contact with the better business professionals, they are attending and conducting Webinars, using Skype and Zoom for video conferences and participating in LinkedIn discussions to improve their business knowledge. They are reading latest research articles on different aspects of business by getting subscribed to Harvard ManageMentor and many other widely respected magazines even before reaching their offices in the morning. The employees are doing free online courses from coursera.org, khanacademy.org, study.com, alison.com and many other MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) platforms to improve their knowledge base.

What machines can do, should not be done by the humans. This is the philosophy that digital business brains are following. Like their direct customers, employees too will be dependent more on devices than the humans to perform their day-to-day tasks. Sales, purchase and marketing will take a new turn with the inception of IoT. Mobile Apps will facilitate the organizations. Devices and censors will facilitate all of the stakeholders and vendors will facilitate the device development and troubleshoot processes. The dawn of IoT has cracked on our globe that will necessarily yield the alienation of one individual to another.

IoT will also emerge as a tough competitor of the trainers who are looking their future in traditional trainings. Training professionals with “entertainment-only” philosophy have already disappointed operational managers who has always tagged training as a waste of time. IoT, the world of devices and censors will facilitate operational managers even more. Their confidence on inefficiency of training will be cemented more than ever. Devices will perform more efficiently than the humans to smooth operations. They will be replaceable comfortably if they do not perform well. And that is exactly where need of the human resource will be reduced. Trainers with technical knowledge and with hands-on experience of new devices will be in fashion though. However, soft skills trainers will struggle.

This is exactly where soft skills trainers will either quit or will stay for a longer frame of time. There will be no place for trainers with mediocre knowledge about the behaviors of employees in IoT environment. They would not be able to understand as to why IoT is affecting their performance and attitudes. The eAlienation that IoT is bringing will breed psychological issues amongst the employees. They will suffer from it and will seek guidance for it. They will, for sure struggle in anchoring change, leading teams, giving feedback and handling customers. However, the question is, when extremely productive and relevant material on topics like Stress and Time Management, Leadership, Change Management, Team Building, Communication Skills, Decision Making, Delegation, Feedback, Innovation, Customer Satisfaction, NPS, etc is available on internet, and can be learnt through eLearning courses from reputed organizations with 60% of less investment than the conventional trainings then why should the organizations spent money on arranging conventional trainings for their employees.

The answer is quite simple, yet important. Just as “what machines can do, humans shouldn’t”, generation of IoT will have to understand that what humans can really do, machines cannot. Employees are humans, not robots. They learn by making mistakes. They live their lives in phases. They will be stressed. They will be exhausted. They will be demotivated. They will be struggling in working in teams. They will be learning to lead individuals. They will be needing people who could listen to them, talk to them, and mentor them instead of doing one-way communication through “interesting” written material and through a distance via webinars or VideoCons. They will be seeking humans to learn and interpret data. Machines can do a lot of work however machines look up to humans to be operated wisely. Machines can help in collecting data, sharing knowledge and making all the options available however picking the right option at the right time for the right place needs serious wisdom. You can impart knowledge but you cannot impart wisdom and that is where professional trainers will be required.

What will happen to the trainers then? Simple. People-oriented training professionals who can provide employees with experience-based resolutions, empathize with them, suggest customized solutions and talk about local market with individuals and groups will stay and will stay for long. However, trainers whose content, examples and research does not complement the existing IoT world will be eliminated even before the true emergence of IoT.

The article was published on 30th May 2016 in Daily The Nation