America has faced a litany of challenges in 2020. Yet the unsettled environment has provided an ideal opportunity for businesses to make changes to the way they hire and train new employees. The pandemic has already brought about a new era of remote work and accelerated changes in the way we communicate and use technology. 5G is set to rapidly affect the workplace in its own unique ways, too. The best way to prepare for the ongoing and forthcoming changes is to normalize and prioritize training employees remotely nationwide.
The massive, unplanned shift to working from home has opportunities in the tech field nationwide. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we have successfully moved training programs remote in all of our partner programs. Our team has fully embraced remote training at WOS this year, by maintaining relationships with trainees and supporting them where they need it most, whether that be with the transition to work from home, technology help, rent or childcare.
In our El Paso Prudential program, WOS trains more than 20 military spouses and veterans on average for the Industries Essentials Exam (SIE), helping launch a new wave of career-ready financial and insurance professionals. Unhindered by a shift to remote, the program ran in March and October of this year and included the same training on topics like securities trading and research analysis, as it did in an in-person setting.
In recent years, employer-based training has declined. This hurts underserved and underrepre- sented communities the most, which in turn hurts employers; diversity is an innovation-booster, according to a 2017 study by the Boston Consulting Group, and ignoring training for underserved groups typically means falling short on diversity in your office. Training is imperative in bridging the gap for talent that doesn’t have the same soft and hard skills as their peers with more opportunities. Without emphasizing this training, we’re failing people from these cunderserved groups.
Companies can act now, rather than waiting until the pandemic is over to make a change. In order to empower individuals to move from entry-level positions to long-lasting professional success, WOS created an online version of its Certificate in Workforce Essentials for individuals that have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Our Workforce Essentials Workshop supports those underemployed and unemployed and is completely free.
"The best way to prepare for the ongoing and forthcoming changes is to normalize and prioritize training employees remotely nationwide."
Everything is changing, making now an ideal time for business leaders to overhaul and shift into new business models. Crafting remote training abilities gives businesses an edge, better preparing you and your employees for the future. While so much in the world feels out of control, American businesses can take concrete steps to prepare for the future and strengthen our nation’s workforce. By prioritizing the development of remote training, we are not only aligning ourselves with the major changes being brought about by the pandemic and the rise of 5G, we’re also making training more accessible for employees.
According to a recent McKinsey survey, most people find remote work satisfying, productive and engaging.
A recent Global Workplace Analytics survey also supports the notion that remote work might be an exciting ‘next normal.’ About 73% of participants say they are very successful working from home, while 86% of respondents feel fully productive at home. Employees reported gaining back 35 minutes a day due to fewer unwanted interruptions, and over half of U.S. employees (75 million workers) hold jobs that could be performed, at least in part, from home. Now, companies need to invest in better preparing their employees for a more efficient, remote business world.
Meanwhile, remote work benefits employers all the same. More productive and attentive employees only increase productivity for a given company, and remote flexibility and availability typically lends to a better employee retention rate.
Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) is a non-profit I founded to connect individuals from underserved populations with transformative career
Arthur Langer