HR and L&D experts discuss ways to make L&D tools effective and efficient during the pandemic. The transition to a virtual workspace has further enabled a curation of these tools.

The impact of the pandemic has resulted in a myriad of changes which were unforeseen and surely a bit uncomfortable to make. The transition from a work life within the physical workplace to the virtual one has been bumpy to say the least. The essence and quality of physical interactions between people and even between employees at the workplace held a place of its own and the transition all the more difficult to adjust to on a long-term basis. But has not been as gloomy as it seems. The onset of the pandemic and the necessary transition to a virtual workplace has made it apparent upon the world, the power of the digital world and how it can be harnessed to its full potential during dire times.

Keeping the aforementioned facts in mind, BW People organised a Panel centred around the theme “Effectiveness & Efficiency of Latest Tools of Learning and Development”. Some of the prominent speakers on the panel were Akash Sangole, Head-HR, GR & CSR, Panasonic Life Solution India; Kaushik Chakraborty, Head-HR, Savills India; Rachna Kumar, VP-HR, Whirlpool and the Session Chair was Sunil Kumar, President BW Businessworld & exchange4media Group.

The session began by looking at the better side of effects brought upon as a result of the pandemic, i.e. the transition to a virtual workplace. The discussion centered around the fact that 21st century technology has enabled the continuation of work even during the course of such difficult times. The speakers presented their respective views on how this has even increased interactions and events albeit on the digital platform. Kaushik Chakraborty commented that “due to the prevalence of a digital workplace, one can think of conducting 2 or maybe even 3 conferences at one go. Pre-March conducting 1 conference per quarter also seemed like a hassle and therefore such a scenario was unthinkable. We couldn’t have thought about it.”

A lot of contemplation is also happening within organisations on how to identify the best practices and training for employees so as to improve the L&D within an organisation. On this Rachna Kumar stated that “an L&D practice finally gets defined by the recipients of the learning. We could see what the virtual space can offer in its purest terms during the pandemic.” She emphasised the fact that learning should always be recipient oriented.

On the dilemma of preparations for the return to normalcy, Akash Sangole commented that “since salespeople are in the market, manufacturing is at a 100% and we are able to do business, so we are in no hurry to bring back a lot of people to the workplace as they are able to perform from home.” His views found resonance among the other participants as they too believed that work-from-home has greatly benefited their companies while maximising the potential of the virtual workplace.