 Degree inflation is a trend in which more and more jobs require a four-year college degree than did previously.
Research from Harvard Business School highlights the negative effect degree inflation has on the middle class by increasing underemployment and keeping millions of qualified, but less-credentialed people from reaching their potential. Degree inflation also hurts the employers who practice it by increasing the turnover rate, lengthening the time to hire, and increasing labor costs unnecessarily. As more companies require a four-year college degree and fewer people are able to afford one, more employees are participating in executive education. Executive Education and Disruption Theory The cost of a four-year degree continues to skyrocket. And as it does, the return on the investment weakens. At the same time a bachelor’s degree is becoming less attainable, it is also becoming less of a true indicator of what an employer needs. Disruption theory teaches students and employees using different metrics than those used by traditional universities. This new model, known as competency-based education, helps people master specific skills as they seek employment. Given the increase in tuition costs, job-oriented learners are becoming overserved, which means they are paying for more than what they need and would prefer to pay less for a class with a more targeted subject matter. Employees and other “non-traditional” students who are looking to increase their job skills are opting for executive education courses instead of classes at a four-year university. Businesses are also looking for cheaper and faster ways of teaching their employees specific skills for specific jobs. They are now enrolling their employees in alternative education courses that offer credentials other than a bachelor’s degree and allow them to sidestep traditional post-secondary degrees. Not all degrees will equip students with the skills they’ll need to be productive members of the workforce. Degree inflation indicates that many jobs which normally require a bachelor’s degree can be performed by those without one.
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 Every business has different types of leaders who motivate and challenge their employees in different ways.
Recently, a type of management style called transformational leadership has gained popularity. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate employees to create change and to have a strong sense of independence in the workplace. Many business leaders are keeping a close eye on inflation, and how this will affect hiring and retaining staff in a competitive job market. Not only will workers be looking for higher wages, but also a sense of ownership over their work and a connection to the company they work for. Because of these concerns, more business managers are adopting a transformational leadership style. Components of Effective Transformational Leadership As business leaders continue to deal with inflation and a tight labor market, relying on the transformational model can help them adapt to the situation and stay engaged with their team of employees. Some of the practices of transformational leadership include: Motivation Transformational leaders are able to share a vision of the company with their employees that encourages them to exceed expectations. Giving employees a strong sense of purpose can challenge and motivate. A good manager will be able to convey optimism and give meaning to every role in the organization. Consideration In order to provide adequate support to their employees, transformational leaders need to listen. A good manager knows that what motivates one employee might not motivate another. This enables someone to adapt their management style based on the individual. Influence By behaving in an ethical manner, a good manager can earn a certain level of respect and trust. Displaying good judgment can allow a manager to have a positive influence on the entire organization. Intellectual Stimulation Transformational leaders will challenge preconceptions and ask employees for their input. The goal is to foster a work environment where creative ideas are found through sharing different perspectives. Employees feel empowered when they can ask questions and come up with their own methods for completing tasks.  High employee turnover rates have a negative impact on every company. For the most part, employees leave companies because they’re simply unhappy at work.
Knowing this, HR directors, as well as others in management, are constantly looking for new ways to create a positive employee experience. One way they’re trying to accomplish this is by adopting a management style called transformational leadership. What Is Transformational Leadership? Transformational leadership encourages business leaders to motivate their employees by making sure they feel they are playing a part in the future success of the company. This is done by building a strong sense of unity and company culture that offers them a meaningful role in the workplace. The transformational management style is the opposite of micromanaging. The point is to have employees feel like they are trusted to make their own decisions. This allows the work staff to come up with new and innovative ideas to solve old problems. Not only will treating employees this way inspire them to stay with the company, but also encourage them to become transformational leaders themselves. Retaining a Strong Talent Pool Business managers have a huge impact on retaining strong employees. If an unhappy worker is meeting colleagues for a drink after work, you can bet he’s talking about management. A company’s leaders need to really connect with their employees so they don’t feel enticed to work somewhere else. This is especially important now as employees move away from working in the office and choose to work remotely instead. One way managers can make sure they’re supporting employees is by using assessment tools to monitor how their leadership behaviors are promoting retention. Another method managers are using is to ask employees to describe their experiences and expectations of team leaders. This allows leaders to know where they might be lacking when it comes to leadership behavioral skills. Using transformational leadership, instilling it in your company culture is critical to building and retaining a strong talent pool.  Business leaders know that gaining new knowledge is key for continuous growth. But given the demands on the schedule of a c-suite employee, executive education is often overlooked.
Providing executive education for c-suite employees lets them know just how valuable they are to the organization. When executives feel they have hit a dead end, and perhaps feel they want to move on, having them learn new skills can bolster their sense of carer development. In addition, when execs take part in continuous learning programs, it inspires other employees to do the same. Having c-suite employees take part in executive education not only encourages them to stay with a company but prepares others in the company to take on executive roles if and when they do leave. 3 Benefits of Executive Education Change is now the central theme facing every executive. 1. Staying Relevant Being able to face unforeseen circumstances is a crucial skill for c-suite employees, so providing them with an opportunity to keep up with new technology and changing markets can keep execs happy with their current employers while feeling they are at the top of their game. 2. Staying Competitive The business world, just like everything else has been on a path of constant change, and during the pandemic, the rate of change has only increased. As business practices become more automated and execs are forced to lead a more dispersed workforce, they’ll need to support efforts to ensure their employees stay informed about changes in the industry. This means they themselves will have to stay informed about how to solve new problems and focus on innovation. 3. Building Relationships Whether it’s with team members or stakeholders, retaining c-suite employees means executives need to build strong relationships. Participating in executive education that focuses on interpersonal skills, especially when it comes to their subordinates, helps c-suite employees feel connected to the people they’re working with, and thus the company itself.  Design thinking is usually applied to the development of new business models, products, and services. When it comes to human resources, design thinking is a human-centric process that helps HR to creatively solve problems, especially when other traditional methods can’t get the job done.
Using design thinking, HR departments can focus on how employees interact with each other in the workplace. It has influenced companies to change up their work processes or redesign their offices, leading to greater employee collaboration. How Design Thinking Can Improve the Employee Experience Design thinking addresses behaviors to new technologies and the growing portion of next-generation employees. New HR programs should be focused on employee experience, redesigning company portals, and creating better employee interaction tools. It can help business teams redesign certain aspects of the employee experience by using new technologies that focus on the needs of your staff. For example, information about the work environment and collaboration can help businesses determine whether they should offer a remote-work policy or consider a different office layout. Applying Design Thinking to Human Resources Design thinking offers data points on how to uncover new methods for improving employee experience. When applying design thinking, there are four suggestions that should be considered when coming up with ideas for creative problem solving:
By workshopping the problem, managers can continue to redefine what it takes to make things better and gain insights into alternative solutions. HR faces more challenges today than it did in the past; employee retention, development, and recruiting. Design thinking can help HR departments come up with better solutions and create better experiences for employees.  Executive Education has changed as a result of the recent pandemic which has created increased demand for upskilling and tangentially brought about a wider incorporation of digital tools and technologies for executive education opportunities and initiatives.
Lifelong learningIn this context Executive Education is pushing for continuous personal improvement with regular educational courses or micro credentials obtained throughout someone's career. Continual learning helps executives and employees broaden their knowledge and sharpen their skills, bringing more to the conference room table. Quality over costWhereas in the past business executives made budget a priority, now companies are willing to spend more if it translates to higher-quality executive education. Executive education is viewed as an investment and as such, low costs are not a factor in the decision. PersonalizationCompanies are encouraging their executives to go beyond traditional classroom curriculum and invest in learning that might be out of the box or unrelated to their current position. Classes in IT or a science field may not seem as relevant to an executive with a business degree who focuses on management or accounting, but the more well-rounded an employee is, the more likely they are to bring more diversity of skills to the office. Early accessAs executives invest in their education, they're capitalizing on early access to course curriculum in a digital world, digital textbooks or open education resources so that they can access learning content before the class begins, allowing them to be more actively engaged in the lectures and glean more information from the professors that doesn't already exist elsewhere. Time sensitive educationTime sensitive education means executives are able to invest in online courses or in person courses that are one weekend, one day, one week, or even two weeks in length. Executives don't have a lot of free time and companies can't often spare employees for months or years at a time which is why on demand education that is time-sensitive allows for achievable milestones that enhance skills in a much shorter amount of time. Better hybrid approachesEveryone switched to zoom during the pandemic and yet, executives were quick to realize that sitting in front of a zoom screen for 8 hours each day can be just as draining as sitting in front of a lecturer for 8 hours per day. Now education is trending toward hybrid and blended designs that offer virtual tools like virtual labs in addition to short lectures, online videos, and even in class projects here and there. Micro credentialsExecutive education is moving more toward micro credentials in 2022. While already on that passed during the pandemic, this new trend focuses on shorter certifications for professionals, shorter programs the completion of which provides badges that can be digitally linked to resumes, in lieu of the otherwise traditional and time-consuming two-year or four-year degree programs. Shorter milestones are now the goal. Data driven insightsCompanies are using data analytics to determine what learning solutions are best for their executives going forward. This is allowing executives and corporations to make changes to training as well so that it is rendered most effective. Soft leadership skillsAcknowledging that certain soft skills especially interpersonal skills and communication have fallen by the wayside during quarantine, executive education is focusing more on enhancing leadership skills for top-tier employees. Sustainability in othersFinally, those in leadership positions are focusing on not just improving themselves but learning the skills to help others acquire new knowledge and sustain better behaviors for the good of the company. This includes things like encouraging senior executives to have strategic thinking scheduled as part of their weekly routine, prompting managers to include all of their team in problem-solving meetings so that everyone knows what is going on and is personally invested in the solutions, and reminding managers to have task lists and properly delegate where needed.  Success is rarely a matter of chance and knowing how to manage your career is essential. Being proactive in managing your career will better help you realize your ambitions. Although it seems like a logical thing to do, many don’t know what career management is, or assume their employer will provide it for them.
In order to better understand how to manage your career, you’ve got to first identify your goals, your interests, and the kind of skills you possess that can bring it all to fruition. Ask yourself the following questions:
Career Development Planning There are several steps you can take to map out how to develop a career:
New technology is constantly affecting everyone’s lives and influencing just about every industry. You’re going to need to be able to adapt to these innovations to keep current your knowledge and skills. In addition, and this has always been true, you’re going to need to invest a certain amount of time learning about what is currently affecting your industry. Whether that means obtaining certain credentials, joining committees, reading trade magazines, attending conferences, or taking professional education courses, it’s essential for you to grow as your career grows. To learn more about how you or your organization can benefit from our professional education programs contact us today!   Serving as an Advisor for an Executive Education Program means that you will be lending your knowledge and insight to the development of an Executive Education Program. However, you should keep in mind that doing this will have many added benefits for you.
Some of those benefits of advising these programs include: Knowledge - Anytime you are working in or around furthering executive education, it will increase your knowledge, and in some cases, serve as a refresher of what you already knew, but hadn’t thought about in a while. Skills & Tools - In an executive’s world, skills are always changing. The more up-to-date you are, the more marketable you are. Being a part of an Executive Education Program in any facet will likely enhance your skills. Networking - There is nothing more powerful in the world of business than networking. Serving as an Advisor for an Executive Education Program will give you a chance to meet with other people on many different levels of your industry that you would not have met otherwise. Improving Performance - When you serve as an Advisor for an Executive Education Program, you will look at things from a different point of view and dissect problems differently. This is a huge advantage. Also, through networking and discussion, you will likely learn new methods that may also make you more effective. Career Boost - Serving as an Advisor for an Executive Education Program can give your career a boost in many ways, from networking to enhancing your knowledge and skills. The fact is, that it also has serious CV-boosting benefits. Summary Working as an Advisor for an Executive Education Program has great benefits that will enhance your professional reputation as well as knowledge and skills. In addition, taking this path provides new and unique opportunities that will benefit your career as a whole. Top 10 Trends; Education All Covid and the subsequent push to online learning has transformed the way education works. Higher education may never be the same and the lasting impacts of the pandemic have actually shaped new online education trends for the upcoming year. Artificial intelligence First on the list is an increase in artificial intelligence in higher education. Stanford University has indicated technical advances far beyond the benchmarks that test those advances. AI has now been seen providing:
Lifelong education Universities traditionally require students complete their degree program or certification program within a set number of years, allowing up to 2 years of break time. Now, with so many people capitalising on continuing education under quarantine restrictions, and jobs encouraging people to invest in their education, universities are allowing lifelong education so that students can take as much time as necessary to complete an online course, owing to the fact that many are going to school and working fulltime simultaneously Blended and hybrid learning Blended and hybrid courses are likely to remain just as popular after all covid restrictions come to a close. Hybrid models allow students and employees in continuing education to operate remotely part of the time. Hybrid and blended classes offer unprecedented flexibility whereby
 Digital textbooks
Part of the push toward blended and hybrid learning extends to technologies offering digital textbooks. The provision of digital textbooks reduces the cost for students or employees continuing their education and ensures that all students have the right text books without having to visit a campus bookstore. Increased professional education Hybrid learning has gone hand-in-hand with other technological tools to provide professional education for employees looking to improve their skill set. This extends to shorter certifications with badges that can be easily integrated into online profiles including email signature blocks and Linkedin profiles. Data analytics Universities collect mountains of data but only through data analytics can educators test and analyze that information to find things like patterns in student participation or study habits. Learning analytics Tangentially, universities have already begun utilizing learning analytics to help educators pinpoint patterns in their lectures that might improve their teaching. Data points can be analysed using natural learning processes from artificial intelligence. Microcredentialing Micro credentialing has replaced the longer, four-year university standard. Micro credentials focus on individual skill sets and are more flexible than traditional degrees. Over 700,000 micro credential programs are now offered in hybrid, online, and in-person environments. These programs can take as little as 10 hours all the way up to 5000 hours to complete but include:
Better quality in online learning Institutions have focused on improving online learning by offering virtual exhibit halls, virtual museums, virtual lab assessments, virtual microscope viewers and slide viewers, all of which represents investments in modern curriculum transformed for an online environment. Open education resources New research from EDUCAUSE Horizon Report for 2021 corroborates the prediction that open education resources will serve as one of the top new online education technologies for 2022. Institutions are now offering their research materials and learning materials free to students. The more information is made available online, the easier it will be for students to understand their subject matters. |
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