No Virus is Going to Slow Them Down: Distributed Workforce Training Numbers on the Rise!

In the midst of a global pandemic, most would tend to think in terms of productivity slowdowns, miscommunications across the board, and lapses in terms of training and upskilling team members. And yet, given the most recent Rallyware research and analysis of the US market during the COVID 19 crisis, it seems the situation is proving to be quite the contrary. Especially when it comes to distributed workforce sales enablement training, according to the Rallyware findings, numbers are impressively on the rise and show no signs of slowing down.

We wanted to share a few of our key discoveries in light of the situation in which we are all immersed. People have become so used to reading about the negatives, the downturns in this crisis, and the way in which businesses have been detrimentally impacted. We therefore really wanted to shed some light on a few of the positive notes that we’ve come across as far as US companies and their management of remote workforces are concerned.

The idea of a distributed workforce is not new. One need only look at companies such as Automattic (the firm behind WordPress), Zapier, and HashiCorp for example, to see how having almost 100% remote teams can prove extremely beneficial as well as profitable. With the spread of the coronavirus, the problem for many organizations became one of expediency. How could they most efficiently transition to a remote workforce when they weren’t fully prepared to do so? And of course, here is where the integration of digital tools and platforms becomes essential to the survival of numerous US businesses otherwise impacted by COVID 19.

Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon, in a recent interview reflected on the positive ways in which switching to what is currently a 98% distributed workforce has and will potentially impact his company. First off, Solomon noted, “When you go through something like this, it forces you to ask questions and think about things differently.” For companies to reevaluate and start to look at things a bit differently, let’s just say, this might not be a bad thing. Not to mention, the move toward greater flexibility, Solomon said, could really make any company a more attractive place to work.

A Few Key Findings: Productivity is Up

With more and more individuals having to shelter in place, most would assume that this new reality would be a blow to businesses—productivity would come to a standstill, opportunities for meaningful training would be lost, and team members would not be nearly as engaged. However, given our current internal analysis, we’ve found the opposite to be true.

• Distributed workforce training and the increase in available content. What we discovered is that because of current circumstances many leaders and training managers who already had the proper systems and tools in place were able to deliver even more just-in-time learning and personalized content modules to their workforces. In fact, our numbers indicate that in March, there was right around a 22% increase in new learning and engagement content available to team members than had been available in previous months. This is absolutely critical. What this means is that rather than simply sitting back and maintaining the status quo through this crisis, business owners and leaders are looking at this as an opportunity to enhance distributed workforce training. They’re moving forward as opposed to standing still and that is a very good sign!

• An increase in active users on the Rallyware platform. The number of active users increased by a whopping 160% during the month of March. Couple this with a 121% increase in the number of completed learning and engagement tasks versus in previous months, and we can certainly see that workers and managers are not just content to sit idly by waiting for the proverbial storm to pass. Rather they are making massive strides utilizing cutting edge onboarding and training software.

Let’s face it, people have more time on their hands than prior to the pandemic. Travel has most definitely been curtailed; by and large there are fewer office distractions given of course the rise of remote working. And perhaps just the sheer exhaustion felt as a result of one too many episodes of Tiger King has spurred people into action. They are empowered to learn something new, tackle challenges previously unexplored and thereby improve themselves.  

• Productivity on the whole is up. This is huge. Not many could have seen this coming. But what this says about the determination and resourcefulness of US businesses is major. According to the Rallyware analysis, of those businesses utilizing the tools and resources available in order to more effectively manage their distributed workforce, productivity in March was up by 10%. Which leads us to believe that these numbers are going to climb even higher as companies become more accustomed to this new remote work reality—and that is most definitely a silver lining in all of this.

Richard Branson once famously said: “Tough times are inevitable in life and in business. But how you compose yourself during those times defines your spirit and will define your future.” What we have seen is numerous companies take this kind of message to heart. And the results certainly speak to this. They are spending the time to implement the right processes and procedures, to activate the right tools and training, and to engage their workforce the best way they possibly can. If you’d like more information on Rallyware’s platform, you can schedule your free demo today!