If there are fewer people to serve us, and if we are offered a lower quality product for a lower price, we don't mind. We want more. This focus on cost over service has its effects. Human interaction is increasingly devalued and treated as a luxury. In the business of training and development, there is a miserliness about time that is a symptom of the problem.
Trainers are now busy transforming the training experience into a reading experience.
They are cutting back live, in-person learning events and moving them online and long distance. This might be true, but it is more likely all about cost and with the effect that employees are now peripheral and not worth investing in, just as the levels of customer service we were accustomed to, are no longer necessary. We are willing to sacrifice the quality that comes from depth, relationship and live action, for low-cost experiences. Just as citizens and consumers we are willing to sacrifice community and a vibrant downtown for low-cost purchasing. The feeling that employees are no longer critical is found in wider circles than just training and development.