The benchmark event in L&D and learning technologies, ATD International Conference & Expo, has concluded after bringing together more than 9,500 attendees from 80 countries and more than 200 exhibitors at the Ernest M. Morial Center in New Orleans. The isEazy team was there from May 19 to 22, with its own space at booth 3334, where it presented its latest launches in AI and e-learning tools.Ā
An unmissable event for training and development professionals for over eight decades has just ended in New Orleans. There have been three intense days of networking, product demonstrations, conferences, and talks by figures such as Matthew McConaughey, Daniel Pink, and Venus Williams to talk about talent, team management, and professional careers that leave their mark.Ā Ā
With over 9,500 attendees and more than 200 Exhibitors in this edition, isEazy participated as a Gold Sponsor and e-learning exhibitor. At booth #3334, we presented our latest AI and learning experience updates and introduced some of the key trends of ATD24, which will set the global standard for the industry.
1) AI everywhere but working hand in hand with human talent.Ā
AI has been the main protagonist of ATD24. Still, beyond the general euphoria and the abundance of slogans with their initials, it has become clear that AI’s main attraction is that it is a complement or “co-pilot” for professionals. Its greatest asset is boosting team productivity, increasing efficiency by performing repetitive tasks and reducing costs. It is also (or should be) a technology that facilitates creativity and improves learning experiences by assisting content creators.Ā
Recent reports indicate that applying AI to e-learning is more efficient and makes the training material complete and more attractive, as it allows the use of resources and formats that could previously have been more complex to produce. So, what’s stopping companies from using it? One of the main barriers is information security, and another is the difficulty of implementing AI in the employee workflow.Ā
Solving both limitations involves having a reliable provider that has worked in depth on integrating AI into its e-learning tools so that they do not pose friction to those who use them. Ensure that data handled in AI services is never used to retrain models or store customer data outside of the provider’s infrastructure. That’s why at isEazy we work with Microsoft Azure, a cloud information security leader, and our teams to ensure that we comply with all international standards.Ā
In addition, so that any L&D professional can save resources and time while increasing the quality and creativity of their e-learning content, tools such as isEazy Author let you get results with just a couple of clicks without using conversational models that may involve rework. Thanks to this development, AI has become an ally that helps boost productivity: one-click translations, automatic voice-overs and subtitles, and the generation of games and exercisesāno need to create complex prompts.Ā
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2) High demand for training in soft skills, especially in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.Ā
The era of soft skills and digital skills training continues to rise as new technologies transform our ways of working and learning needs. A recent Gartner study reveals that, in parallel with these advances, nearly 8 out of 10 HR leaders say their employees are experiencing fatigue. This highlights the importance of mental health in the workplace, and those specific soft skills, such as resilience, adaptability to hybrid or remote work, and strengthening interpersonal relationships, are crucial for professionals to realize their potential.Ā Ā
Knowledge in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is another area that demands training, as teams are increasingly plural and inclusive towards groups that require inclusive work environments and accessible digital tools. We have seen this at ATD24, where the demand for rigorous DEI content is growing, but it is also attractive and engages students with various multimedia formats and 100% accessibility. Ā
This is the case of catalogs that are nourished by courses and created in an accessible way without duplicating the instructional designer’s workload and maintaining the interactivity of the contents so that they reach everyone. Key topics such as mental health and well-being at work, diversity management, or intergenerational leadership can be addressed through exercises, games, videos, podcasts, and micro-content so that students consume information more easily.Ā
3) Long live modern LMSs with a variety of quality content.Ā
Even though most doomsayers have been predicting the disappearance of the LMS for more than ten years, we are seeing the proliferation of new LMS platforms that not only meet the minimum requirements of management, planning, information, control, and reporting but also, as this edition of the ATD has made clear, customers look for platforms that incorporate complete catalogs with quality courses. As well as tools to generate your content.Ā
There needs to be more than a typical learning platform to meet the demands of comprehensive training that accompanies the employee life cycle. For this reason, the new generations of LMS must engage students with a good user experience (LXP), which helps them find available resources, access interesting and dynamic courses, communicate with other collaborators through forums, and visualize their progress and certifications… And at the same time, it must offer training administrators optimal management of training projects and sufficient resources for any internal training needs. All of this is from a specific administrator’s area.Ā
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4) Frontliners at the heart of L&D strategies.Ā
According to a recent study published by Gallup, 85% of frontline managers plan to maintain or increase their annual investment in employee engagement. This is a clear sign that organizations are looking for new ways to engage their frontliners and that solutions are needed. L&D is critical to building loyalty, offering career plans, and executing training that adapts to frontline workers and can be taken anytime and anywhere from a mobile device. Complete suites of solutions designed for them are starting to hit the market.Ā
Apps combining communication, knowledge, and task management from the smartphone improve the scope and effectiveness of managing these profiles. They go beyond the training field to become accurate tools supporting the business, focusing on training to align the frontlines with the strategic objectives and quickly increase engagement and knowledge retention. Ā
This type of solution for frontliners, such as isEazy Engage, improves productivity with functionalities that transcend training and cover the needs of information consultation, development of daily tasks, and a real-time task manager (assignment, execution, and supervision) that can be consulted in one click.Ā
These are just some of the most prominent challenges for e-learning after the impressions of the ATD in New Orleans, where experts, suppliers, and organizations that set the pace of the L&D sector shared the news and needs of an ever-evolving industry. With top-level professionals, isEazy has positioned its solutions to maximize internal talent and revolutionize e-learning.Ā