The way we live, work and learn has changed considerably over the past few years. Organizations have made great strides in adopting remote and hybrid work arrangements and enhancing the efficiency of business processes through automation and technology. However, engaging, connecting and training today’s employees remains a challenge for all organizations.

As organizations struggle to retain talent, we must be mindful of the ongoing need for compassion, empathy and support as we navigate work and life. At the end of the day, it’s the people who are the heart of every organization — the employees who show up every day, live your corporate values and work toward your bottom line. Taking a human-centered approach to how we work and support employees is necessary to create a company culture that attracts, nurtures and retains top talent.

The complexity of creating an engaging company culture grows in a dispersed work environment. Connection and engagement become much more challenging, requiring leaders to use different strategies and solutions to reach employees. Our cover story in this edition of Training Industry Magazine highlights five strategies that learning leaders can use to design training that engages employees across the organization — putting the needs of the learner first.

This edition also includes articles that address creating equitable development opportunities, combatting burnout, remote onboarding, measuring the impact of training and the role of learning and development (L&D) in building a company culture that values employee development. Also, check out expert insights from our columnists who shed light on many industry challenges and provide actionable solutions.

Learning — and the role of the learning leader — has never been more important. With the pace of change and advancement of technology accelerating, and the shelf-life of skills shrinking, learning leaders are facing increased challenges to upskill, reskill and prepare employees for the future of their roles. Employees with the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn are what will separate high-performing organizations from their competition.

I hope the articles in this edition will provide you and your team with some actionable insights that can help transform learning at your organization. Our editorial team is dedicated to delivering the content and resources that learning leaders need to create impactful learning experiences. As always, we love to hear your thoughts, so please reach out to our team and let us know what’s on your mind.